In Strategic ICT standardization by China we ask the question: So what effects can be expected from this level of political involvement? The role of China is also in the spotlight in the latest issue of Fortune magazine China buys the world (read article here).
On one hand, the approach is understandable since standards have been set up by western countries and the new prominence of China in the global economy will also extend to standards. However, much can be learnt from Japan in this domain.
In Why Japan’s Cellphones Haven’t Gone Global, the New York Times compares Japan to the Galápagos Island: “Japan’s cell phones are like the endemic species that Darwin encountered on the Galápagos Islands — fantastically evolved and divergent from their mainland cousins”. (read full article here).
As China seeks to create its own standard for TD-SCDMA(next generation telecoms evolution, more information here) , that lesson must not be forgotten – lest China is to end up only a bigger version of the Galápagos Island in a few years.
That cannot benefit anyone; not least the Chinese customers themselves as competition becomes local and global players are excluded which ultimately results in the consumer suffering.
This could also have an impact on business. As Chinese business people travel overseas, they will find the need to own multiple mobile devices and roaming agreements may be more difficult with non standardized technology.
Thus, ultimately commercial motivations would work against heavy handed national standardization.
