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To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (25585)	3/30/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Chip Rate Still An Issue> Qualcomm, Ericsson leave others to decide chip rate By Lynnette Luna Although Qualcomm Inc. and L.M. Ericsson announced resolutions to Code Division Multiple Access disputes and the standoff over third-generation intellectual property rights, the companies didn't resolve key technical differences 3G parties have tried to resolve for more than a year. Qualcomm and Ericsson announced last week they resolved all patent disputes over cdmaOne technology and will cross license IPRs for all CDMA technologies, including cdmaOne, W-CDMA and cdma2000. Both companies had remained deadlocked over 3G patents, refusing to cross license patents they claimed to own to W-CDMA and cdma2000 technologies unless certain conditions were met. Qualcomm wanted one CDMA standard backward compatible to second-generation systems, while Ericsson advocated multiple standards. The two said they now agree to jointly support approval by the International Telecommunication Union and other standards bodies—including the U.S. Telecommunications Industry Association and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, which already has approved W-CDMA technology—of a single CDMA 3G standard that encompasses three optional modes: direct sequence FDD, multi-carrier FDD and TDD. Each mode supports operation with both GSM MAP and ANSI-41 networks. The companies say the resolution allows operators to select which mode of operation to deploy based on market needs. Greenfield operators in Europe are likely to deploy a direct sequence mode, while existing operators in the United States will deploy the multicarrier approach. The companies agreed to this framework last month at the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue meeting in Washington, D.C. The ITU adopted a similar framework earlier this month in Brazil, and last week announced a single flexible standard with a choice of multiple access methods that include CDMA, TDMA and TD/CDMA technologies to meet the many different mobile operational environments around the world. Qualcomm and Ericsson did not come to terms on the hotly contested issues of chip rate, synchronization and pilot schemes. Ericsson has pushed W-CDMA technology—a standard incompatible with cdma2000 technology's 3.684 Mcps rate. Qualcomm remained adamant on the 3.68 Megachips per second rate to maintain backward compatibility to today's cdmaOne networks. Both companies last week were quiet on the issue and said they are leaving further harmonization efforts to carriers. ‘‘Operators are looking to see advantages to further convergence,'' said Dr. Irwin Jacobs, chairman and chief executive officer of Qualcomm. ‘‘The agreement removes the issue of IPR blockages from those discussions. Operators will make decisions on how to best proceed ahead.'' A global carrier meeting in London last week did not produce a document stating any agreement on technical parameters. The ITU was hoping for input from carriers to help harmonize the CDMA umbrella standard further. ‘‘The parties are still talking and moving forward in the correct direction,'' said Keith Paglusch, senior vice president of operations with Sprint PCS, a nationwide cdmaOne operator pushing for one CDMA standard. ‘‘There's a series of discussions that continue to take place.'' Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group, hinted that consensus is building on some technical parameters such as synchronization. ‘‘The chip rate was used as a tool against cdmaOne. Now that Ericsson is on board, it's not as big a deal,'' said LaForge. But the North American GSM Alliance, in heralding the companies' announcement, said it will continue to ensure that technical parameters enable multiple technologies. The ITU said several countries, particularly from Asia and Australia, urged members to agree on a single 3G standard, ideally based on one technology. Though the view was endorsed by many operators, several stressed the need for operational flexibility to meet varying situations around the world, said the ITU. ‘‘The flexible approach represented the only option on which consensus could be achieved and work could proceed,'' said the ITU. ‘‘The meeting nonetheless agreed to strongly encourage the various operators fora in their efforts to achieve a minimum set of radio interfaces, covering operators needs having the least possible impact on mobile terminals so that the user is unaware of the technology which provides the services he/she has chosen, and thus meet the widely endorsed IMT-2000 objectives.'' In migrating to W-CDMA technology, GSM carriers will have significant investments to make in changing out equipment, while existing cdmaOne operators will be able to gradually migrate to cdma2000 by adding extra equipment. Moving the chip rate away from 3.68 Mcps would mean all carriers must start over. The next challenge, said the ITU, will be developing a more detailed ITU specification in a way that minimizes technical complexity while catering to multiple operating environments. ‘‘We're likely to see handsets glue the family of standards together if the chip rate is close enough,'' said Bob Egan, research director with Gartner Group in Stamford, Conn. The ITU will hold meetings starting in late May in Beijing. The consensus process should end by then, and members will begin with the technical work on the standards, which will require explanations of how each standard operates.