Standards and Regulations

In telecommunications, a standard is a document or specification that describes the
process by which information is transmitted or received. The standard generally
refers to the interface between two entities (e.g., the mobile phone and the base station).
A standard also describes the services in a telecommunications network and
the manner in which services should be supported.

Standard methods or products normally emerge as a result of commercial success
in the marketplace; a classic example always mentioned when discussing standards
is the VHS and Betamax videocassette formats. VHS became the industry standard
in this case as a result of market success. Letting the market decide on the standards
by this process may not always be the best and most efficient way, because there
must always be a loser. In the past, the telecom industry has used this method, but in
these days of global roaming, there are many more benefits to derive from the industry
making agreements about the methods and process of telecommunication.

All of the bodies described below are committees consisting of professionals
from manufacturers, network operators, service providers and others, where the
technical and non-technical issues of solving telecommunications problems are discussed.
In some cases, several solutions may be presented and a vote may take place
to decide on the best solution. In this way, all parties can agree and the winning
solution will be written up as a technical specification. GSM is a very good example
of the success of this method of determining telecom standards.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), headquartered in Geneva,
Switzerland, is the United Nations’ specialized agency for telecommunications. The
main work of the ITU is divided among three sectors, namely:
1. The Radio Communication Sector (ITU-R)
2. The Development Sector (ITU-D)
3. The Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)

The ITU-R coordinates matters dealing with radio communication services, radiofrequency
spectrum management, and wireless services. The ITU-D focuses on
technical assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition
to allow the development of telecommunications networks and services. The
ITU-T ensures the efficient and on-time production of high-quality standards covering
all fields of telecommunications on a worldwide basis, as well as defining tariff
and accounting principles for international telecommunications services.

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent,
non-profit organization, whose mission is to produce telecommunications standards
for today and for the future. Based in Sophia Antipolis (France), the ETSI is officially
responsible for standardization of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT) within Europe. These technologies include telecommunications, broadcasting,
and related areas such as intelligent transportation and medical electronics.
The ETSI unites 688 members from 55 countries inside and outside Europe,
including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers,
research bodies, and users — in fact, all the key players in the ICT arena.
The ETSI plays a major role in developing a wide range of standards and other
technical documentation as Europe’s contribution to worldwide ICT standardization.
This activity is supplemented by interoperability testing services and other
specialisms. The ETSI’s prime objective is to support global harmonization by providing
a forum in which all the key players can contribute actively. ETSI is officially
recognized by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association
(EFTA) secretariat.

Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)
The 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is a collaborative agreement
established in December 1998. The collaboration agreement brings together a
number of telecommunications standards bodies known as “organizational partners.”
The current organizational partners include the ARIB, CCSA, ETSI, ATIS,
TTA, and TTC.

The establishment of 3GPP was formalized in December 1998 by signing “The
3rd Generation Partnership Project Agreement.”

The original scope of 3GPP was to produce globally applicable technical specifications
and technical reports for a 3G mobile system based on evolved GSM core
networks and the radio access technologies they support (i.e., Universal Terrestrial
Radio Access (UTRA), both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division
duplex (TDD) modes). The scope was subsequently amended to include the maintenance
and development of the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM)
Technical Specifications and Technical Reports, including evolved radio access
technologies (e.g., General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates
for GSM Evolution (EDGE)).

Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2)
The Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) is a collaborative third-generation
(3G) telecommunications specifications-setting project comprising North
American and Asian interests developing global specifications for ANSI/TIA/EIA-
41 Cellular Radio Telecommunication Intersystem Operations network evolution
to 3G and global specifications for the radio transmission technologies (RTT) supported
by ANSI/TIA/EIA-41.

3GPP2 was born out of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU)
International Mobile Telecommunications “IMT-2000” initiative, covering high
speed, broadband, and Internet Protocol (IP)-based mobile systems featuring
network-to-network interconnection, feature/service transparency, global roaming,
and seamless services independent of location. IMT-2000 is intended to bring
high-quality mobile multimedia telecommunications to a worldwide mass market
by achieving the goals of increasing the speed and ease of wireless communications,
responding to the problems faced by the increased demand to pass data via
telecommunications, and providing “anytime, anywhere” services.

UMTS Forum
The UMTS Forum was set up by a number of telecommunications operators, manufacturers,
national governments, and other organizations. Its aim is to define a
common strategy and policy for the development and implementation of the future
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, combining personal communications
with multimedia services and applications built on existing fixed and mobile
infrastructures. It seeks to contribute to the development of a European policy
on mobile and personal communications, and provides advice and recommendations
to the European Commission, European Radio Communications Office, and
European Telecommunications Office.

The GSM Association
The GSM Association (GMSA), founded in 1987, has played a pivotal role in the
development of the GSM platform and of the global wireless industry.
Since its introduction our members and staff have created the landscape
of success for global mobile communications via GSM. Ours is a story of
international cooperation and collaboration, between people, companies
and governments to create the world’s first global wireless network.
The GSMA is the global trade association that exists to promote, protect, and
enhance the interests of GSM mobile operators throughout the world. At the end
of 2004, it consisted of 660 second- and third-generation mobile operators and
more than 150 manufacturers and suppliers. The Association’s members provide
mobile services to nearly 1.3 billion customers across more than 200 countries and
territories around the world. The GSMA aims to accelerate the implementation of
collectively identified, commercially prioritized operator requirements and to provide
leadership in representing the global GSM mobile operator community with
one voice on a wide variety of issues nationally, regionally, and globally.

The European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administration (CEPT)

CEPT, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration,
was established in 1959 by 19 countries, which expanded to 26 countries during
its first ten years. Original members were the incumbent, monopoly-holding
postal and telecommunications administrations. CEPT activities included cooperation
on commercial, operational, regulatory, and technical standardization issues.
In 1988, CEPT decided to create the ETSI, European Telecommunications
Standards Institute, into which all its telecommunications standardization activities
were transferred.

In 1992, the postal and telecommunications operators created their own organizations,
Post Europe and ETNO, respectively. In conjunction with the European
policy of separating postal and telecommunications operations from policy-making
and regulatory functions, CEPT thus became a body of policy makers and regulators.
At the same time, central and eastern European countries became eligible for
membership in CEPT. With its 45 members, CEPT now covers almost the entire
geographical area of Europe.

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
The TIA, Telecommunications Industry Association, is the leading U.S. non-profit
trade association, and represents providers of communications and information
technology products and services for the global marketplace through its core competencies
in standards development, domestic and international advocacy, as well
as market development and trade promotion programs. The association facilitates
the convergence of new communications networks while working for a competitive
and innovative market environment. The TIA strives to further members’ business
opportunities, economic growth and the betterment of humanity through
improved communications.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, is a private, non-profit organization
that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization
and conformity assessment system. ANSI’s mission is to enhance both the global
competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and
facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and
safeguarding their integrity.

The CDMA Development Group
The CDMA Development Group (CDG), founded in December 1993, is an international
consortium of companies that have joined together to lead the adoption
and evolution of 3G CDMA wireless systems around the world.
The CDG is comprised of CDMA service providers and manufacturers, application
developers and content providers. By working together, the members help
to ensure interoperability among systems, while expediting the availability of 3G
CDMA technology to consumers.

The CDG mission is to lead the rapid evolution and deployment of 3G CDMAbased
systems, based on open standards and encompassing all core architectures, to
meet the needs of markets around the world.

The Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB)
The ARIB, the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, was chartered by
the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications as a public service corporation on
May 15, 1995. Its activities include those previously performed by the Research and
Development Centre for Radio Systems (RCR) and the Broadcasting Technology
Association (BTA).

The ARIB was established in response to several trends, such as the growing internationalization
of telecommunications, the convergence of telecommunications and
broadcasting, and the need for promotion of radio-related industries. The ARIB’s
goal is to advance rapidly the use of radio technology for the benefit of society. This is
done by integrating knowledge and experience in various fields of radio use, such as
broadcasting and telecommunications, research and development in radio technology,
and serving as a standards development organization for radio technology.

Telecommunication Technology Committee (TTC)
The TTC, the Telecommunication Technology Committee, contributes to standardization
in the field of telecommunications by establishing protocols and standards
for telecommunications networks and terminal equipment, etc., as well as to
disseminate those standards.

Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA)
The purpose of TTA, the Telecommunications Technology Association, is to contribute
to the advancement of technology and the promotion of information and
telecommunications services and industry, as well as the development of national
economy, by effectively establishing and providing technical standards that reflect
the latest domestic and international technological advances needed for the planning,
design, and operation of global end-to-end telecommunications and related
information services, in close collaboration with companies, organizations, and
groups concerned with information and telecommunications such as network operators,
service providers, equipment manufacturers, academia, R&D institutes, etc.

The Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 200
member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless local area networks
(WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for mobile wireless
devices, Wi-Fi Alliance testing and certification programs ensure the interoperability
of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification.

Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance certification program in March
2000, more than 2000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™,
encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer
and enterprise markets.