In an effort to hasten the rollout of third-generation networks, Nokia has announced an initiative by inviting other 3G infrastructure developers to share and standardize open specifications for all IP-based platforms.
The company believes the lack of interoperability between 3G infrastructure is delaying the deployment of 3G networks and will seriously hamper subscriber uptake. It claims that data services will not be easily accessible when users roam to other networks that use different core technology.
“There is fragmentation of service platforms for 3G,” said Pertti Korhonen, Nokia’s vice president of mobile software. “GSM has shown what open standards can achieve, and unless we can solve interoperability issues, the vital person-to-person communications will not happen.”
The company was keen to stress that its Open Mobile Architecture was not another standards body, but was designed to work across technology being standardized by other bodies. While more than 30 companies are said to have joined this initiative, Ericsson and Microsoft are two firms that have yet to join.
Another key infrastructure developer, Nortel, said that if other developers built their equipment to existing standards there was no need for yet another so-call standardization body.
