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From the December 14, 1998 issue of Wireless Week
3G Players Question ITU's Dispensability
By Caron Carlson
WASHINGTON--The day after the International Telecommunication Union delivered an ultimatum to the clashing intellectual
property right claimants in the third-generation standards debate, both camps issued veiled hints that they may not need the ITU
after all.
In a press release Dec. 8, Ericsson Inc. offered a standards harmonization proposal and simultaneously heaped praises on the
3G Partnership Project, a group composed of standards bodies from Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States that support
wideband code division multiple access technology. While some in the industry view this and other regional projects as
duplicating the ITU's decade-long efforts, others question whether the partnerships may become the ultimate arena for
completing work on next-generation wireless standards.
Proponents of cdma2000 rejected Ericsson's harmonization proposal and simultaneously downplayed the ITU's importance in
the deployment of their 3G systems. "The fact that the ITU said it will go forward with standardizing [time division multiple
access] is probably not really much of an issue for us," said Perry LaForge, executive director for the CDMA Development
Group. "Most of the world only cares about CDMA for 3G ... We'll proceed forward on CDMA" in the Telecommunications
Industry Association, the U.S. standards body backing cdma2000. "The IPR would be granted under the terms of the TIA."
LaForge said Ericsson's harmonization proposal, which centers on reducing the so-called chip rate for W-CDMA from 4.096
to 3.84 megabits per second, represents continued unwillingness to offer a feasible compromise for cdma2000 proponents.
"Their compromise proposal is just another iteration of what they've done all along," LaForge said. "They're trying to do things
to be purposefully different. To do something like this and then call it a compromise is basically an insult." CDG will accept no
chip rate other than cdma2000's 3.68 Mbps rate, he said.
Ericsson's reduced chip rate proposal was intended as an olive branch, and any further reduction would result in unacceptable
performance loss, according to John Giere, vice president for public affairs. "The 3.84 has always lingered in discussions. Now
it's time we try to make it happen," Giere said. "What [the other camp is] saying is: Do it our way or no way ... In any case, the
regional standardization process is still going forward." Giere said operators around the world, including some cdmaOne
carriers, have expressed interest in the 3.84 chip rate.
For TDMA proponents, the ITU ultimatum to Ericsson and Qualcomm Inc. raised concern that the 3G process will drag on
past its schedule if the IPR deadline is extended. "The IPR argument has already gone on six months too long," said Paul
Meche, chairman of the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium. "As a result, media attention, government interaction
and all the rest have become an embarrassment to the industry and also a waste of a lot of resources. Those who complied
[with ITU rules] in good faith and on schedule are now being held up."
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