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November 9, 1998
Lawmaker views coalescing on U.S. 3G
policy
By Jeffrey Silva
WASHINGTON—Key lawmakers, amid stepped-up negotiations last
week on third-generation mobile phone technology, are laying the
groundwork to move legislation in 1999 if they conclude in crucial coming
months that U.S. wireless interests in Europe and elsewhere have been
compromised unfairly.
3G was a major topic last week at meetings here, in Charlotte, N.C., and
in London.
Representatives from the European Union will meet with U.S. officials as
early as this week to continue negotiations on 3G global policy. In
addition, the Federal Communications Commission this week is scheduled
to issue a proposal that may address 3G spectrum-allocation questions.
While members of Congress have raised concerns in recent months about
Europe's plan for a single 3G mobile phone standard based on technology
backed by Sweden's L.M. Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Corp. and
about the absence of any U.S.-engineered Code Division Multiple Access
technology in Europe, the tone of the rhetoric is becoming more strident
and the substance is moving closer to an endorsement for CDMA
convergence.
‘‘We anticipate that this issue will be an important one for the 106th
Congress,'' said Philip Crane (R-Ill.), chairman of the House Ways and
Means subcommittee on trade, in an Oct. 11 floor statement.
Crane, next in line to chair the full committee, was joined in the statement
by Robert Matsui (D-Calif.), ranking member of the trade subcommittee.
‘‘If countries prematurely adopt standards and make them mandatory
before the ITU has fully evaluated different proposals and had a chance to
encourage harmonization, then a valuable opportunity to ensure fairness
and consideration of global need will have been lost,'' stated Crane.
Rep. Connie Morella (R-Md.), chairwoman of the House Science
subcommittee on technology, vowed in an Oct. 21 floor statement ‘‘to
vigorously pursue, through hearings and if necessary legislation, the arcane
but vital issue of preserving U.S. competitiveness in the international
market'' next year.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), in an Oct. 16 letter to U.S. Trade
Representative Charlene Barshefsky, said, ‘‘The EU's move toward a
deharmonized CDMA standard is contrary to the interests of U.S.
manufacturers.''
Sources said a strong bipartisan letter echoing those sentiments could
come this week from Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.),
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Sens. Don Nickels
(R-Okla.), John Breaux (D-La.) and Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.). All those
people, with the exception of Daschle, are on the Senate Finance
international trade subcommittee.
Other powerful senators appear poised to jump on the bandwagon
shortly.
The wideband-CDMA standard, a successor to Global System for
Mobile communications technology used exclusively in Europe and widely
around the world, is supported by Europe and, to a lesser extent, Japan.
The Clinton administration, concerned W-CDMA deployment in Europe
and Japan could be leveraged into a de facto global standard to the
detriment of the United States, has voiced strong reservations about the
direction of 3G development in terms of Europe's standards-setting
process and its trade policy.
The White House has stopped short of publicly embracing CDMA
convergence. But behind the scenes, sources say the administration is
slowly warming to CDMA convergence. Still the administration cannot
publicly embrace that position because U.S. officials are on record
supporting multiple standards.
In a speech Friday before international business executives at the
TransAtlantic Business Dialogue in Charlotte, N.C., Vice President Gore
vaguely alluded to a European system under fire by Qualcomm Inc.,
Lucent Technologies Inc. and U.S. lawmakers.
‘‘We hope the EU sees the advent of the EMU [European Monetary
Union] as an opportunity to press ahead with long-needed structural
reforms—and more broadly—to ensure that their policies support strong
growth in domestic demand,'' said Gore.
‘‘Now more than ever,'' he stated, ‘‘America will be well-served by a
Europe that is a larger trading partner for the United States and a stronger
partner in helping to confront global challenges.''
Qualcomm, a leading CDMA technology developer and manufacturer in
San Diego, is leading the charge for convergence. Lucent is closely aligned
with Qualcomm on the issue. Motorola Inc., the top U.S. paging and
mobile phone manufacturer and a stalwart supplier overseas, has taken a
neutral posture as has Nortel Networks, a leading Canadian wireless
equipment manufacturer.
The International Telecommunication Union is scheduled to make a
decision next March on 15 3G standards submitted from around the
world. The ITU is expected to approve a family of 3G standards. The
European Parliament, for its part, is due to approve a directive by late this
year or in early 1999 for the 15-member countries to deploy W-CDMA
for 3G.
Some critics say Qualcomm is playing the part of spoiler because it wants
to get its CDMA patents incorporated into a converged CDMA 3G
standard that would be less sophisticated than W-CDMA.
Technical working groups, consisting of government and industry
participants, last week began the consensus-building process on 3G
during a three-day meeting in London that will extend another two weeks
in the English Channel island of Jersey.
Representing the United States from the Federal Communications
Commission on ITU working groups are Henry Straube, head of the U.S.
delegation and senior engineering adviser to the International Bureau;
Richard Engelman, chief of the planning and negotiations division of the
International Bureau; and Peter Pappas, assistant chief of the International
Bureau.
Intense lobbying on 3G continues at the White House, on Capitol Hill and
at the FCC, the Commerce Department and the State Department.
Last Thursday, before leaving for the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue,
Qualcomm Chairman Irwin Jacobs made the rounds with top government
officials here. Jacobs, armed with strong messages from Crane, Matsui,
Morella and Bingaman, had a captive audience of Vice President Gore,
USTR Barshefsky, Commerce Secretary William Daley, FCC Chairman
Bill Kennard, FCC Commissioner Susan Ness, FCC International Bureau
Chief Gina Keeney, European Commission Vice Chairman Sir Leon
Brittan, World Trade Organization Director Renato Ruggiero, outgoing
White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and Justice Department
antitrust czar Joel Klein.
In addition to Jacobs, high-level executives from Ericsson, Lucent, Nokia
and Omnipoint Communications Inc. attended the TransAtlantic Business
Dialogue.
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