GSM Wants To Be Heard>
arch 8, 1999
GSM world gets lobbying voice
By Dianne Hammer
CANNES, France—CDMA proponents have their voice in the CDMA
Development Group. TDMA advocates have their say through the
Universal Wireless Communications Consortium. Now the GSM world has
its own lobbying force with the formation of the Global Mobile Suppliers
Association (GSA).
The GSA, comprising only suppliers, was established to promote the Global
System for Mobile communications standard in new and existing markets as
well as to promote the evolution of GSM toward third-generation multimedia,
said GSA President Alan Hadden. GSA considers Latin America a primary
target, as well as China, Eastern Europe and North America.
The GSM MoU Association, now known as the GSM Association, promotes
GSM but from a carrier's perspective, claims Hadden, who said a forum
was needed to allow both large and small GSM vendors to share information
for developing their products.
‘‘Companies are realizing they can do a lot on their own, but they can do
even more together,'' he said.
What took the companies so long to band together? In the early days of
GSM there weren't that many suppliers, said GSM representative Roy
Doughty, who is marketing director of U.K.-based Bridge Trading
International, a small company offering intelligent network and software
products. Now, he explained, carriers are starting to differentiate
themselves, and a lot of value-added service vendors have entered the
scene.
‘‘Until recently, we have been busy setting up networks,'' said GSA Vice
President Peter Reinisch, vice president of marketing communications for
Siemens A.G. Now third and fourth operators have entered the markets,
and carriers need to differentiate their offerings.
The GSA believes using GSM is one way Latin American carriers can
differentiate their products. Primary targets will be licensees from upcoming
personal communications services tenders in Argentina, Brazil and
Colombia.
Current members of GSA are Aethos Communication Systems, ARC
Cores, Benefone, BTI, Compaq, Comptel, Convergys Corp., L.M. Ericsson,
Filtronic Comtek, GTE Telecommunications Services Inc., Hewlett-Packard,
Italtel, LCC Europe, Logica Aldiscon, Lucent Technologies Inc., Nokia,
Omnipoint Technologies Inc., Raytheon T1 Systems, Saville Systems,
Schlumberger, Scientific Connections, Siemens, Texas Instruments,
Wavecom and X-Net. Notably absent from the list is Motorola Inc.
The GSA promotes GSM as the basis for UMTS, but Hadden asserts the
group's creation was not in response to the tremendous amount of lobbying
being done by the CDMA Development Group.
The group announced at the GSM World Congress that the GSA has
become a partner in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. The 3GPP,
announced in December, is an initiative primarily comprising telecom
standards organizations from Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United
States, which are working together to develop a common technical standard
for third-generation mobile service.
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