GSM/3G handset makers join forces

Competition among leading suppliers of GSM/3G mobile phones take a backseat as they join forces to promote EDGE and WCDMA technologies under a new group called Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

Local and regional representatives of Alcatel, Ericsson, Nokia and Siemens have launched the Philippine chapter of GSA, which will serve as their common voice in promoting third generation or 3G in new and existing markets.

Marko Tiesmaki, GSA Asia-Pacific chairman, said the GSA was formed to ensure full communication of accurate information regarding GSM technologies to their investors, analysts, the media and the regulatory bodies of different countries.

The GSA, he said, has no specific supplier agenda but exists to promote the evolution of GSM as the new platform for delivery of 3G multimedia services.

"Working together as an industry will be critical in advancing the mobile market through a network evolution path that makes the best business sense… One benefit of having a standard platform is it ensures interoperability in order to roll out devices and applications faster," said Tiesmaki, emphasizing how it would become even more important as the number of operators and services in the GSM network increase overtime.

First among GSA’s initiatives are its "GSA Global Mobile Dialogue," a forum where members and key industry decision-makers could discuss relevant issues affecting the industry; and the "Operators Zone" which facilitates interaction among members of over 100 operator-organizations globally through a secure area of the GSA website (www.gsa.com).

The GSA, however, doesn’t see the convergence of EDGE (Enhanced Data rate for Global Evolution) and WCDMA (Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access), but they expect operators implementing both technologies eventually.

"The GSM infrastructure suppliers are working to bring the two together and we’re looking for ways to deliver them without having the end-users caring about which technology their services are running on," Tiesmaki said.

EDGE is an open standard supported by all major GSM system suppliers such as Alcatel, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, Nortel and Siemens. Tiesmaki said there are 44 operators around the world that have made public announcements to try and deploy EDGE. Leading this group is Cingular Wireless in Indianapolis, which started offering EDGE last month.

Prospects for WCDMA, on the other hand, are also looking up. Tiesmaki said out of 114 3G licenses awarded, 112 selected WCDMA. Expect over 15 WCDMA commercial launches in the region until 2004, he said.

"WCDMA is the only technology developed to manage broadband traffic so it’s the ultimate choice when a carrier needs to deliver high bandwidth and speed on their networks," Tiesmaki said.

Meanwhile, the GSA asserts that GSM markets have higher penetration than other mobile technologies and that GSM operators are more profitable as GSM is currently the fastest growing digital standard. There are over 860 million GSM customers worldwide, Tiesmaki said.

In late June, EMC World Cellular Database, a global independent research agency, announced that the total number of new mobile subscribers in the first quarter of 2003 reached 51 million, with GSM accounting for almost 42 million, or 82 percent of new additions during the period.

GSM operators are also the largest in the world with China Mobile having over 144 million subscribers and China Unicom with nearly 75 million subscribers, with GSM accounting for 65 million, by the end of the first quarter of 2003.

Fifteen of the world’s 20 largest operators use GSM technology. GSM operators in the Philippines, in particular, lead the world in generating the highest volume of data in relation to their revenues.

GSA members, Tiesmaki said, are committed to 3G by releasing new terminals and hardware devices that could operate in all frequencies and support all applications that will be coming from over 34 EDGE operators worldwide.

Present during the press launch of GSA were Hans Josef Bruegger, vice president for services and solutions of Ericsson Telecommunications Inc.; Frankie Naranjilla, business development and strategies head Nokia (Phils.) Inc.; Cesar Jacinto Castro II, senior vice president for information and communications of Siemens Inc.; and C.W. Mah, business development manager of Alcatel Phils. Inc.

To formally introduce GSA to the industry, the mobile consortium will host a luncheon for the chief executive officers of telecommunications companies during the 24th anniversary of the National Telecommunications Commission on July 23.

Meanwhile, there are also GSA chapters in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Europe and America.