WASHINGTON-In an issue that could pit Japan and other Asian countries against the European Union (EU) at a major telecom meeting later this year in Geneva, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) quietly decided late last year to delay the rollout of fourth-generation (4G) mobile-phone systems by five years.
Regulators arrived at the decision during the preparatory meeting for the World Radiocommunication Conference last November in Geneva, according to documents obtained by RCR Wireless News and GlobalWirelessNews.com and confirmed by the ITU. WRC-03 will be held 9 June-4 July in Geneva.
That the 4G decision by the ITU-the Geneva-based global telecom body-did not receive more attention at the time is understandable. First, it was not publicized. But beyond that, last November’s meeting occupied itself, among other things, with a high-stakes dispute between the EU and Bush administration over whether to allocate globally harmonized spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed wireless technologies.
Moreover, mobile-phone carriers in the United States and Europe have other things to worry about-like surviving and getting third-generation (3G) services off the ground.
Struggling wireless operators on both sides of the Atlantic are gasping for air as they struggle to bring capital-intensive 3G technology to the public at a time when corporate debt and lackluster consumer demand are conspiring in an already-tough economic environment to drag down stock prices.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), which speaks for U.S. mobile-phone carriers, did not return a call for comment. A representative of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the top lobbying voice for telecom vendors, said it did not know enough about ITU’s 4G action to comment.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), State Department and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) did not return calls for comment.
Fabio Leite, an official in the Radiocommunication Bureau of the ITU, cautioned that no decisions are final until the conclusion of WRC-03. But he said he expects this one-which moves back the introduction of 4G to 2015-2020 from 2010-2015-to stick.
“This is an ITU report to be used as a reference document,” at WRC-03, said Leite. He said Japan, which was not in favor of a delay, could solicit support from other Asian countries for restoring the 4G timetable to 2010-2015 in hopes of overturning ITU’s November decision at WRC-03 this year. But, he predicted: “It would be very surprising.”
Leite said Europe lobbied for the delay over objections from Japan. “In Europe, there is not an urgent need for spectrum. . They feel it’s not time to start that now,” he said. Moreover, according to Leite, European mobile-phone operators and regulatory officials fear a move too soon to 4G could devalue existing wireless assets-like 3G spectrum-which companies paid more than US$100 billion for several years ago. Today, some of those firms are seeking government bailouts and, in at least one case, a government investigation is under way into the 3G auction meltdown in Europe.
Japan, particularly homegrown mobile-phone giant NTT DoCoMo, does not face such pressures.
Indeed, all indications point to full steam ahead on 4G by DoCoMo, which attracted worldwide attention when it introduced color phones with built-in cameras capable of accessing the Internet at 384 kilobits per second (downlink).
Last October, the carrier successfully tested a 4G transmission with data speeds of 100 Megabits per second on the downlink and 20 Mbps on the uplink. DoCoMo said it has been researching 4G since 1998.
Here’s the snag: DoCoMo claims 4G will require at least 100 megahertz of spectrum. One of the tasks ITU will have when it begins to tackle 4G is allocating spectrum for the service.
A Japanese government source on Friday contradicted Leite’s account of the debate on the ITU 4G action.
“WRC was not the place to talk about the method or style of 4G mobile phones. The Japanese government does not push any particular argument on this matter,” the source said. GW
