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First Large Scale 3G Network
Pete (big-pete) writes: "DoCoMo has announced that they will launch the world's first 3G network on October 1st -- you can read their story from NTT and a spin on the story from The Register can be read at the Register." And of course, The U.S.' backward laws concerning allocation of frequency mean that this will be a /long/ time in coming.
First off, what does it matter if Japan or Europe beat us to the punch? Does this mean that their industry is necessarily ahead of ours? No. The gap here is not a technological one, it's one of implimentation and cost. Europe and Japan also have many economic factors in their favor, owing to their population density and population centers, often poor land lines, etc. How does this speak better of foreign nations?
Second, 3G shows many signs of being a failure overseas, already. By this I mean the European and Japanese 3G companies may well spend multiples more rolling out the technology (they've spent billions on the licenses alone) than they ever collect in revenues. What this says, in plain english, is that their own consumers did not feel the technology/implimentation is good enough to justify the cost. Why should we be jealous of this? If the costs exceed the benefits, it is hardly an accusation of US capitalism. No government is going to change this fact--all they might do is spread the costs out, by putting an increased tax burden on those that do NOT need it.
Third, even if 3G is a worthwhile technology, it's not necessarily worthwhile today. In other words, both US consumers and companies may be better served by waiting until better handsets come out. It would be premature and costly to introduce the technology 5 years before it is really worthwhile to consumers.
Fourth, from a more personal point of view, do YOU really need/want 3G today if it costs you 3x as much as normal cell phone service? Sure, high bandwidth on the road sounds great, but what can you REALLY do with it today? Between having crappy screens, lousy keyboards, no mouse, poor sound.... Just name an application that really makes it worthwhile for YOU? I mean streaming video sounds great, but other than the coolness/novelty factor, are you really going to want to bother with it? I don't think so.
Fifth, remember money NOT spent on 3G, is money spent somewhere else. It doesn't just go into a blackhole. This money may well be better spent on improving existing services, rolling out other technology, or what have you.
Lastly, capitalism is adaptive is nothing else. If Japan and Europe really experience a huge boon with 3G services, you can be sure that US industry will be beating down the doors to make it happen. At which point, new and improved 3G may well be attainable to US consumers, while not available in foreign nations.