All another spin on Brazil happenings. (Thanks to Phillips Telecom)
telecomweb.com
LOBBYING INTERESTS KEEP UP THE PRESSURE
AS ITU PREPARES FOR AIR INTERFACE
SELECTION MEETING IN BRAZIL
In a letter to the President, a bipartisan group of 14 senators urged the Clinton administration to redouble its efforts to ensure that
the third-generation (3G) wireless world includes open competition between different standards. The letter comes in the wake of
an agreement by industry players to support a multiple standard system with some elements of harmonization between the
CDMA-derived W-CDMA and cdma2000 standards. It also sets the stage for the meeting of the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) underway in Fortaleza, Brazil. At that March 8-19 meeting, the ITU is set to select air interface components for
IMT-2000, its vision of a high-speed, multimedia capable wireless system for the next century.
The letter was signed by Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), John Breaux (D-La.), James Jeffords (R-Vt.), Jesse Helms (R-N.C.),
Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Don Nickles (R-Okla.), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.),
Michael DeWine (R-Ohio), Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), and Max
Cleland (D-Ga.).
"We support the U.S. position [at the most recent ITU meeting on 3G] in Kuala Lumpur to resist delay in the ITU's consideration
and approval of multiple 3G wireless standards," the letter stated. "The ITU process should continue in tandem with ongoing
private sector efforts to resolve outstanding intellectual property rights issues. Delay would be counterproductive to the timely
provision of much awaited 3G services to consumers both in the U.S. and abroad."
We'll give them the benefit of the doubt over just how eagerly awaited 3G services actually are by global consumers.
...Is ITU Stuck With A Compromise It Didn't Want?
The debate over how many 3G technologies should get the ITU's seal of approval, and which ones they should be, has turned into
a complex global battle among industry giants. It also has escalated into a simmering trade dispute between the United States and
the European Union over whether U.S.-developed technology (read cdma2000) will have access to markets that are currently
dominated by GSM. This obviously includes Europe, where GSM technology was mandated. However, GSM also has a strong
presence in other regions, and the ability-or lack of ability-of a technology to provide backward compatibility with existing GSM
systems and a smooth evolutionary path from GSM to 3G will have strong competitive implications.
Supposedly, most of the industry players have agreed to a multiple-standards environment through meetings of the TransAtlantic
Business Dialogue (TABD) last month (see PCS WEEK, Feb. 24). However, the TABD has no binding authority over any of this,
even though most of the industry players agreed to the compromise-including both LM Ericsson AB [ERICY] and Qualcomm
Inc. [QCOM], whose CDMA patent dispute is one of the issues at the heart of the matter.
The expectation is that, since the ITU is composed largely of industry representatives whose companies have agreed to support
the TABD solution, the voting process will reflect that agreement. On the other hand, given the uncertainty of any linkage
between the informal TABD process and the ITU's balloting-and the fact that the whole point behind IMT-2000 was to create one
global 3G standard-uncertainty remains. "I think it would be hard for the ITU to buck that decision," said one industry observer
who has closely followed the process. "But I think there's a little friction there."
...Is This The Final Sprint To The Wire?
Proof of that came quickly, in a statement from the ITU announcing that newly installed Secretary General Yoshio Utsumi will be
conducting private talks with "top-level representatives from key players on the 3G scene" in Fortaleza. The statement also
appealed for a return to the single-standard concept. "I urge all and every member of the industry to adhere to the original vision of
IMT-2000 as you wisely crafted it some years back," Utsumi said. He stressed that a single global standard for wireless
communications would have immense benefits for operators, vendors and consumers around the world.
Thus, supporters of multiple standards are keeping the pressure on until a real vote is taken instead of declaring victory based on
TABD. The Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC), for example, issued its own statement on the letter.
UWCC has strongly supported the TABD compromise since it would enshrine the TDMA-derived UWC-136 among the group of
supported standards.
"We welcome this bipartisan and unequivocal support for open competition and multiple 3G standards by this distinguished group of
senators," said UWCC Chairman Gregory Williams. "This letter adds to the undeniable consensus emerging in Washington and
the private sector that a competitive, market-driven approach for determining technology standards is best for consumers and the
global wireless industry."
...Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch
In other fronts of the battle for standards control and global access, the situation remains somewhat confused. A major part of any
compromise would involve a settlement of the Ericsson/Qualcomm patent dispute. With the trial date for the companies' lawsuit
approaching, recent speculation had centered on renewed talks between the two companies. However, at the request of the court,
the trial date has now been pushed back, from April 6 to sometime in June.
It remains unclear what delays might mean for an out-of-court settlement, about which not much has been heard since the latest
outbreak of rumors. These focused on a cross-licensing deal which would get Ericsson into the CDMA business and give
Qualcomm access to GSM technology. That might make it easier for Qualcomm to compete for the 3G business of GSM carriers
by smoothing the evolutionary path of the company's solution, even without complete victory in the harmonization fight.
This would be an important win for Qualcomm given that there are signs-albeit fuzzy and disputed ones-that CDMA is having
trouble breaking into some developing markets because of such concerns. In particular, press reports surfaced recently indicating
that the Chinese government and former monopoly carrier China Telecom have rejected CDMA deployment in China. The
decision was supposedly motivated by the success of GSM in that country, and concerns about the huge investment to support a
second technology if the industry is just going to evolve to a new 3G system anyway. The Chinese quickly denied the reports, with
Ministry of Information Industry officials claiming that no decision had been made.
The denial doesn't amount to free reign for CDMA in China, however. Aside from a few demonstration systems, the Chinese
have so far refused to allow CDMA network construction in the country, providing another international trade squabble for the
United States to worry about.
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