On the economic and technological forces shaping mobile transceiver architecture
Name
432660881-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
64.81 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d27893615ed33064ca9783fe10a9992d
Author(s)
Aden, Christopher A. (Christopher Allan)
Advisor(s)
John M. Grace.
Date Issued
2009
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The thesis examines the evolution of mobile transceiver architecture using the management framework pioneered by Carliss Baldwin and Kim Clark. The thesis begins with an introduction and an overview of the wireless communication value network. The author subsequently distills the salient aspects of the Baldwin and Clark management framework predicated on bottleneck analysis, modularity, and return on invested capital. The prominence of bottleneck analysis motivates a technical chapter that summarizes the bottlenecks relevant to all wireless communication systems, namely data rate, error rate, and battery life. A brief chapter discussing the dominant wireless communication network architecture, TDMA and CDMA, corroborates the bottleneck analysis and effectively assigns the error rate and battery life bottlenecks to the handset ODM and supplier layers of the value network. With a clear vision of the competitive bottlenecks, the evolution of transceiver architecture is presented in the context of the aforementioned management framework. Through this analysis, design power is shown to have passed from handset ODMs to integrated circuit suppliers. A noteworthy byproduct of the analysis is the genesis of the bottleneck tree whereby new layers of bottlenecks are emergent upon a firm's selection of a particular design architecture that targets the strategic bottleneck layer. Finally, the thesis is concluded with a summary of the ground covered and the author's opinions of how the architecture may yet evolve and the future nature of the competitive landscape.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2009.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 166-168).
Subjects
System Design and Management Program.
MIT Department
System Design and Management Program.
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