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Japan to study other air-interface proposals
By Lynnette Luna
Amidst growing pressure from the Clinton administration, Japan's Ministry
of Posts and Telecommunications is set to begin studying other
third-generation radio transmission technology proposals—namely
cdma2000 technology—besides the W-CDMA proposal it submitted to
the International Telecommunication Union.
The ministry's decision comes after the Office of the United States Trade
Representative submitted comments to Japan Sept. 30, urging Japan to
keep its standards process open. Japan sought comment July 29 on
guidelines for introducing third-generation technology. Sources indicate the
Clinton administration's concerns have prompted the MPT's move.
Studies are set to begin in late October.
Japan submitted only one standard—wideband Code Division Multiple
Access technology—to the ITU, the international body in charge of setting
a global 3G standard. While Japan's standards body—the Association of
Radio Industries and Businesses—has actively been looking at ways to
converge the W-CDMA proposal, based on the GSM platform, with the
Interim Standard-95-based cdma2000 proposal, sources indicate the
MPT only has been interested in W-CDMA technology, a technology
endorsed by the country's largest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo.
The trade office indicated in its comments that the United States supports a
set of principles that include ITU consideration of backward compatibility,
standards that support current systems operating in the Americas and
around the globe and harmonization and consolidation of proposals to the
fullest extent possible.
‘‘The United States strongly supports these principles and believes that
they are directly relevant to Japan's situation, particularly in regards to
promoting an evolution or migration path from existing second-generation
systems,'' said the trade office. ‘‘We have been encouraged by indications
that the main standards-making bodies in Japan are open to these
principles. We are concerned, however, that an MPT decision on which
standard or standards should be employed in Japan, based on a
recommendation of its advisory body, the Telecommunications Technology
Council, may not reflect these principles; and, that it may give rise to the
same potential problem we anticipate in Europe, where an exclusionary
standard may be mandated.''
The trade agency said not only is it concerned that the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute has chosen a single-air interface,
W-CDMA technology, that could become mandatory for Europe, it is also
concerned about ETSI's cooperative agreement with DoCoMo in
promoting W-CDMA technology. DoCoMo, with European vendors
L.M. Ericsson and Nokia Corp., is expected to become the first carrier in
2001 to deploy commercially third-generation technology and plans to
invest billions into the system. ETSI, says the Clinton administration,
refuses to consider other technologies, and it fears recent actions from the
European parliament and the Council of the European Union could make
W-CDMA technology the mandatory technology in Europe.
DoCoMo is said to have a large influence over Japan's standards process.
Japanese leaders set DoCoMo in charge of developing a 3G standard, one
that would give Japanese vendors a global market. Japan locked itself out
of today's world market by deploying Personal Digital Cellular technology,
a technology only used in Japan. Carriers DDI and IDO have pushed
ahead with cdmaOne technology.
The Clinton administration in its comments to Japan added that it ‘‘will
closely monitor the consistency of Japan's actions with its [World Trade
Organization] obligations.''
‘‘Japan is in the same boat as the U.S.,'' said one U.S. official. ‘‘They
have operators using second-generation CDMA ... It's not to their
advantage to adopt a standard that puts them at a disadvantage.''
Sources in Japan indicate the Japanese government does not want to
alienate the United States.
‘‘They understand it has become a trade issue between the U.S. and the
[European Union],'' said one Japanese source. ‘‘They got a signal there is
no reason for the U.S. to attack Japan for this because ARIB has been
handling things differently from ETSI. However, they also got a signal that
some Americans suspect there is a hidden agreement between Japan and
the EU. And if it were true, the U.S. government might also be concerned
about the Japanese position. The Japanese government would definitely
not like to see this become a trade issue.''
Because Japan wants to play a significant role in the global scene for 3G
technology, it also is afraid of destroying its relationship with Europe. Japan
has wanted only one 3G standard, but ARIB has been caught in the
crossfire of the battle between U.S. vendors that favor convergence and
European manufacturers that want W-CDMA technology. All are fighting
a political battle for access to the multibillion-dollar market in the next
century that promises Internet-friendly handsets with sophisticated
high-speed data and global-roaming features.
Despite ARIB's efforts to negotiate with ETSI—which has yet to show
interest in converging the W-CDMA and cdma2000 proposals—and the
United States' Telecommunications Industry Association and the T1P1
committee, the Japanese are afraid U.S. and European vendors will never
agree.
Two standards—cdma2000 and W-CDMA—now are likely to be
adopted in Japan, but the Japanese also know convergence may be the
only way to solve intellectual property rights issues. ARIB recently has
taken steps to look at specifications for the ANSI-41 standard and its
associated radio interfaces.
Qualcomm Inc. has indicated it holds key IPRs to W-CDMA technology
and has made it clear it will not grant them unless convergence of the two
proposals is achieved. Ericsson, however, said it has found no reason to
believe that ETSI's present W-CDMA standard, which is nearly identical
to the Japanese standard, infringes on any valid IPRs claimed by
Qualcomm.
South Korea
Elsewhere in Asia, published reports indicate South Korea's Electronics
and Telecommunications Research Institute is moving to establish ties with
Ericsson to develop W-CDMA technology. ETRI, the hub of Korea's
research and development efforts, so far has focused only on cdma2000,
since all of the country's operators use cdmaOne technology. The country,
however, submitted both cdma2000 and W-CDMA proposals to the ITU
in June. SK Telecom, Korea's largest mobile phone operator, is working
on a system that uses both technologies. It has established ties with
DoCoMo.
‘‘Korea needs to prepare for a dual-standard situation,'' said one ETSI
researcher in a Korean newspaper. ‘‘Otherwise, it will be locked out of
one half of the global market for 3G systems.''
China
Nokia late last week announced it is going ahead with plans to test a trial
3G system based on W-CDMA and Global System for Mobile
communications technologies in China. Nokia said it will install the trial
system by early 1999.
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December 21, 1998
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