Chaz,
The article below is a week old - my apologies if already posted here, but I haven't noticed it before. The bold emphasis regarding CDG & 3GPP is mine.
<< ETSI UNVEILS BOLD M-COMMERCE PLAN
By Joanne Taaffe - 06 March 2000
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute plans to spearhead a worldwide mobile commerce partnership program in an attempt to establish a cross-industry standards body.
ETSI, of Sophia Antipolis, France, intends the partnership program to include operators, payment authorities, banks and smartcard and networking equipment manufacturers, which will work together to address business models, security issues and technical standards.
The partnership could play a pivotal role in the development of mobile commerce if it succeeds in fostering a cross-industry exchange not only on technology but also evolving business models, according to ETSI.
"Many of the revenue models [in mobile commerce] have not been set yet," claimed Bridget Cosgrave, deputy director general of ETSI.
But even before the program's structure has been developed, one mobile organization, the CDMA Development Group (CDG), has expressed concerns over fears of its exclusion.
Other industry figures have stressed the need for the program to be global as well as embracing a full range of technologies.
"[The ETSI partnership program] must be truly global, whilst perhaps responding to some e-Europe initiatives," said Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association (MDA), of London.
And Bruno Degiobanni, senior manager responsible for "new challenges in Europe" at Visa International Ltd., of London, said: "It's a must for us; our brand means worldwide acceptance."
Business choices weigh heavily in the mobile commerce equation, as operators, banks and credit card companies evaluate how new payment and purchasing schemes will affect their relationships with each other, with retailers and with their customers. Operators, for example, are capable of developing their billing systems or SIM cards into payment systems, or even themselves becoming banks.
At the same time there is recognition of a need to draw both on the expertise and retail relationships of financial institutions.
ETSI's aims will be discussed in an initial workshop in Nice, France, in early April, prior to the launch of the program. The organization will stress that it wants the program to go beyond a technical remit and at the same time tackle issues such as how mobile and fixed e-commerce applications will work together.
More than mobile
"It's not a technology thing, and it's not only mobile," said Cosgrave.
But the program could be hampered if it fails to develop beyond Europe and GSM technology (global standard for mobile communications).
"Whilst it could focus on GSM or IMT 2000, it should be more than open to a technology-neutral radio access approach and maintain compatibility - unless costs are excessive - with the fixed e-commerce world," commented MDA's Short.
ETSI has said it intends the partnership program to be open. But the CDG, which represents CDMA operators and equipment manufacturers in the United States, Asia and Latin America, is not convinced.
"We would want to be involved ... Anything unifying interfaces with various organizations, such as banks, we'd be happy to be involved in," said Perry Laforge, executive director of the CDG. "ETSI talks about being open, but it hasn't been. We attempted to become a member of the [third generation partnership] program, but [we couldn't]. They still regard us a threat," he added.
Recent communications suggest that ETSI is open to the CDG's application for 3GPP membership, but the European organization has placed a proviso: The partners in 3GPP want the CDG Web site to show support for all third-generation CDMA modes, including Wideband CDMA.
Another test for ETSI will be to persuade banks - with whom it has few current working links - and retailers that they should subscribe to the organization.
The ongoing introduction of wireless application protocol (WAP) services, followed by general packet radio services (GPRS) networks later this year, has created a momentum for group standards work, say operators. They stress that cross-industry co-operation is needed.
"For mobile commerce to take off, partnerships are vital," said MDA's Short. "There are at least six involved parties to make it a success: banks and credit card companies, retailers, operators, technology vendors, security specialists and perhaps some regulators from telecoms policy, banking and competition areas.".
A lack of contribution from banks and retailers will place limits on the partnership program's success, he added.
So far ETSI has not directly sought out retailers, and has yet to bring on board many individual banks either, admitted Cosgrave.
However, initial reactions from banks which are already piloting mobile commerce schemes have been favorable. "There isn't any good forum where content providers and service providers like banks can discuss mobile commerce," said Erkki Ervasti, business development manager at Helsinki-based OKOBank Group Central Cooperative, which represents Finnish banks.
OKOBank is involved in the WAP Forum, but, Ervasti points out, "mostly the WAP Forum is an organization for device manufacturers and operators."
The banking group is also concerned about the threat to its relationship with its customers, posed by operators developing payment and collection schemes based on SIM cards and billing systems. While an operator could feasibly move into the banking industry, banks could not become mobile service providers, said Ervasti.
Visa is one of the financial organizations planning to attend ETSI's first workshop. It has worked with ETSI on developing an open platform specification for multi-application banking chips, which it says will lead, in a few years, to a multi-application SIM card that incorporates a Visa application.
However, Visa only manages the development of the credit cards that the banks issue to their customers. When it comes to striking business agreements with operators it is down to the individual banks, and this means ETSI will need to work with them also.
Of course, ETSI is far from being the first organization to address mobile commerce issues.
The WAP Forum could complement the partnership program's work by playing an important role in guaranteeing that applications work across a range of devices and technology standards. "That's where the WAP Forum is very well suited, because it's an application layer," said Visa's Degiobanni.
The WAP Forum has its own mobile commerce group, but is likely set up a "formal liaison with ETSI," according to its chief executive, Scott Goldman. It feels there is a role for a group such as ETSI "once the transaction leaves the phone and enters the network," said Goldman.
Other heavyweight groups include the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, established by BT Cellnet and Logica Ltd in 1997.
ETSI is not perceived as a threat by Jonas Wilhelmsson, secretary of the GMCF and business development manager at Telia Mobile. "If there is a melting pot where all industries can come together, that is a good thing," said Wilhelmsson. "If ETSI can become that melting pot and liaise, then that's great."
MDA's Short agrees that ETSI is well placed to spearhead such a program because it already represents operators, technology vendors and security companies. "The GMCF has also brought together application trialists but never envisaged going beyond requirements into detailed standards activities," said Short.
Wish list
The wish-lists of operators alone will mean that the partnership program will have plenty to do. Finland's Sonera, for example, wants to see wireless LANs and Bluetooth networks able to link to what it calls a billing transaction backbone, and would like to see handset manufacturers develop a standard interface to connect service applications and third parties to handheld devices.
And for operators such as Telenor, it is essential that e-commerce applications work across a range of devices, something that ETSI hopes the partnership program will achieve.
"It's e-commerce in a mobile sense, but not just over mobile phones," said Cosgrave.
Information : info@total.emap.com URL : totaltele.com <<
- Eric - |
