Editing Comparison of Wireless Standards: United States versus Europe

Title: Comparison of Wireless Standards: United States versus Europe

Abstract:
This research study compares the methods of standards setting in wireless communication systems between the United States and Europe. It examines the pros and cons of proprietary, institutional, and governmental standards setting, and applies these concepts to the wireless standards that have emerged in each region. The study finds that the United States model, characterized by market competition and institutional standards setting, has resulted in a proliferation of competing standards. In contrast, the European model, which relies on a single Pan-European institution and political and economic mechanisms to implement standards, has led to the development of a more unified approach to wireless communication.

Main Text:

Introduction:
Standards setting in wireless communication systems is a complex process that involves balancing the need for compatibility and technological advancement with the potential for monopolistic practices and inefficient use of resources. This study compares the methods of standards setting in wireless communication systems between the United States and Europe, examining the pros and cons of proprietary, institutional, and governmental standards setting.

Proprietary, Institutional, and Governmental Standards Setting:
When decisions about developing standards are left to individual firms, there are many advantages, including flexible response to market evolution, accommodation to rapid technology change, and avoidance of costly coordination. However, the market process does not necessarily lead to compatible standards, and if the market-produced standard is a proprietary design of a particular firm, the firm may assert monopolistic practices through the holding of patents and other Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), leading to efficiency losses to society.

Standards institutions generally facilitate better communication among market participants, which may discourage early and/or primitive incompatible standards from emerging in the market. Institutional standards are public goods that prevent the emergence of monopoly on standards. However, expenditures on institutional standards setting can lead to diminishing returns or even be counter-productive, as institutional standards usually take longer to produce and are slower to respond to technology development.

Government involvement is often called for when market competition and the institutional process seem in danger of producing multiple incompatible standards. Government agencies can specify compulsory standards to avoid incompatibility, or work closely with institutions to produce a de facto single standard. However, many exogenous factors handicap a government's effective involvement, including its failure to respond to the dynamics of technology development and consumer demand, and its potential to pick up the "wrong technology."

United States and European Models of Standards Setting:
Rapid technology development and changing demands of wireless systems make the dynamics of proprietary standards setting desirable. However, the cost of too many incompatible standards, lack of dominant market leaders, and danger of proprietary technology monopolies point to the need for help from institutional standards setting. Concerns about global technology competition and trade further justify intervention from governments.

Due to these factors, different models of standards setting for wireless systems have emerged in different countries. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided not to specify any mandatory standard since the 1980s. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has taken over the standard

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0109100v1
Authors: 
arXiv ID: 0109100v1

[[Category:Computer Science]]
[[Category:Standards]]
[[Category:Setting]]
[[Category:Institutional]]
[[Category:Wireless]]
[[Category:Market]]