Puck,
<< I also suspect that the Wit SoundView analyst is making a mountain out of a mole hill ... blowing the significance of this event out of proportion. The 3GPP TSG GERAN group will make a decision on Nokia's proposed solution this week in Naantali, Finland. >>
Evidently the issues that Matt Hoffman (and other analysts) got wind of were potentially serious relative to how and when carriers would proceed with aggressive rollouts of GPRS.
CSFB for instance commented on this subject last Friday:
Motorola stands firmly against the Nokia proposed amendment of the 1997 GRPS standard to the governing body, 3GPP. Motorola management indicated that it remains committed to ensure a timely launch of planned GPRS handsets and is therefore working closely with competitors to help them meet the standard.
It is our belief that Motorola has spent the last few days with Nokia counterparts meeting about the issue. All eyes are now focused on the next 3GPP meeting commencing Aug. 27th for insight on a potential resolution. Our sources indicate however, that a resolution may not be achieved at this meeting as a vote does not seem to be on the agenda. A regulatory resolution may not be made until late September when a greater than 70% confidence vote must be obtained for the issue to pass by members of the 3GPP.
I am under the impression that the proposed change to 3GPP GERAN standards submitted by Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens and Vodafone relating to the Introduction of Dual Control Channel Mode (DCCM/A) may in fact have been withdrawn by the proposing parties and another solution agreed to. The change was introduced because:
"Many networks have not deployed the packet control channels (PBCCH and PCCCH) and validated PCCCH test cases are not commercially available. The opportunities for mobile station manufacturers to verify their packet control channel implementation versus actual network implementations are therefore very restricted. DCCM introduced an option that allows mobile stations to be produced during an exemption period without having support for the packet control channels."
It appears that another solution may have been agreed on and adopted in TSG that requires handset vendors to incorporate a basic level of functionality in a GPRS handsets with respect to packet signaling, and advanced "optional" features (leading to full compliance with the GPRS standard) can be incorporated over time.
Evidently a byproduct of Motorola's pioneering efforts in GPRS have paid off in the sense that they are further along in advanced packet control channel implementation than Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, and others, and that gives them an additional competitive advantage (in addition to being further along in ramping) on the short haul than their competitors, several of whom have an edge on Nokia relative to the ramp.
If anyone has any updated information on this emanating out of Naantali, I'd appreciate inputs.
- Eric - |
