| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 商學研究所 === 87 === This thesis first discusses the driving forces for and the loci of the convergence of networks with main topics covering digitization technology, network transmission technology, telecommunications and broadcasting policy, and applications on the Internet. The development of relevant industries and technologies all points to a fast emerging sector of Internet-based information and multimedia services.
Because of the neutralization of content and transmission, applications on the Internet are gaining more independent status from transmission networks. This leads to a conceptual separation of physical networks and virtual networks. The thesis studies how network effects and externalities develop in various networks, and how major parties create and accumulate value in the networks. For cable TV players, it is essential to be competitive in their physical networks on the one hand, and to exploit their local-area broad-band advantage to establish synergistic relationships with virtual networks on the other.
More specifically, the global policy trend toward open competition in telecommunications is squeezing business revenues, and, in the meantime, broadband services demand huge investment in physical construction and upgradation. To survive and prosper cable TV players must take preemptive action and fast-mover advantage, enlarge the installed base of customers, cooperate with or even integrate packagers or integrators, and, in a word, create strong network effects.
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