“Consumers of third-generation wireless technology will be better served by marketplace competition than by a single government-mandated standard, according to a new economic white paper released today by the North American GSM Alliance,” reads a news release from the alliance.
Joseph Farrell, a University of California at Berkeley professor, said allowing multiple third-generation standards to compete can create product variety and stronger incentives for innovation.
If you’re keeping score here, this announcement comes on the heels of the European Parliament’s vote to go forward with an ETSI-approved standard for 3G technology. (The only standard ETSI has approved is based on GSM technology.)
We’ve come full circle in the digital standards debate. The Americans have been soundly criticized by Europeans for allowing multiple standards. Now, operators using European-centric technology are the ones calling for multiple standards and Interim Standard-95 CDMA backers are the ones calling for convergence.
Multiple standards most likely advanced second-generation cellular technology in the United States. The transition from an analog-based technology to a digital one was not a smooth transition in this country. There was much resistance to approving CDMA as a standard by some operators that already had invested in rival TDMA technology.
In fact, when CTIA approved plans to forward a CDMA-based standard to TIA, the association said it “reaffirms that TDMA (IS-54) remains the industry standard for digital,” according to a story I wrote in January 1992.
By most accounts, TDMA IS-54 is not that great, but it was a stepping stone to today’s IS-136 standard. Would IS-54 have advanced to IS-136 if there were no competition from CDMA?
Who knows.
The question today is, does a multiple-standards strategy still hold water in today’s competitive global environment?
AirTouch Communications Inc. estimates it will cost the industry $50 billion not to harmonize. A converged standard could allow for economies of scale, speedier deployment and easier international roaming.
In the end, the only thing I’m sure of is that carriers will choose what they want.
Thank God!
