The growth of broadband Internet access has paved the way for the development of many new technologies. As the cost of implementing broadband access soars, the best alternative will be to use fixed wireless for these services. This thesis addresses the possibility of 3rd Generation (3G) mobile cellular wireless systems as the basis for fixed broadband wireless service. Two of the 3G technologies aimed at providing fixed broadband wireless access are Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). This thesis aims to provide a preliminary study on using TD-SCDMA and OFDM for broadband wireless systems. Currently, there is not enough theory and information to establish the feasibility of using either of these technologies for broadband wireless access. First, the basic features and background on synchronous CDMA and OFDM are presented for the reader to better understand these technologies. Then, an example TD-SCDMA system is described, and some analytical and experimental results are presented. Finally, TD-SCDMA's technologies, along with this system's attributes, are compared analytically to that of Vector OFDM (VOFDM). / Master of Science

The mobile communication technology has evolved from the first generation (1G), when the first radiotelephone service was introduced in the US in late 1940s, to the third generation (3G). In each generation, different standards and technologies were promoted by technologically and economically advanced countries. For example, the major 1G communication standards were: AMPS promoted by the US, NMT promoted by Nordic countries, and TACS promoted by the UK. The second generation (2G) communication standards include GSM promoted by the European countries and CDMA (IS-95) promoted by the US. Behind these different standards, there are entire industry chains and huge profits. To catch up with these forerunners, lagging countries usually need to go through different stages including duplicative imitation, creative imitation, and then real innovation. In the 1G era, China did not have its own standard, but it adopted the British TACS systems. In the 2G era, China did not have its own standard, and it adopted both the European GSM systems and the US CDMA systems. However, when the 3G era was approaching, China decided to seize the opportunity and developed its own 3G standard: TD-SCDMA. In January 2009, China issued three different 3G licenses to three different operators who utilized TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, and CDMA2000, respectively. The Chinese proposed 3G standard began to be commercialized with this first licensee. China has been trying to catch up with the leading countries in the mobile communication industry. This thesis examines the question of whether this catching-up process was successful or not. The purpose of this thesis is to give readers insights into the Chinese 3G market, and to help them to understand the catching-up process being undertaken by China’s mobile communication industry. The thesis first introduces some background information about 3G, TD-SCDMA, and the Chinese telecom market. Then, it reviews theories of technological catching-up and leapfrogging. After that, it presents a case study of the TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance that examines six determinants measuring the catching-up process: Sources for Competitive Advantages, Strategies and Policies, R&D Efforts, R&D Outcome, and Market Success. The final part of the thesis gives answers to the research question and reveals the profound impact brought by the catching-up process of China’s mobile industry.

回顧中國在改革開放後，採取「以市場換技術」進口外國技術與資本來快速推動經濟成長。但以移動手機和設備產業來看，外資維持以密集研發投入和技術能力主宰大陸國內市場，本國企業仰賴進口技術的情況不見改善。而在面臨經濟從「中國製造」轉型到「中國創新」的壓力下，中國政府於2006年正式提出中長期計畫，將中國自訂的3G 通信標準TD-SCDMA劃入高科技發展藍圖，企圖透過標準產業政策來提高本土廠商「自主創新」的能力，以達到發展民族工業的目標。 本文的研究問題是中國政府如何讓技術落後的本土製造業者，藉由TD-SCDMA標準來進行產業化與技術追趕。對照與借用東亞後進國家促進業發展的相關理論，本文探討中國「國家和企業」之政治關係與搭配制度的轉變，如何影響到產業發展結果，也比對中國廠商後進追趕的結果與國家作用，和東亞「發展型國家」的差異。本文主要發現為: 2006年後，TD-SCDMA產業發展結果有顯著性的改善，這和中國政府進行的政治整合和制度創新有關。 首先，在中國行政體系條塊分離的情況下，國家先整合了之前各部會間利益分歧的地方，以求官僚部會對TD政策支持行動的一致性。其次，國家再以三種方式干預和TD相關的三個產業，並搭配制度的創新與調整，包括有：（1）巨額投資在基礎建設，保護和孕育本土TD設備製造商；（2）但TD手機產業改為開放給外資和台商進入，發展上游晶片產品來拉動下游手機產業發展；以及（3）分配TD牌照給國家冠軍營運商中國移動。過程中，國家和中國移動的關係一改先前的恩庇關係，以及國家不斷嘗試創新制度，是TD產業發展改善的關鍵。 總之，中國在面臨全球化、產業結構轉型與內需市場成長的壓力下，國家致力於政治利益整合與制度變遷，促進本土製造商藉由TD標準達到進口取代的目。最後，本文也提出樂觀和悲觀情境，分析哪些企業可受益於國家3G的產業政策，促進其未來在4G技術標準時，有更高機率能與外資縮短技術差距。上述這種以科技標準來保護本土廠商進行技術追趕的途徑，和先前東亞國家扶持廠商出口代工達到技術追趕的途徑有顯著的差異，屬於中國獨特的扶持民族工業發展的實驗做法。