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To: bananawind who wrote (22965)	2/16/1999 12:59:00 PM
From: bananawind	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

All... Ericsson talking tough again... ITU says 3G harmonization rests with carriers By Lynnette Luna NEW ORLEANS—International Telecommunication Union members did not reach any consensus in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, on harmonizing the various radio transmission technology proposals received by the ITU for third-generation technology. The ITU has decided harmonization efforts will rest with carriers and has asked them to put pressure on vendors to harmonize the standards. Carriers are set to meet in the next few weeks in London to discuss convergence in a meeting similar to one held in Beijing early last month involving 14 operators from Asia, Europe and the United States. Carriers remain split over the chip-rate issue concerning two main Code Division Multiple Access RTT proposals—W-CDMA and cdma2000. W-CDMA technology, based on Global System for Mobile communications technology, uses a higher chip rate than cdma2000 technology, which is based on today's cdmaOne systems. W-CDMA backers are unwilling to move the chip rate below 3.84 Megachips per second, citing capacity reasons, while cdmaOne operators say the chip rate cannot move above 3.68 Mcps and stay backward compatible with today's cdmaOne systems. Many European operators at the Beijing meeting proposed to compromise by offering a multiple chip rate that allows the use of both rates through multimode handsets. Many cdmaOne operators remain strongly opposed to this solution, saying it adds unnecessary costs to handsets. Throwing another wrench into the debate, Ericsson Inc. Vice President of Public Affairs John Giere said Ericsson, which backs W-CDMA technology, has abandoned its compromise it offered in December to move the chip rate from 4.096 Mcps to 3.84 Mcps to allow for dual-mode handsets. The majority of its customers want the 4.096 Mcps chip rate, he said. It's unclear what European operators' stances will be at the next carrier meeting. Giere said Ericsson will move ahead building W-CDMA networks despite the threat of legal action from Qualcomm. ‘‘Ninety-nine percent of the marketplace is moving on,'' he said. ‘‘We're going forward with contracts. My prediction is that by the end of the year, IPR will be a non-factor.'' Intellectual property rights involving GSM technology were not resolved when the first systems were deployed, he said. Qualcomm Inc. and Ericsson are locking horns over 3G IPR. The two claim to hold patents to both CDMA standards and will not grant them unless certain conditions are met. Qualcomm wants one CDMA-based standard while Ericsson wants multiple standards and reciprocal licensing. The ITU held an IPR meeting earlier this month in Kuala Lampur to obtain industry advice on the best way to proceed with 3G standardization in light of the IPR standstill. A report was sent to the director of the Radiocommunications Bureau offering advice on how to proceed. Though ITU rules require the process to stop if IPR issues are not resolved, the majority of members want to proceed with technical work, says the ITU. The chip-rate issue remains a politically charged debate as cdmaOne operators will easily migrate their systems to cdma2000 technology with the 3.68 Mcps chip rate, while migration from GSM technology will take more equipment regardless of which chip rate is chosen. For vendors, billions of dollars in infrastructure are at stake. Sam Ginn, chairman and chief executive officer of AirTouch Communications Inc., said in an interview with RCR that AirTouch and U.K.-based Vodafone plc, which announced last month plans to purchase AirTouch, are backing one chip rate. But it remains to be seen which chip rate—3.84 Mcps or 3.68 Mcps—the new company will primarily support, he said. Backward compatibility with AirTouch's cdmaOne network could be achieved by making one chip with both the 3.84 Mcps and 3.68 Mcps rates on it. One chip can be made if the two rates are within a 10 percent difference, said Ginn. Vodafone's and AirTouch's merger will make them the largest wireless operator in the world, and the two will have the ability to leverage their massive holdings to buy equipment at significant savings. Analysts believe the two are key to whether the two CDMA standards are converged, since they hold a strong leverage over equipment vendors. However, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute continues to push ahead with W-CDMA technology and European operators seem to be staying on course with ETSI. Moreover, U.S. Time Division Multiple Access operators say they favor a family of standards concept and don't want their TDMA 3G proposal to be converged into one standard. The ITU in June received 16 different RTT proposals, the majority based on CDMA technology, from standards bodies and other groups from around the world. Its goal is to develop a single worldwide 3G standard that facilitates global roaming and allows high-data rates for Internet access and video services. It wants to decide on key characteristics for the radio interface by March 31.

To: bananawind who wrote (22965)	2/16/1999 1:06:00 PM
From: bananawind	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

More wireless users consider ‘cutting the cord' By Kristen Beckman NEW ORLEANS—Calling wireless the poster child for competitive telecommunications, Tom Wheeler, head of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, said today's wireless industry will serve as a model for competitive telecommunications in the future. ‘‘Three years ago today, President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that said, ‘We want you to become competitive.' Wireless is the first segment to become competitive,'' said Wheeler Feb. 8 at Wireless '99. ‘‘If you want to see what competitive telecommunications will look like tomorrow, look at the wireless industry today.'' Wireless customers overwhelmingly agreed the wireless industry is at its most competitive level ever, according to a nationwide survey of 803 wireless users conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates last month. Three out of four wireless users said there is significant competition in the wireless marketplace, and only 20 percent of respondents indicated they perceived some or very little competition. CTIA noted 48 percent of the U.S. population can choose from five carriers, and another 10 percent can choose from 6 carriers. About 60 percent of wireless subscribers said they considered multiple service providers before selecting a carrier, and about one-third considered at least three different service providers. Only about one-fourth of subscribers surveyed this year said they considered only one carrier, compared with 37 percent last year. Young consumers, heavy users, business users and those planning to spend more than $50 per month on wireless service were the most likely to consider more than one carrier, said the report. Wireless carriers also are expected to increasingly compete with wireline carriers for minutes of use. In all, 38 percent of consumers in the Peter D. Hart survey indicated they had either some or a lot of interest in replacing their home telephone with a wireless phone. Most likely to consider ‘‘cutting the cord'' are men, members of upper-income households and heavy users, and three out of every four of those respondents said they might be interested in switching to wireless within the next three years. More than half of the respondents said they would be very or fairly comfortable relying on their wireless phone for a week if their home phone was out of service, signalling a growing acceptance of wireless as a primary source for communications. Cost was the biggest concern respondents expressed about replacing their wireline phone with wireless. Respondents also said features such as a long-life battery, answering machine or voice messaging system and automatic shut-off would make their wireless phone seem more like their home phone. While the wireless industry has demonstrated competition, the government now must take steps to make sure that competition thrives, said Wheeler. CTIA devised four cornerstones of competitive telecommunications regulation, including the realization that the competitive market is different and should be regulated differently than it has in the past; the notion that ‘‘regulatory parity'' is inherently anti-competitive; the idea that the government has a responsibility to promote competition and not just proclaim it; and the responsibility to assume carriers are acting in good faith until proven otherwise. In addition, CTIA reported nearly 100,000 emergency 911 calls were made from wireless phones each day last year for a total of nearly 36 million wireless 911 calls throughout the year.

To: bananawind who wrote (22965)	2/16/1999 1:11:00 PM
From: bananawind	Respond to of 152472

Robb ready to use trade authority for 3G By Jeffrey Silva WASHINGTON—In an embarrassing political blunder that lends insight into the tricky third-generation wireless debate, Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va.) last week joined two fellow Finance Committee members in urging the Clinton administration to use renewed Super 301 trade authority to make Europe open its market to American-engineered digital wireless technology. The problem is, Robb's state of Virginia is home to L.M. Ericsson's largest mobile phone and base station plant. The manufacturing facility in Lynchburg, Va., employs 3,200 people. It apparently did not occur to Robb that starting a trade war over next-generation digital wireless technology would not be in the best interests of a major constituent in his state, however. The two-page letter, sent last Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and signed by Robb, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), was meant to further the interests of U.S.-developed Code Division Multiple Access technology by encouraging the United States to exert pressure on Europe to remove trade barriers keeping U.S.-developed CDMA technology out of the mobile phone market that Ericsson and Nokia dominate. ‘‘The EU's (European Union) use of technical barriers to trade is profoundly unfair to American workers and consumers,'' the lawmakers stated. CDMA technology is locked out of the European Union, while European wireless technologies are used in the United States. A Senate Finance Committee hearing that was expected to address wireless trade and other issues was postponed last week because of impeachment proceedings. Ericsson, Finland's Nokia Corp. and U.S mobile telephone operators that use European-based Global System for Mobile communications technology are locked in a fierce battle with Qualcomm Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc. and U.S. CDMA carriers for rights to the multibillion dollar 3G market. Motorola Inc., a top mobile communications supplier in the United States and around the world, is trying to remain neutral. The Clinton administration, for its part, continues to push for multiple 3G standards and harmonization of standards where possible. But while the White House is scoring points with Qualcomm and its allies for pressing the 3G issue with the EU, it is ruffling the feathers of other American firms. AT&T Corp., the top U.S. mobile phone carrier, BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. feel the administration's preoccupation with CDMA could end up marginalizing 3G Time Division Multiple Access technology, which they plan to deploy here and abroad. ‘‘Perhaps the full information was not available to Sen. Robb,'' said John Giere, Ericsson's vice president of marketing and public affairs here. Robb could not be reached for comment. The International Telecommunication Union, which is overseeing 3G standardization, said it intends to meet the March 31 deadline when it likely will approve a family of 3G standards. That is a tall order, given the nasty patent dispute between Qualcomm and Ericsson. The standardization process, subject of negotiations earlier this month in Kuala Lumpur, will culminate in a critical ITU meeting, March 8-19, in Fortaleza, Brazil. Also in March, U.S. and European Union officials will meet for bilateral talks. On Wednesday, 3G will be a hot topic at a TransAtlantic Business Dialogue meeting in the nation's capital. With super 301 trade authority alive again, USTR is expected to move swiftly to provide Congress with a report on global trade barriers March 31—the same day ITU is to announce 3G standards. At the end of April, the list will be narrowed down, and the United States will begin trade negotiations to resolve disputes. If talks are not successful, the United States most likely would launch investigations—taking six to 18 months—which ultimately could lead to trade sanctions. ‘‘It is not clear there is an unfair market barrier that deserves 301 action,'' said William Plummer, Nokia's vice president of government and industry affairs here. That Nokia, Ericsson, Lucent, Motorola and others are multinational corporations complicates trade aspects of the 3G debate, as Robb discovered. Like Ericsson, Nokia has a respectable presence in the United States. The firm has more than 5,000 employees on its payroll in the states. One of Nokia's largest infrastructure and mobile phone plants is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego, Nokia operates research and development facilities. It also has offices in Silicon Valley, where it is developing Internet technology that wireless carriers plan to capitalize on. All told, according to Plummer, Nokia's U.S. subsidiaries export close to $1 billion annually.