World Standards Organizations Launch Partnership Project For Third-Generation Wireless

Vancouver, BC, Canada, January 27, 1999

Today, four globally recognized Standards Development Organizations (SDOs): ARIB (Japan), TIA (USA), TTA (Korea), and TTC (Japan) - the Organizational Partners - have agreed to cooperate in the preparation of globally applicable Technical Specifications for a 3rd Generation Mobile System based on the evolved ANSI-41 core networks, and the relevant radio access technologies to be transposed by standardization bodies into appropriate deliverables (e.g., standards). The partners currently refer to this activity as Third-Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) to distinguish it from other partnership projects. This group will develop global specifications to elaborate on one of the Radio Transmission Technologies (RTTs) submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and called cdma2000.

This work is to complement other similar activities and accelerate the work of the ITU and its International Mobile Telecommunications -2000 (IMT-2000) initiative. The IMT-2000 initiative is planned to offer new user benefits such as advanced multi-media services, data rates up to 2 Mbps, next-generation mobile Internet and advanced packet services, global roaming, and more. Such advanced communications systems are intended to provide anytime, anywhere services where such technology is deployed. This will be a major advancement to current systems currently deployed which are referred to as second generation or "2G" systems.

Market Driven

To ensure that the specifications of 3GPP2 are developed quickly in order to meet global market demands, 3GPP2 will utilize fast, electronic-based creation and approval processes with a minimum number of hierarchical levels with decision making taking place at the lowest appropriate levels.

Collaboration with ITU

The four SDOs have agreed that ITU is preeminent for international telecommunications standardization, and it is planned that results of the 3GPP2 work will form the basis of contributions to the ITU in accordance with existing procedures in each country. 3GPP2 will also take account of emerging ITU Recommendations on internetworking between IMT-2000 family members. 3GPP2 will establish and maintain liaison relationships with groups working on standards for other IMT-2000 family members, as appropriate. The Organizational Partners believe this global cooperation will accelerate the ITU process for standardization of IMT-2000.

Structure

To maintain a minimum of hierarchical levels, 3GPP2 has two levels, a Steering Committee open to all participants, and Technical Specifications Groups (TSGs) working in assigned technical areas.

The 3rd Generation Mobile Telecommunications System and its capabilities will be developed in a phased approach. The 3GPP2 will prepare, approve and maintain the necessary set of Technical Specifications for a 3rd Generation Mobile System including TSGs working on:

3GPP2 Membership

As an open collaborative effort, 3GPP2 welcomes new partners, irrespective of their geographical location, who commit to the promotion of 3GPP2 and support its work.

Membership currently consists of different categories: Organizational Partners, Market Representation Partners, and Individual Members. In addition, some organizations have been granted status as Observers. To join 3GPP2 as an Individual Member, the applicant must be a member of an Organizational Partner.

Hiroshi FURUKAWA, Senior Managing Director of ARIB, commented: "ARIB is very pleased to participate in the successful formation of 3GPP2. ARIB has been working cooperatively with its current partners on a bilateral basis and welcomes this multi-lateral activity. ARIB has done significant work to advance third generation systems including evaluation of its own W-CDMA proposal, cdma2000, and other Radio Transmission Technologies submitted to the ITU, and is prepared to make significant technical contributions to 3GPP2."

Myung Gook JANG, Managing Director Standardization Department of TTA, said: "We are pleased to have successfully helped organize the 3GPP2 working structure. Korea has the largest deployed base of CDMA technology in the world and TTA has a strong organizational structure combined with wireline and wireless capabilities, enough to implement IMT-2000 standardization in collaborative work with other SDOs. TTA is willing to actively participate in 3GPP2 technical work to achieve global standardization on 3rd Generation Mobile Systems with the concept of 'Collaboration and Harmonization.'"

Nobuhiro HORISAKI, Executive Managing Director, TTC commented: "TTC was one of the founders of early collaboration efforts involving SDOs in Japan, USA, and the European Union. Those collaborative efforts to support the work of the ITU have grown and evolved into the Global Standardization Collaboration and RAdio STandardization (GSC/RAST) meetings among many of the same SDOs. This 3GPP2 partnership is an example of a collaborative effort from participants in GSC/RAST. As an organization responsible for standardization of networks systems in Japan, we will be active in the technical work related to network aspects of 3GPP2."

Dan BART, Vice President, Standards and Technology, for TIA stated: "TIA is pleased to be supporting this effort and to have been chosen to name the initial Chair of the Steering Committee. Based on a decision by Bob Coackley, Chair of TIA's Technical Committee, Steve Dennett, Manager of Standards, Motorola, Inc., will be the Steering Committee Chair for the initial two-year term, with rotation to other SDOs after that initial term. TIA is also pleased that it will be the Secretariat."

At the inaugural meeting of 3GPP2 in Vancouver there were also Observers from the Telecommunications Standards Advisory Council of Canada (TSACC), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and Australia's Telstra. China's Research Institute of Telecommunications and Transmission (RITT) and the Chinese Ministry of Information and Industry (MII) have also been attending some of the 3GPP2 formation meetings and have expressed their willingness to consider becoming Organizational Partners of 3GPP2.

ARIB - Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, Japan
TTA - Telecommunications Technology Association, Korea
TTC - Telecommunication Technology Committee, Japan
TIA - Telecommunications Industry Association, USA
ANSI - American National Standards Institute, USA
ANSI-41 - American National Standard ANSI/TIA/EIA-41