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To: JGoren who wrote (29126)	5/4/1999 3:10:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 152472

"independent study commissioned by Vodafone plc is seen by cdmaOne players as a smoking gun in favor of their technical parameters" (see below) May 3, 1999 Carriers hone in on harmonization By Lynnette Luna Carriers are keeping quiet about events that transpired during a third-generation harmonization meeting two weeks ago in Japan, but an independent study commissioned by Vodafone plc is seen by cdmaOne players as a smoking gun in favor of their technical parameters. Major carriers from around the world met in Tokyo for another round of harmonization talks that honed in on key outstanding technical issues. Sources indicate carriers did not reach an agreement on harmonization, but others say the operators have brought to life the agreement reached in the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue meeting, which calls for an umbrella 3G standard that encompasses three modes of CDMA-based technology. Manufacturers were invited to the meeting and were asked to study the technical parameters at issue in detail. ‘‘The real test of this is how many carriers get behind a common statement,'' said Craig Farrill, vice president of strategic technology with AirTouch Communications Inc. Vodafone and AirTouch—which together will become the largest mobile phone operator in the world after their merger—say they are pushing hard for carriers to agree on one chip rate, but it's unlikely carriers will reach a consensus. The International Telecommunication Union, in charge of setting 3G standards, has asked for carrier input to reach a CDMA standard that is as harmonized as possible. ‘‘We want harmonization of the chip rates, and the discussion about what that should be and how it will come about is still continuing,'' said Tim Harrabin, strategy director with Vodafone. ‘‘We don't have strong views on a particular chip rate.'' ‘‘We would prefer a single common chip rate globally, for all three modes in the CDMA specification,'' said Farrill. ‘‘But when the chip rates are within 5 percent of each other, that is completely adequate and converged enough to provide economies of scale ... We are making dozens of technical contributions that explain the benefits of a single rate and presented our point of view. Getting close enough is good enough. My European colleagues believe we are close enough and there is no benefit to getting closer.'' The chip rate is a major area of contention among carriers. European and North American GSM operators are unwilling to move the chip rate below 3.84 Megachips per second, while existing cdmaOne operators say they need a rate of 3.68 Mcps to keep their networks backward compatible. One chip rate, say convergence proponents, will provide the best economies of scale for operators. But lowering it, say Global System for Mobile communications proponents, will degrade capacity and efficiency of the standard. An independent technical report commissioned by Vodafone in February has received little attention in past carrier meetings, but indicates the highest chip rate proposed for W-CDMA technology (4.096 Mcps) was only around 1.4 percent more spectrally efficient than the lowest chip rate (3.686 Mcps). Spectral efficiency in the study means the number of simultaneous users that can be supported per unit of operating bandwidth. ‘‘Therefore we conclude that none of the chip-rate options offers significant gains over the others in terms of spectral efficiency,'' said the report commissioned by Dr. Raymond Steele of Multiple Access Communications Ltd. in the United Kingdom on behalf of Vodafone. MAC Ltd., a member of the European Telecommunications Industry Association, describes itself as playing a key role in the RACE II CODIT project that provided the basis for the W-CDMA proposal. It also has investigated issues relating to cdmaOne technology. Steele is an author of numerous studies and books relating to mobile phone technology. Vodafone said the study does not necessarily reflect the company's view. MAC Ltd. cautioned that the study was done within a two-week time period and the results should be interpreted in that context. The study also concluded that by examining the capacity of a system based on each chip rate the company studied (4.096 Mcps, 3.84 Mcps and 3.686 Mcps) in a range of different spectrum allocations, each chip rate offers a similar capacity. But for specific frequency allocations, one chip rate will offer a better capacity than the others. Pilot schemes proposed by the cdma2000 camp provided a greater spectral efficiency than the approach used by W-CDMA technology, said MAC Ltd. And synchronized systems advocated by the cdma2000 camp yields performance improvements compared with asynchronous systems backed by W-CDMA advocates. ‘‘I'm surprised this study hasn't received more attention because it is counter to arguments by W-CDMA carriers,'' said Jim Takach, director of advanced programs with the CDMA Development Group. ‘‘I don't know that there have been any other independent studies like this ... I know carriers have been studying these with manufacturers.'' Jim Healy, newly appointed chairman of the GSM Association and president of Cook Inlet/VoiceStream PCS, pointed out that the study based capacity calculations on the performance of existing cdmaOne systems. ‘‘None of us know what the future is going to be, and we don't want to suppress and give up things that could be useful,'' said Healy. ‘‘It doesn't make sense to give up capacity ... We're doing a trial in Canada so we will know the real world trials of what works.'' Farrill said European operators' own analyses on the subject indicate a 4-percent gross channel speed exists with the 3.84 Mcps rate. ‘‘They believe that is material,'' said Farrill. ‘‘They don't want to move it further down. They can't see a benefit for them for what they consider a loss of total channel capacity. It doesn't affect the individual user, but it's the total number of individual users you can carry. That is what they are concerned about. ‘‘None of these technologies have been rigorously tested,'' continued Farrill. ‘‘We should pick one, put it in the field, test it and figure out what works.'' Latest Issue Copyright 1999, all rights reserved. Please report problems to webmaster.rcr@inlet.com May 4, 1999 rcrnews.com

To: JGoren who wrote (29126)	5/4/1999 3:17:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

U.S. may not aggressively seek more 3G spectrum at WRC May 3, 1999 By Jeffrey Silva WASHINGTON—Motorola Inc., the top American wireless manufacturer, is internally debating whether it can support what appears will be a weak U.S. position on third-generation mobile phone spectrum at the World Radiocommunication Conference next year. Motorola, according to sources, is distressed over what it regards as U.S. ambivalence on acquiring more 3G spectrum at WRC-2000, May 8 to June 2, in Istanbul. Others less vocal than Motorola share that view. There is widespread agreement that at least 160 megahertz of additional spectrum is needed by 2010 to deploy 3G systems, advanced Internet-friendly wireless technology that will need broadband capacity to accommodate voice, high-speed data and video applications. There appears to be some sentiment that it is unnecessary to secure more frequencies at WRC-2000 if enough 3G spectrum is available for carriers at the turn of the century in the form of 2 GHz personal communications services spectrum (comprising part of the global 3G spectrum allocation) or new stop-gap spectrum (2210-2250 MHz) that federal regulators may earmark for third-generation mobile phone service. But some think forgoing the opportunity to acquire 3G spectrum at WRC-2000 is a short-sighted perspective that could backfire on the United States, given the four to eight years it would take after the conference to develop technical standards, manufacture radios and base stations and then ship them to customers. It is a precarious and difficult position for Motorola, which historically has been one of staunchest U.S. supporters in global telecom affairs and, in turn, has reaped benefits from government backing in trade disputes with Japan and others. But, realizing that a lackluster push for global 3G spectrum at WRC 2000 could have huge implications for a U.S.-based multinational supplier like itself, Motorola sees a need to get its point across without antagonizing policy makers. Being a multinational firm that builds to different wireless technologies around the globe prompted Motorola to disassociate itself from the highly public battle waged by U.S. suppliers Qualcomm Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. against Sweden's L.M. Ericsson and Finland's Nokia Corp. over 3G standardization specifically and U.S.-European trade generally. Motorola and other U.S. wireless firms are said to have been taken aback by the lack of active U.S. participation on 3G issues at a WRC 2000 preparatory meeting several weeks ago in Costa Rica. Officials from the Federal Communications Commission, Motorola, Lucent and Qualcomm could not be reached for comment. U.S. wireless firms want to develop a strong, common position on 3G spectrum with their counterparts in Central and South America going into WRC 2000. North and South America comprise one of the regions that receive spectrum allocations at International Telecommunication Union conferences. Motorola's characterization of the United States' reticent position on 3G acquisition at WRC 2000 tends to be supported by official statements made recently by the FCC advisory committee. The WRC 2000 advisory committee, while acknowledging ‘‘an urgent need'' for third-generation mobile phone spectrum, appeared to go to great lengths to make the case against a global 3G allocation in a paper issued March 29 by the FCC. ‘‘Even if a global band could be identified, there would be minimal benefit to identifying that spectrum for IMT-2000 unless it was also brought into service globally in a timely way,'' the committee stated. ‘‘It has become clear from the work underway in various standards development organizations,'' the committee continued, ‘‘that many of the second-generation systems will be able to evolve to provide the features and capabilities expected in IMT-2000 and that those systems may operate in spectrum that has not been identified for IMT-2000.'' The WRC-2000 advisory group goes on to say that ‘‘only the minimum spectrum necessary should be identified for those applications to reduce the impact on existing services and to encourage the use of more spectrally efficient technologies that can support high data rate services within the minimum frequency bandwidths possible.'' By design or otherwise, the United States appears to be laying the foundation for a strategy that may not include an aggressive push for 3G spectrum and that potentially concedes a huge victory to dominant wireless carriers. Indeed, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association believes 3G technology can be largely implemented in existing spectrum held by its members. In contrast, the Personal Communications Industry Association, which represents paging and mobile phone startups, is pressing for additional 3G spectrum. A Clinton administration source suggested the United States may be reluctant to push for 3G spectrum because doing so might give the advantage to European wireless firms. Latest Issue Copyright 1999, all rights reserved. Please report problems to webmaster.rcr@inlet.com May 4, 1999 rcrnews.com

To: JGoren who wrote (29126)	5/4/1999 3:19:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

U.S. presses Ericsson to push ETSI on CDMA May 3, 1999 By Lynnette Luna U.S. government officials pressed L.M. Ericsson Chief Executive Sven-Christer Nilsson last week to lobby the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to adopt the tri-mode CDMA third-generation standard framework agreed to at a TransAtlantic Business Dialogue meeting months ago. Government officials are concerned over statements Ericsson made in a recent press release that detailed the company's direction for third-generation technology. The Sweden-based vendor said it remained committed to wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology as the leading global 3G standard for new spectrum and that it would support the standards in ETSI and Japan's standards body with no further changes to avoid delays. This was a red flag to U.S. officials who have prodded Europe to adopt multiple digital standards and hoped the recent Ericsson/Qualcomm Inc. agreement would solve that problem. Ericsson and Qualcomm ended their intellectual-property-right deadlock over CDMA patents and indicated they would jointly support approval by the International Telecommunication Union as well as other standards bodies—including the U.S. Telecommunications Industry Association and ETSI—of a single CDMA 3G standard that encompasses three modes: direct sequence Frequency Division Duplex, multicarrier FDD and Time Division Duplex. This allows operators to select which mode of operation to deploy based on market needs, the two companies said in March. This framework was adopted by telecommunications executives at February's TABD meeting. U.S. officials are concerned Ericsson only is willing to push the TABD agreement for approval within the ITU. This was apparent from meetings Nilsson participated in with U.S. departments, including the Clinton administration, the State Department and the National Economic Council last week during his trip to Washington where he met with regulators to explain the company's deal with Qualcomm and commitment to Interim Standard-95-based technology. ‘‘We explained that we were supporting at the ITU a single CDMA standard with three modes,'' said John Giere, vice president of external and public affairs with Ericsson in New York. ‘‘That level is where the TIA, ETSI and ARIB are developing a final standard ... They want us to somehow go beyond that.'' The U.S. government has been frustrated with the response from the European Union and ETSI in its effort to open up the telecommunications market there to multiple mobile phone 3G standards. Ericsson, which has a strong hand in ETSI, could make headway, say government sources. In the end, said Giere, it's a government-to-government issue. ‘‘I guess what we'll have to see is what happens at the end of the ITU process,'' said Giere. ‘‘The working groups are still out there continuing to put touches on the standards. Now it's up to countries to license the spectrum. This is where [the government] has concern. It wants Europe to license openly and fairly.'' U.S. officials say ETSI's intentions will be discussed at the next TABD meeting in May. Ericsson announced Friday NTT DoCoMo selected the company to supply W-CDMA base stations and mobile phone units. Ericsson and Vodafone plc also announced agreements to develop and evaluate W-CDMA technology. In related news, the CDMA Development Group confirmed that Ericsson has applied to become a member. Latest Issue Copyright 1999, all rights reserved. Please report problems to webmaster.rcr@inlet.com May 4, 1999 rcrnews.com