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Europe, U.S. Won't Budge On 3G
By Caron Carlson
WASHINGTON--The European Commission last week rejected the United States' admonition in December that Europe may
be enacting a trade barrier against U.S.-pioneered third-generation wireless technology.
In a Jan. 18 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of
Commerce William Daley and FCC Chairman William Kennard, EC Commissioner Martin Bangemann said the European
Union maintains a policy of multiple competitive offerings in the marketplace, consistent with its global trade obligations.
Bangemann's letter comes in response to a Dec. 19 inquiry from the four U.S. officials warning against any European policy that
bars U.S. technologynamely, Qualcomm Inc.'sfrom Europe's markets.
The recent pair of firmly worded letters crossing the Atlantic could potentially contain the seeds of a trade war. The trade issue,
ostensibly a matter of adherence to World Trade Organization obligations, cannot be separated from disputes between
Qualcomm and Stockholm-based Ericsson Inc. regarding the International Telecommunication Union's effort to approve 3G
standards. High-level politics seeped into the technical standards-setting arenatraditionally the purview of industry, not
governmentbecause both regions seek an ITU-approved 3G standard that is compatible with existing wireless networks.
While offering de facto support for their own region's manufacturers, the European Union and the United States are both able
to issue rhetoric adhering to free-trade principles.
"The commission does not and will not interfere in this industry-led standardization process, which is conducted independently
by [the European Telecommunications Standards Institute] and its members," Bangemann told the United States last week. The
hands-off rhetoric ignited frustration among U.S. industry members unable to compete in Europe's 2G markets because of the
region's harmonization efforts.
The United States raised particular concern about an EU decision adopted Dec. 14, which requires member states to comply
with ETSI-approved 3G technology. Bangemann clarified last week that the decision requires members to grant at least one 3G
license to an ETSI-approved standard system, leaving them open to license others as well. He also made a distinction between
the technology concept and technology standard adopted by ETSI, in response to a U.S. charge that Europe made a decision
on 3G standards before the ITU completed its work. "I should point out that, at this stage, it is not, as your [Dec. 19] letter
seems to imply, the standards but the basic concept for the [wideband-CDMA] radio interface which has been agreed with
ETSI," he said.
Bangemann reproached the United States for its interpretation of the recent EU decision. "The [decision] does not define the
technological content of a standard nor does it establish [W-CDMA] as an exclusive standard," he said. "It is, therefore, not
correct to speak of 'the EC and its member states ... adopting a single, mandatory standard for wireless equipment and
services' as I have on a number of occasions explained to my U.S. counterparts."
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