All... Ericsson talking tough again...
ITU says 3G harmonization rests with
carriers
By Lynnette Luna
NEW ORLEANS—International Telecommunication Union members did
not reach any consensus in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, on harmonizing the
various radio transmission technology proposals received by the ITU for
third-generation technology.
The ITU has decided harmonization efforts will rest with carriers and has
asked them to put pressure on vendors to harmonize the standards.
Carriers are set to meet in the next few weeks in London to discuss
convergence in a meeting similar to one held in Beijing early last month
involving 14 operators from Asia, Europe and the United States.
Carriers remain split over the chip-rate issue concerning two main Code
Division Multiple Access RTT proposals—W-CDMA and cdma2000.
W-CDMA technology, based on Global System for Mobile
communications technology, uses a higher chip rate than cdma2000
technology, which is based on today's cdmaOne systems. W-CDMA
backers are unwilling to move the chip rate below 3.84 Megachips per
second, citing capacity reasons, while cdmaOne operators say the chip
rate cannot move above 3.68 Mcps and stay backward compatible with
today's cdmaOne systems. Many European operators at the Beijing
meeting proposed to compromise by offering a multiple chip rate that
allows the use of both rates through multimode handsets. Many cdmaOne
operators remain strongly opposed to this solution, saying it adds
unnecessary costs to handsets.
Throwing another wrench into the debate, Ericsson Inc. Vice President of
Public Affairs John Giere said Ericsson, which backs W-CDMA
technology, has abandoned its compromise it offered in December to
move the chip rate from 4.096 Mcps to 3.84 Mcps to allow for
dual-mode handsets. The majority of its customers want the 4.096 Mcps
chip rate, he said. It's unclear what European operators' stances will be at
the next carrier meeting.
Giere said Ericsson will move ahead building W-CDMA networks despite
the threat of legal action from Qualcomm.
‘‘Ninety-nine percent of the marketplace is moving on,'' he said. ‘‘We're
going forward with contracts. My prediction is that by the end of the year,
IPR will be a non-factor.'' Intellectual property rights involving GSM
technology were not resolved when the first systems were deployed, he
said.
Qualcomm Inc. and Ericsson are locking horns over 3G IPR. The two
claim to hold patents to both CDMA standards and will not grant them
unless certain conditions are met. Qualcomm wants one CDMA-based
standard while Ericsson wants multiple standards and reciprocal licensing.
The ITU held an IPR meeting earlier this month in Kuala Lampur to obtain
industry advice on the best way to proceed with 3G standardization in
light of the IPR standstill. A report was sent to the director of the
Radiocommunications Bureau offering advice on how to proceed. Though
ITU rules require the process to stop if IPR issues are not resolved, the
majority of members want to proceed with technical work, says the ITU.
The chip-rate issue remains a politically charged debate as cdmaOne
operators will easily migrate their systems to cdma2000 technology with
the 3.68 Mcps chip rate, while migration from GSM technology will take
more equipment regardless of which chip rate is chosen. For vendors,
billions of dollars in infrastructure are at stake.
Sam Ginn, chairman and chief executive officer of AirTouch
Communications Inc., said in an interview with RCR that AirTouch and
U.K.-based Vodafone plc, which announced last month plans to purchase
AirTouch, are backing one chip rate. But it remains to be seen which chip
rate—3.84 Mcps or 3.68 Mcps—the new company will primarily
support, he said. Backward compatibility with AirTouch's cdmaOne
network could be achieved by making one chip with both the 3.84 Mcps
and 3.68 Mcps rates on it. One chip can be made if the two rates are
within a 10 percent difference, said Ginn.
Vodafone's and AirTouch's merger will make them the largest wireless
operator in the world, and the two will have the ability to leverage their
massive holdings to buy equipment at significant savings. Analysts believe
the two are key to whether the two CDMA standards are converged,
since they hold a strong leverage over equipment vendors. However, the
European Telecommunications Standards Institute continues to push
ahead with W-CDMA technology and European operators seem to be
staying on course with ETSI.
Moreover, U.S. Time Division Multiple Access operators say they favor a
family of standards concept and don't want their TDMA 3G proposal to
be converged into one standard.
The ITU in June received 16 different RTT proposals, the majority based
on CDMA technology, from standards bodies and other groups from
around the world. Its goal is to develop a single worldwide 3G standard
that facilitates global roaming and allows high-data rates for Internet
access and video services. It wants to decide on key characteristics for
the radio interface by March 31. |
