Technological change, opening and internationalization of Spanish telecommunications. The transition to the third generation of mobile telephony

Ángel Amado Calvo Calvo

doi:10.3926/hdbr.196

Abstract

This article explores from a multidisciplinary and transnational historical approach the impact of technological change on the structure of the telephone sector, the fruit of advances in microelectronics and information technology. This problem has been studied in Spain basically by regulatory specialists, on the one hand, and technologists, on the other. We lack a more transversal analysis that puts into play the various elements that intervene. This article is intended to cover this gap, based on unpublished primary sources –primarily from Telefónica– as well as in other documents of diverse origin. Specifically, it focuses on the role played by Spain and the historic telephone company (Telefónica) in the transition to the third generation of mobile telephony (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS) and gives prominence to the national state, to the supranational bodies –EU and International Telecommunication Union(ITU) and companies.

Highlights

This article explores from a multidisciplinary and transnational historical approach the impact of technological change on the structure of the telephone sector, the fruit of advances in microelectronics and information technology
This article is intended to cover this gap, based on unpublished primary sources –primarily from Telefónica– as well as in other documents of diverse origin. It focuses on the role played by Spain and the historic telephone company (Telefónica) in the transition to the third generation of mobile telephony (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS) and gives prominence to the national state, to the supranational bodies –EU and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and companies
This article is intended to cover this deficiency, from a multidisciplinary and transnational historical focus, based on unpublished primary sources – first and foremost, from Telefónica and an exceptional file from the Ministry of Industry – as well as other documentation from various origins2. It focuses on the role played by Spain and the country’s historic telephone company (Telefónica) in the transition to the third generation (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, UMTS) of mobile telephony, and the leading role of the national state, supranational organizations and companies

Summary

Second generation mobile telephony around the world

Technological change in telephony and its repercussions on service, the product in essence of the advances made in microelectronics and computer technology, have received a great deal of attention in Spain, basically from specialists in regulatory issues, on the one hand, and technologists, on the other. A series of general operating aspects applied: automatic configuration and charging of calls to and from the mobile station; for international systems, the capacity to establish calls between mobile stations and any landline or mobile subscriber, in the latter case, within the system; charging of the costs in a way that is compatible with the pricing principles of the public switched telephone network (PSTN); not requiring any significant changes in the landline telephony networks with the introduction of the system; maintaining the blocking probability within similar limits to those of the PSTN services in all stages of development and continuous quality control of the call, with automatic transfer between base stations as necessary. The intense growth of mobile telephony resulted in their being more than 600 million subscribers at the start of 2001

Spain: between the domestic market and globalization

The companies: from successful bidders to mobile network operators

Conclusion

11. References

Findings

12. Origin of the primary sources and documents