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To: quartersawyer who wrote (8900)	1/21/2001 8:42:26 PM
From: foundation	Respond to of 34857

How could they be so wrong as to refuse the gift... ---------- The CDG has joined the Global Roaming Forum. See bottom of page 4, 3GPP2 SC Nov. 2, 00 meeting - ftp://ftp.3gpp2.org/TSGC/Working/TSG-C_0012/TSG-C/Plenary/C00-20001204-020__SC_MtgSum-0011.PDF

To: quartersawyer who wrote (8900)	1/22/2001 2:48:44 PM
From: Eric L	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 34857

re: Roaming << It makes clear the absolute folly of the CDG, Qualcomm, and the 3GPP2. How could they be so wrong as to refuse the gift of exactly what they want? >> Well, it is a complicated issue. It is a 'control' thing. It is also a 'not invented here' syndrome. A long standing differentiator of GSM mobiles is the use of the SIM card for authentication to a GSM net. Handset manufacturers hate SIM cards because it is an item they do not manufacture or control. CDMA and Qualcomm handsets started life without a SIM. Authentication was/is handled in firmware. Using a SIM would have required retooling and new molds for handsets. No simple matter. Not so difficult today, actually, because many if not most CDMA handset manufacturers make GSM as well as CDMA handsets, so actually you can use the GSM mold for all handsets. Qualcomm long maintained that the ITU IMT-2000 UIM could be a logical (firmware - soldered in chip) rather than a removable physical device. It became their principle #2 of the Qualcomm "5 points". The GSM world didn't budge on this and a USIM or R-UIM is required for authentication to harmonized 3G3 networks, although it remains unclear when or if US networks will make the USIM/R-UIM mandatory. As for 3GPP admission - QUALCOMM's been trying, but they remained intransient so long on the "5 points" (to the exclusion of supporting the other 2 cdma modes of operation) that they did not engender a great deal of good will in 3GPP and were seen as a hindrance to moving UMTS along. Hopefully that will be resolved shortly. Article below on 'Plastic Roaming': >> 'Plastic Roaming' - The Intermediate Solution To 3G Roaming 18-Jan-2001 Devine Kofiloto Research Analyst EMC With the advent of 3G mobile services, roaming presents the telecom industry with a twofold challenge, split between national roaming and global roaming. On the assumption that there will be islands of coverage at initial 3G roll-out, national roaming brings up the interoperability problem between 2G and 3G terminals. Global roaming also brings up the interoperability issue of having to deal with three differing standards, WCDMA, cdma 2000 and TDMA-Edge. As regards national roaming 3G is not going to replace 2G overnight. As such, for a transition period there is likely to 3G islands operating within the 2G environment, mainly within densely populated urban areas. With the UMTS business case, complete national coverage required by almost all regulators is over a 2-4 year period. Japan Japan is due to be the first country to launch 3G services. NTT DoComo has scheduled its network roll-out in May 2001, with initial launch in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki. Tokai and Kansai will follow in December 2001 and with national coverage anticipated by April 2002. J-Phone also plans to follow suit with a similar roll-out pattern for its 3G services: beginning in December 2001 with launches in Tokyo, Tokai and Kansai and national coverage by October 2002. Voice connectivity for subscribers roaming nationally out of 3G cover areas will still be paramount, requiring the availability of GSM/3G dual-mode terminals. Early adopters will need to be able to benefit from the 3G value added features while still retaining continuous connectivity to 2G networks. Global Roaming The issue surrounding global roaming is similar to national roaming. A business traveller may encounter different network standards, depending on which region one travels to. Within the 2G environment this problem has been countered by the availability of tri-mode handsets capable of working across the different standards. However, due to the pricing pressure which will be put on the first generation of 3G handsets, vendors' focus will be on dual-mode terminals in the initial years of 3G service roll-out. The availability of multi-mode terminals (cdma2000/WCDMA/TDMA-Edge) is likely to be realistic only later in the development phase. The issue surrounding 3G roaming is the more relevant given the early roll-out of 3G services in Japan. Though the European timetable is for 2002, there is the growing belief that commercial launch of W-CDMA services will be delayed beyond the 2002-2003 time frame, depriving GSM operators of the opportunity to offer, among other things, global roaming and thus gain the associated financial rewards. To date, with the first 3G service roll-out eminent, it is increasingly apparent that, the first generation of 3G handsets to be introduced in Asia will not have the capability of working on both 2G and 3G networks. 'Plastic roaming' Despite this initial drawback it appears that smartcard technology can serve as an intermediate solution in bridging this gap, through 'plastic roaming'. Gemplus, the supplier of smartcard-based solutions and mobile telephony applications has released what it claims to be the first SIM card tool kit meant for 3G mobile services. Offering simultaneous support of 2G and 3G subscribers, the GemXplore 3G includes a universal SIM card and the software programme for testing, training and application development. According to Bruno Basquin head of 3G at Gemplus, the card has undergone months of trial, debugging and validation and has already been delivered to W-CDMA operators in Asia Pacific, who Gemplus decline to name. This reportedly universally compatible removable smartcard will provide subscribers with the capability to switch between a 3G or GSM handset. Subscribers would only need to transfer their SIM card from a 3G handset into a GSM handset, enabling 3G subscribers to operate over both 3G and GSM networks. << - Eric -