Fourth-generation networks have been common in many industrialized countries since their inception early in the twenty-first century. However, developing Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, and Thailand are latecomers to the fourth-generation market. Despite the absence of fourth-generation-capable networks in these countries, their citizens have invested in fourth-generation devices such as the BlackBerry smartphone, the touch phone, as well as touch tablets. In the hands of their owners, these phones regrettably have not been able service their needs to the fullest potential, because of the lack of native fourth-generation network providers in their respective countries.
However, American companies such as RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, have begun negotiations with Southeast Asian mobile phone carriers. One of the best examples of this has been the recently launched BlackBerry Singapore. The satellite company provides Singaporean subscribers as well as visiting Blackberry users with access to the latest and greatest applications and other BlackBerry software which is available in the US, as well as on-site and online technical support. This has allowed Singaporean subscribers to use applications and services that have been unavailable to them previously. Because of these developments, foreign investment and business ventures in Singapore are at an all-time high. The partnership that exists between Black Berry and native Singaporean companies associated with mobile communications has given the Singaporean citizen the technological tools to communicate and conduct business with others across the world in an efficient and expeditious way.
Research has shown that Black Berry as well as their competitors in the US and Western Europe has all begun negotiations with other Southeast Asian countries. Given the excellent performance of satellite companies like Black Berry Singapore, it is only a matter of time before fourth-generation technology and its associated networks span all of Asia. In fact, Black berry will soon be launching satellite companies such as Black Berry Hong Kong and Black Berry Taiwan. If this trend continues it is highly likely that business analysts and market researchers will soon see the developments of even more satellite companies throughout the Middle East and the African continent as well.
In my opinion, fourth-generation technology and its associated networks will become the foundation of international business and international personal communication within the next two to three decades. This will allow instantaneous communication between people and organizations the matter their location on the globe. Furthermore, these continuous developments will continue to play a pivotal role in the economic and financial betterment of the developing world.
