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To: Sawtooth who wrote (21829)	1/22/1999 5:22:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Tim.A, Check This Out> Buyout May Affect 3G Outcome By Caron Carlson WASHINGTON--A combination of global wireless carriers Vodafone Group plc and Air Touch Communications Inc.operators that fall almost squarely in rival technology campsis sure to affect third-generation wireless, if not in the short term then certainly in the long term. Carriers have emerged from the sidelines in the 3G debate and increasingly are making their voices heard. At a meeting in Beijing hosted by China Telecom earlier this month, operators of rival technologies considered a proposal for a universal umbrella standard which could fall under the nomenclature of "one global standard"that includes more than one of the hotly contested air-interface technologies. The Beijing proposal resembles the "family of standards" notion sanctioned last summer by the International Telecommunication Union. Vodafone operates global system for mobile communications networks in Europe and has conducted code division multiple access technology trials in other regions. AirTouch operates CDMA networks in South Korea and the United States and GSM networks elsewhere around the world. A member of the CDMA Development Group, AirTouch has been vocal in promoting harmonization of the CDMA-based and GSM-based 3G technologies under consideration at the ITU. However, sources privy to the Beijing meeting said AirTouch and other CDMA operators may join a group of carriers settling for more than one air-interface technology within a family of standards. A contingent of car-riers seeking global roaming capability, including time division multiple access technology operators, are leaning toward achieving global coverage through separate, but interoperable, standards, sources said. Several major manufacturers have touted the capability of global roaming via multi-mode handsets. Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. released a paper last year asserting that the added expense of including standards for CDMA-based and GSM-based technologies in a single handset would be insignificant. For AirTouch to support this concept, the chip rates of the competing technologies must be closer than they are today, a source at the company said, adding that the carrier would remain an advocate of convergence, but perhaps not of full convergence into a single standard. Vodafone worked with Qualcomm Inc. several years ago to develop a hybrid GSM-CDMA system. CDG does not see the planned merger as weakening its position on harmonization. "Vodafone has been very CDMA friendly over the years," said Perry LaForge, CDG chairman. The group also is lobbying hard against Europe's resistance to promote harmonization. LaForge said AirTouch likely will be sensitive toward Vodafone's need to comply with Europe's position to procure 3G licenses, but the merger will not diminish the CDMA camp's cause. "There will be winners and losers in the 3G licensing process, and the carriers that don't get spectrum will still have to find a way to upgrade their 2G systems," he said. "Operators will have to come in and overlay [cdma2000] on existing GSM systems. We think it will be a good growth path." The Universal Wireless Communications Consortium, TDMA advocates, have long supported the family of standards concept. UWCC Chairman Gregory Williams said the planned Vodafone AirTouch merger would likely have a positive impact on the 3G debate. "These mergers cause carriers to develop a pragmatic approach," he said. "We're all looking for backward compatibility for all of our customers."

To: Sawtooth who wrote (21829)	1/22/1999 5:27:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

More 3G> Europe, U.S. Won't Budge On 3G By Caron Carlson WASHINGTON--The European Commission last week rejected the United States' admonition in December that Europe may be enacting a trade barrier against U.S.-pioneered third-generation wireless technology. In a Jan. 18 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Commerce William Daley and FCC Chairman William Kennard, EC Commissioner Martin Bangemann said the European Union maintains a policy of multiple competitive offerings in the marketplace, consistent with its global trade obligations. Bangemann's letter comes in response to a Dec. 19 inquiry from the four U.S. officials warning against any European policy that bars U.S. technologynamely, Qualcomm Inc.'sfrom Europe's markets. The recent pair of firmly worded letters crossing the Atlantic could potentially contain the seeds of a trade war. The trade issue, ostensibly a matter of adherence to World Trade Organization obligations, cannot be separated from disputes between Qualcomm and Stockholm-based Ericsson Inc. regarding the International Telecommunication Union's effort to approve 3G standards. High-level politics seeped into the technical standards-setting arenatraditionally the purview of industry, not governmentbecause both regions seek an ITU-approved 3G standard that is compatible with existing wireless networks. While offering de facto support for their own region's manufacturers, the European Union and the United States are both able to issue rhetoric adhering to free-trade principles. "The commission does not and will not interfere in this industry-led standardization process, which is conducted independently by [the European Telecommunications Standards Institute] and its members," Bangemann told the United States last week. The hands-off rhetoric ignited frustration among U.S. industry members unable to compete in Europe's 2G markets because of the region's harmonization efforts. The United States raised particular concern about an EU decision adopted Dec. 14, which requires member states to comply with ETSI-approved 3G technology. Bangemann clarified last week that the decision requires members to grant at least one 3G license to an ETSI-approved standard system, leaving them open to license others as well. He also made a distinction between the technology concept and technology standard adopted by ETSI, in response to a U.S. charge that Europe made a decision on 3G standards before the ITU completed its work. "I should point out that, at this stage, it is not, as your [Dec. 19] letter seems to imply, the standards but the basic concept for the [wideband-CDMA] radio interface which has been agreed with ETSI," he said. Bangemann reproached the United States for its interpretation of the recent EU decision. "The [decision] does not define the technological content of a standard nor does it establish [W-CDMA] as an exclusive standard," he said. "It is, therefore, not correct to speak of 'the EC and its member states ... adopting a single, mandatory standard for wireless equipment and services' as I have on a number of occasions explained to my U.S. counterparts."

To: Sawtooth who wrote (21829)	1/22/1999 5:31:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

I Like The SOUND Of This> Opinion: Four Priorities Top List For Vodafone, AirTouch By Judith Lockwood With the enormity of the Vodafone Group plc-AirTouch Communications Inc. combination sinking in, the focus now turns to corporate strategic priorities and what happens with unsuccessful suitor Bell Atlantic Corp. A joyful Arun Sarin, AirTouch COO, waxed enthusiastic last week about the megacarrier's "to do" list, though the acquisition isn't expected to close until summer. Sarin emphasized the merged companies' goals to move billions of minutes from wireline to wireless and to go beyond the 1 billion POPs the two presently cover to serving more of the 5 billion remaining people on the planet with an expanded array of voice and data offerings. (I could almost hear the ghost of Carl Sagan: "biiiillions and biiiillions.") Actually, the plan as described by Sarin is quite down-to-earth. First, the two companies currently serve nearly all of Europe so they must drive up network usage there. Second, in the United States, AirTouch must form some kind of joint venture with Bell Atlantic to get the economies of scale, scope and brand it needs to compete with national carriers including AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Sprint PCS, Nextel Communications Inc. anddon't blink or you might miss an acquisition SBC Communications Inc., continuing to build its footprint with its Comcast Cellular Communications Inc. buyout last week. Third, the behemoth must acquire majority control and new wireless networks in areas where it does not have dominant market position. Fourth, the combination needs to develop new products and services that continue to attract subscribers and (go back to goal No. 1) increase wireless traffic. This last item that has a lot of people intrigued right now because with its muscle the new giant can write a de facto technology standard for third-generation systems enabling a wide variety of data, Internet access and video services. "We'd like to pull all the 3G factions together [under a standard that is] backward compatible with [global system for mobile communications] and cdmaOne," Sarin said. "When everybody designs to one standard, a thousand flowers bloom." Vodafone AirTouch also could push regulators to bring U.S. calling practices more in line with higher-penetrated countries. "It's tragic we don't have calling party pays in this country," Sarin said. "If we all put our shoulders to the wheel, we can get it." That's not to mention that the company can use its leverage as a volume purchaser to further drive down handset and infrastructure prices, benefiting customers and the industry at large. Meanwhile, Bell Atlantic is suing AirTouch over its insistence on enforcing a non-compete agreement making Bell Atlantic give up markets gained from its pending GTE Corp. merger. But the lawsuit is largely a negotiating ploy. The two carriers' roaming agreements have financially favored Bell Atlantic. If AirTouch waives the non-compete in exchange for better roaming terms and, as a result, the opportunity to cut consumer prices and better compete with national carriers, Bell Atlantic could keep its California markets in the GTE merger. That's the easy solution, said Lehman Brothers analyst John Bensche. The options get more complex from there. Back At The Ranch While the focus last week was primarily on the London and New York road show run by Vodafone and AirTouch, tiny Regent, N.D. (population 238), also was in the spotlight. With much fanfare, Western Wireless Corp. launched fixed wireless service there Jan. 7 using numbers purchased from the local exchange carrier, Consolidated Telephone Cooperative. Western set up the demonstration project to show the potential of fixed wireless to bring competition to the local loop, meet customer needs in the carrier's important rural markets and prove wireless carriers' eligibility for universal service subsidies. Toward that end, Western involved competition promoter FCC Chairman Kennard in the launch hoopla. All that big-picture thinking was lost on the LEC, however. In a competitive fit, it shut off the numbers, leaving Western's subscribers unable to receive callbacks from 911 dispatchers or anyone else. Consolidated's knee-jerk reaction gave the wireless industry a perfect opportunity to clarify how commercial radio service providers offering fixed services should be regulated and made Western look absolutely brilliant. Clearly, CTC can't legally refuse to interconnect. Appropriately resolved in favor of wireless, Western's lawsuits and its complaint before the North Dakota Public Service Commission will pave the way for development of wireless local loop. (More on that next week.) In the meantime, AirTouch's Sarin said the company "has never had any doubts it could provide that service" too. With the murky regulatory area clarified, Vodafone AirTouch could "throw WLL into the mix" of expanded services it plans, though the merged company would have to "figure out what sequence to do it in."