Cross Strait Cooperation On Network Technology Standards

ICT networks are at the center of the coming knowledge economy.The interoperability and compatibility of numerous technologies necessary to connect users and devices is achieved through standardization.Standards thus form the basis of network technology and the future knowledge economy.Effective development and use of ICT networks and the standards that comprise them is necessary to claim global technological leadership.The Chinese government invested tremendous resources toward the development of the domestic ICT industry.With the era of 4G mobile technology approaching,China Mobile is tasked with the commercialization of Mainland China's indigenous TD-LTE standard.China Mobile has made cooperation with a broad range of actors in 'Taiwan's ICT sector a focus of its strategy.Some have suggested that emergence of 'Greater China' as an international standards-setter could have significant ramifications for the global technology market.This paper argues that each actor has their own interest in and interpretation of the TD-LTE project,and so successful cooperation depends upon both the technical characteristics of the standard itself and the mechanisms China Mobile uses to align the interests of diverse actors around the commercialization of TD-LTE.The penetration of network technology throughout society means that the successful development of a network requires the input of an increasing number of diverse actors.Mainland China's effort to assume technological leadership in the global knowledge economy will rely heavily on regional and international cooperation.By examining the TD project from the perspective of various critical stakeholders in Taiwan,we can better understand how the interests of 'other side' of Mainland China's standards cooperation efforts are defined,negotiated and aligned.