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To: Sawtooth who wrote (24091)	3/11/1999 10:53:00 PM
From: 2brasil	Respond to of 152472

International regulators are in Brazil where,between samba lessons, they'll set standards for a truly worldwide mobile-phone network. By Joanna Glasner. 3:00 a.m. 9.Mar.99.PST The international telecom industry's chief rulemaking body plans to hammer out a key set of standards for a new mobile-phone network that will let users talk and get messages from all over the world. Members of the International Telecommunications Union started meeting with telecom regulators and industry players in Fortaleza, Brazil, this week. They are trying to decide which technologies to use for developing so-called third-generation, or 3G, phones. The meeting is the latest in a series ITU initiatives for getting countries and tech companies to agree on a unified standard for sending voice and data over wireless networks. The participants hope to come up with all of their 3G standards by the end of the year. "The aim is to have a true global roaming possibility," said Francine Lambert, an ITU spokeswoman. Although some mobile-phone services currently cover several countries, as is the case in Western Europe, there is no network standard for worldwide service. The ITU is pressing to have third generation mobile access available worldwide by next year. The technologies for providing the services already exist, the group said. It's just a question of picking a standard. But getting the world to stick to a unified system hasn't turned out to be an easy task. In Brazil, the ITU will have to consider 11 proposals from companies and organizations all wanting their technology to form part of the standard for land-based 3G networks. The group has several more proposals from companies using satellite technologies. Government officials in the United States and Europe also are pushing for their favorite technologies, because they want bigger profits for their constituent companies and standards that meet the needs of their local markets. The ITU said it probably will use a combination of technologies. Companies want to see their technology chosen because of lucrative licensing fees. There is a caveat: Technology used in the 3G standards cannot be patented or, if it is, has to be available on a "fair and nondiscriminatory basis," the ITU said. In other words, one company can't block another from using its standard-setting technology, even its biggest competitor. The patent policy is a big concern for arch rivals Qualcomm and Ericsson, both of which want their technology to play the key role in building future networks. Qualcomm is pushing for standards based on an updated version of code division multiple access, or CDMA, a technology it developed for mobile phones. Earlier versions of CDMA are used in US mobile networks. European and Asian networks tend to use a standard developed earlier called GSM, which is also available through some services in the US. Although CDMA isn't the best technology for carrying big chunks of data, Qualcomm said it likely would be the cheapest and easiest system to deploy in 3G networks for the next couple of years. Ericsson is pushing for global standards based largely on WCDMA, a wideband technology similar to Qualcomm's, but able to carry bigger bundles of data over wireless networks, according to Ericsson. A third standard called TDMA, or time division multiple access, is also in the running. The stakes are big. Ericsson predicts that by the end of 2003, there will be more than 800 million mobile-phone subscribers worldwide. By then, the number of wireless handsets could equal or even exceed the number the wired phones. In the meantime, Ericsson and Qualcomm have yet to resolve an old patent dispute. Ericsson sued Qualcomm in 1996, and the trial is set for June. Both companies, however, say they want to settle out of court. It's no wonder. Once 3G standards gain acceptance, a lot of the technologies the two companies are fighting over could become obsolete. wired.com