Globalization

Globalization

Une FTN

The smartphone, a globalised product.

→ How is the smartphone introducted in globalised flows and exchanges ?

I- A decentralised production involving many continents and territories

Broadcom : fabless company, has subcontractors for the manufacturing of components (Taiwan Semiconductors Manufacturing)

*MDC : more developed country

Producers : USA, Asia (except for one or two components).

Consumers : North America, Europe and Asia.

Emerging countries : China, South Africa, Brazil.

Production of smartphone and cellphone : New International Divison of Labour.

Research and development : in the MDCs* (ex :Silicon Valley → Apple)

Main centers of productions : MDCs with some exception for the emerging country → China.

Most of the high value components are manufactured in MDCs but retina screen, the GSM bug or the battery → China.

Europe is never involved in the production of Smartphone (except Sony Ericson or Nokia). It proves that in the domain of new technologies of communication, the USA and Asia (especially South Korea) lead the market.

The Least developed countries of Asia are less integrated to the consumer market of cell phone and smartphone.

Center of Africa from Mali to Democratic Republic of Congo, kept out of the cell phone and Smartphone market.

The TNCs play on several aspects to attract consumers: the rapidity and easiness of their products, the design (ex : the design of the phone Samsung is compared to nature and its reaction, such as the sound and round of the sea water), people can download many apps on their phone.

The main actors which are involved in the production and manufactuing of smartphone are the TNCs, manufacturers that are spread all over the USA and Asia.

The leader of the production and manufacturing are the TNCs : Apple and Samsung, TNCs are in competition because they want to obtain some parts of the consumming markets. The profits are estimated at billions. So, TNCs develop new projects.

The production of smartphone is dispatched all over the world, main part : Asiatic or American. Because of that, to send the orders, TNCs need telecommunication network based on the internet or Satellite network. They also need to be close to the main communication route, to be sure that the product will be ship as fast as possible in the MDCs stores.

The smartphone market is dominated by the MDCs espacially Europe, North America and Japan. Brazil, China too because they implement stores.

Cell phone and smartphone are not only reserved to the MDCs, there is an increase of cellphone rentals in the LDCs (Africa).

Objective of ITU → develop infrastructures of telecommunication all over the world.

LDCs have access to cellphones and smartphone by recycling phones of the MDCs.

The ITU tried to solve the numeric gap by engaging many actions with TNCs to give access to network to many people in the world.

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