ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to the basic technical concepts that are the foundation of the communications industries and used as the basis of the discussions that follow in subsequent chapters. A glossary of technical terms is provided in Appendix A. This chapter provides an overview of the necessary concepts instead. In particular, it introduces the concepts of “layers” within communications networks and how these relate to the architectural guidelines for mobile platforms. It also looks at the platforms and associated open interfaces and open APIs that allow for platform development to be distributed across a number of companies. This chapter also introduces another important topic that recurs throughout the entire book – the notion of technical rates of change. As will be illustrated, the rates of change of different technologies have caused shifts in the industrial structure of both the mobile and computing industries. In some cases, after a technical boundary has been crossed, certain parts of an industry can be wiped out in a matter of years. These rates of change are directly linked to the types of platforms that can be designed and the industrial structure that forms around them. Detailed discussion of each technical platform and associated rate of change is kept to the individual chapters in Part II. This chapter instead presents a high-level overview of the technical issues that cross both industries as a basis for the comparison that follows. This chapter functions closely with Chapter 3, which discusses the economic fundamentals of the communications industries.
