Migration to 3G Technology Standards:

A Comparison of Selected Countries

By Richard Nunno, International Bureau, FCC
September 2003

For over a decade, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been
supporting the international effort to develop an advanced third-generation (3G) mobile
telecommunications service that has a higher bandwidth than previous and existing
mobile services and that subscribers can seamlessly use across international borders
(known as global roaming). To that end, the ITU has identified spectrum and developed
technical standards for International Mobile Telecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000), the
official name for 3G services. The ITUs World Administrative Radiocommunication
Conference (WARC) in 1992 and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in
2000 identified several bands of spectrum that could be used for 3G services.

The mobile telecommunications industry has started delivering 3G services that

provide broadband applications including voice, data, and video. As defined by the ITU,
3G signal transmission rates must be able to reach 2 megabits per second (Mbps) or
higher for indoor (low mobility) wireless applications (more than 35 times faster than
todays 56 kilobits per second (kbps) dial-up PC modems). 3G rates may be slower (384
kbps) for pedestrian traffic, and 144 kbps for high mobility (vehicular) traffic.1

How each country is implementing 3G systems depends on a number of factors, such

as the countrys 3G spectrum allocations, the standards it adopts for 3G (if it adopts any
standards vs. letting the marketplace make the decision), and the countrys current mobile
telephony system configuration. Because a great deal of information and analysis is
already available on the spectrum-related issues surrounding 3G implementation, this
report focuses only on the technology standards issues pertaining to 3G. This report
reviews the standards used in existing mobile telephony systems in the United States, the
European Union (EU), Japan, and Korea, and compares how these countries/regions are
making the transition to 3G services. For a discussion of the spectrum-related issues
surrounding 3G services, see the Commissions 3G proceedings, Docket Nos. ET 00-258
and WT 02-353.

BackgroundExisting 2G Standards
Second generation (2G) mobile telephony systems, also known as personal
communications services (PCS), were developed and deployed in the early to mid-1990s,
in response to the rapid growth in first-generation cellular subscribership.2 2G systems
were distinguished from the first-generation cellular systems by the use of digital signal

1
FCC website at http://www.fcc.gov/3G/#sec2.
2
The main first generation cellular systems are Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS, also known
as IS-54), Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT), and Total Access Communication System (TACS), operating
on bands around 800 MHz. Although these systems originally used analog signal transmission, most of
them have been upgraded to digital signal transmission, so that they are now equivalent to 2G systems.
transmission techniques and some operated on a higher frequency band (primarily 1850-
1990 MHz). This enabled the efficient transmission of data as well as voice information
content, plus a longer battery life and a host of other digitally-based services such as call
waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, and encryption.

Multiplexing several telephone calls in one channel for 2G systems is typically

accomplished by dividing the transmitted signal into segments according to either time,
frequency, or a code. The technical standards used to accomplish this are known as air
interface standards. While frequency division techniques are used in some signal
transmission systems, they are not used for cellular and PCS systems and thus will not be
discussed here. The main standards used for digital mobile telephony services are: Time
Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global System Mobile Communications (GSM),
integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), and Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA). Another standard called cellular digital packet data (CDPD) is used to provide
an overlay network on existing cellular spectrum to allow data rates up to 19.2 kpbs.

TDMA and GSM. The TDMA standard (originally known as Interim Standard-
54, or IS-54, but now known as ANSI-136), developed in the United States, provides
each call with a time slot (on the order of a millisecond) so that several calls can be
contained within one channel. The implementation of TDMA, which allots six time slots
to each channel, has provided up to a six-fold increase in information carrying capacity in
the same bandwidth as a single AMPS channel. With the utilization of hierarchical cells,
intelligent antennas, and adaptive channel allocation, the capacity can approach 40 times
AMPS capacity.3 The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard,
developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), is a variation
of TDMA, in which the signals of eight calls are multiplexed in time over a single
channel. The iDEN standard is another variation of TDMA technology.

CDMA. Code division techniques, which for mobile telephony systems are
embodied by the CDMA standard (known in the United States as ANSI-95), utilize a
process that had been used extensively for military purposes known as the spread
spectrum technique. The transmitted energy of a spread spectrum signal is spread over a
range (or band) of frequencies, so that the energy level at any one frequency is very low.
This technique reduces the possibility of causing harmful interference to other wireless
devices operating in the same frequency range, and also makes the devices more resilient
against jamming. Spread spectrum systems can also dynamically adjust capacity and
coverage in response to variations in the call load. CDMA 2G systems in the United
States (the commercial name is cdmaOne, a trademark of the CDMA Development
Group) employ a unique code to distinguish each call, which allows many users to
occupy the same time and frequency (channel) in a given band. CDMA proponents claim
that CDMA systems provide increased capacity and improved performance and reliability
over frequency division and time division systems, while GSM proponents refute that
assertion.

Technology Enhancements
3
Time Division Multiple Access, Web ProForum Tutorials, International Engineering Consortium,
http://www.iec.org.

2
 Existing mobile networks have introduced several upgrades that make 2G services
appear to users like 3G features. These are often referred to as 2.5G or 2.75G systems.
Some of the main innovations are described below, some of which (cross-cutting
technologies) are used in the mobile telephony industry as well as other computer-related
industries, while others are mobile-specific:

Cross-cutting Technologies:

CODEC. Enhanced speech compression/decompression (CODEC) is a specialized

computer program that reduces the number of bytes used by large files (such as a video
file) and programs by eliminating redundancies in data in order to minimize the amount
of storage space needed. CODECs are often used to speed up wireline Internet
transmissions of large files, but are particularly important in wireless transmissions,
which usually have significantly lower bandwidth than wireline. CODECs can be used
with any existing mobile telephony standard.

Packet Switching. Information signals (voice or data) was traditionally transmitted

over telephone networks in what is called circuit-switching, in which a communications
path is established between two parties and is dedicated exclusively to one conversation
for the duration of the call. Another technique called packet-switching (originally used
for computer data transmissions) digitizes the information and breaks it down into
smaller pieces called packets. Each packet contains a small part of the message content
along with call-identifying information called a header that indicates the origination
and destination points of the information. Each packet is transmitted separately and is
reassembled into the complete message at the destination point.

Packet switching is considered a more efficient use of a network than circuit

switching because the same bandwidth can be used for multiple communications
simultaneously (called multiplexing). The packet-switched mode is used in all Internet
communications, and is increasingly being used in telephone networks (both wireline and
wireless). Packet switching is being implemented on many of todays wireless networks,
and will be the standard for all 3G systems. One popular application of packet switching
is Short Messaging Service (SMS), which enables handsets to send messages up to 160
alphanumeric characters to each other. Typical uses of SMS include notifying a mobile
phone owner of a voicemail message, notifying a salesperson of an inquiry and contact,
and notifying a doctor of a patient with an emergency problem.

Java. Java, a software programming language used to create web-based applications,

is particularly well suited for wireless devices. A special version called Java 2 Micro
Edition (J2ME) is used for hand-held devices with small memory space and display
limitations. J2ME enables the use of color graphics, animation, and user-friendly
applications, and is widely used by manufacturers of advanced handsets, especially for
3G applications.

Mobile-specific Technologies:

3
 CAMEL. Another enhancement to GSM networks, customized application for
mobile enhanced logic (CAMEL), enables intelligent network services such as pre-paid
calling, call screening, supervision, and location identification. These services are often
packaged together in what is called a virtual home environment to enable the services
previously offered only at home to other locations.

WAP. Wireless Application Protocol is a packet-switched standard used to provide

Internet browsing using a portable terminal. The WAP standard can be used with any
mobile telephony standard, and is used by mobile service providers in many countries, to
give mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices a variety of
web-based applications. DoCoMos i-mode can work with WAP to provide data
transmissions. WAP is sponsored by the Open Mobile Alliance, a group of mobile
operators, device and network suppliers, information technology companies and content
providers. Some assessments of WAP had been negative due to performance problems,
and several competing software products have been developed.

HSCSD. High-speed circuit switched data, the first enhancement to GSM service,
enables GSM users to transmit data three times faster than the standard data rates of GSM
networks. HSCSD allows users to access their company LANs, send and receive e-mails,
and access the world wide web using either a mobile phone or a PCMCIA card installed
in a notebook computer or other portable device.

GPRS. General Packet Radio Service is a software upgrade to existing TDMA and
GSM networks to provide wireless access to external IP-based (packet-switched)
networks, such as the Internet and corporate intranets. GPRS (sometimes referred to as
2.5G) introduces packet switching to the core network, allowing direct access to packet
data networks. The upgrade enables high data rate (up to 115 kbps) packet switched
transmission through the GSM network so that end users can remain connected to the
external network indefinitely. GPRS provides medium-speed, packet-based, wireless
data applications.4

EDGE. The next step in the evolution of GSM toward high-speed data applications is
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). EDGE, a packet-switched protocol,
enables a data rate of 384 kbps by using all eight time slots and a modulation technique
called 8-phase shift keying (8PSK). This data rate is sufficient to qualify an EDGE-
enhanced network as a 3G (or 2.75G) service (without the need to use new spectrum) in
low-mobility applications. Higher data rates may be available in good radio conditions
low ambient noise, good weather, etc.). EDGE is used for the delivery of multimedia and
other broadband services to mobile phone users. To implement EDGE services, software
upgrades are required to the network, new transceivers must be added to each cell, and
consumers must purchase EDGE-capable handsets.5

Figure 2 below shows that many of these technology upgrades can be applied to all of
the main 2G signal transmission standards, whereas others are only applicable with the
TDMA/GSM standards, and are not compatible with CDMA technology.

4
Generations: 1G-4G, a publication of LCC International, Inc., 2001.
5
http://www.nonvoice.com/edge.htm.

4
 Figure 1: Applications for Technology Upgrades
Technology Upgrade 2G Standard

CODEC TDMA
Packet switching GSM
WAP CDMA
PDC

CAMEL
HSCSD TDMA
GPRS GSM
EDGE

Status of Mobile Network Deployment in Selected Regions

United States. In its rules for implementing digital cellular and PCS, the United
States did not select a standard, instead allowing the licensees to choose whatever
standard they felt would best meet their customers needs (a policy called technology
neutrality). While all of the above standards are still used in the United States, ANSI-136
TDMA is being phased out as its main advocates, AT&T Wireless and Cingular
Wireless, have been overlaying their existing TDMA networks with GSM and GPRS.6
Other ANSI-136 networks are evolving to cdma2000 networks. The trade group that had
represented TDMA technology was dissolved in December 2001.7 GSM is no longer
distinguished from TDMA, but instead, the two are considered as one migration path
towards more advanced digital capabilities, recognizing that TDMA will continue to be
used by millions of subscribers for several more years.

AT&T Wireless is overlaying GSM/GPRS on its TDMA network to improve its

wireless data capabilities and enhance its migration to 3G technology. By the end of
2002, AT&T Wireless had expanded its GSM/GPRS networks to cover areas with 63
percent of the U.S. population, and expects to offer service using EDGE technology
across its entire GSM/GPRS footprint by the end of 2003.8 AT&T Wireless also plans to
offer WCDMA in four markets, covering 8 million POPs by the end of 2004. Cingular
Wireless had, by the end of 2002 deployed GSM/GPRS to 50% of its POPs, and plans to
deploy GSM/GPRS to its remaining networks by 2004. Cingular expects to offer service
over EDGE networks in selected markets during the third quarter of 2003, and to
continue to deploy EDGE in 2004.

6
In January 2002, Cingular began field testing a new technology, known as GAIT (GSM/ANSI-136
Interoperability Team), that allows users to move with one handset between TDMA and GSM technologies
on both broadband PCS and cellular spectrum bands. Network Enhancements to Enable Cingular
Customers to Access Both GSM and TDMA, News Release, Cingular, Jan. 16, 2002.
7
Several wireless carriers and equipment manufactures, including AT&T Wireless and Cingular,
formed a trade association called 3G Americas to promote GSM and TDMA technologies. 3G Americas to
Represent Global Technologies in the Americas, News Release, 3G Americas, Mar. 13, 2002.
8
FCC 03-150, Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions With Respect to
Commercial Mobile Services, released July 14, 2003, page 37, paragraph 73.

5
 Of the other four nationwide mobile telephone operators, Sprint PCS and Verizon
Wireless use CDMA, VoiceStream/T-Mobile uses GSM, and Nextel uses iDEN.

European Union. The average mobile phone subscribership penetration among

the 15 EU countries as of 2001 was 76%, compared to 44% in the United States. Unlike
the United States, which allowed each of its digital cellular/PCS licensees to choose its
own signal transmission standard, the EU adopted GSM as the standard for its member
countries (GSM is also used in some non-EU European countries, as well as Australia,
and much of Asia and Africa). Mobile telephone users in those regions can buy one
phone (called a world phone) that operates across multiple bands and, thus can work
anywhere the GSM standard is supported, provided commercial contracts among
operators are in place. To avoid paying roaming fees when connecting to the network in
another European country, GSM users can switch subscriber identification module (SIM)
cards (small removable integrated circuits that slip into cell phones and store the
connection data and identification numbers needed to access a particular mobile service
provider). Most users, however, have just one account for all their mobile phone use.
Many claim that the EUs adoption of GSM as a single standard was one reason for the
higher cellular penetration in EU countries compared to the United States.

Japan. Japan uses a standard called Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), another
variation of TDMA technology (with a different modulation scheme from either GSM or
ANSI-136 TDMA), for its second-generation mobile networks. NTT DoCoMo Inc. (the
largest mobile services provider in Japan) and J-phone (the third largest mobile provider)
use PDC, while KDDI (the second largest mobile services provider) has switched its
network from PDC to CDMA (cdmaOne).

A standard called i-mode, introduced by DoCoMo, is used as an enhancement to

PDC technology for providing Internet connection services via cell phones (or mobile
Internet). Japan is the largest market in the world for mobile Internet, with 52 million
subscribers as of March 2002.9 I-mode, a type of packet-switched technology, uses
compact HTML to provide over-the-air-data transmissions. KDDI uses a different
standard for Internet access called EZ-Web, and J-Phones standard for Internet access is
called J-Sky. Data services are not interoperable among these three carriers, not even
between DoCoMo and J-phone.

South Korea. In 2001, S. Korea surpassed Japan in its mobile phone penetration
(62% compared to Japans 58%), but still remains lower than several EU nations. S.
Korea has three mobile operators: SK Telecom (the largest), Korea Telecom Freetel
(KTF, the second largest), and LG Telecom Ltd. (Korea's smallest mobile carrier).

Table 1 shows which mobile telephony signal transmission standards are used by
some of the main mobile services providers in selected countries. Figure 2 shows the
mobile phone penetration rates for selected countries.

9
Stirring of the IT-Prevalent Society, White Paper 2002, Ministry of Public Management, Home
Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, Japan. Page 9.

6
 Table 1: Mobile Telephony Standards Used in Selected Countries
TDMA GSM CDMA iDEN PDC
United States AT&T, AT&T, Cingular, T-Mobile Sprint PCS, Nex-
Cingular (Deutsche Telecom) Verizon tel
Japan KDDI DoCoMo, J-
phone
Germany T-Mobile, D2 (Vodafone), E-
Plus (KPN, NTT, Hutchison),
Quam, mmO2, MobilCom
France Orange (France Telecom),
SFR (Vivendi), Bouygues
Telecom
United T-Mobile, Orange, mmO2,
Kingdom Vodafone, Huchison 3, Virgin
Italy TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile),
Vodafone/Omnitel, Wind
Infostrada
S. Korea LG Telecom SK-Telecom,
KTF
Netherlands KPN Mobile, Libertel
(Vodafone), BEN (Deutsche
Telecom), Dutchtone, Debitel,
mm02

Figure 2: Mobile Penetration in Selected Countries

Italy, 92.7
Sweden, 88.5
Czech Rep, 84.9
Finland, 84.5
U.K., 84.5
Norway, 84.3
Greece, 83.9
Denmark, 83.3
Spain, 82.3
Portugal, 81.9
Netherl., 72.4
Germany, 71.7
S. Korea, 68
France, 64.7
Japan, 62.1
U.S., 48.8

0 20 40 60 80 100
Mobile Subscribers/100 Inhabitants
source: www.itu.int/itu-d/ict/statistics

Migration Paths to 3G
Standards Developments. In May 2000, the ITU approved a set of five radio interface
standards for 3G systems from proposals submitted by regional standards developing
organizations (SDOs). The SDOs include the European Telecommunications Standards

7
Institute (ETSI), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA, representing North
America), the Association of Radio Industries and Business (ARIB, representing Japan),
the China Wireless Telecommunications Standards Group (CWTS), the
Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA, representing Korea), and the
Telecommunication Technology Committee (representing Japan). The 3G standards,
along with their alternative names, are shown and described below:

IMT-DS IMT-MC IMT-TC

CDMA Direct Spread CDMA Multi-Carrier CDMA Time-Code
also called UMTS, also called cdma2000 also called CDMA TDD,
WCDMA TD-SCDMA, UTRA TDD

IMT-SC IMT-FT
TDMA Single Carrier FDMA/TDMA Frequency-Time
also called UWC-136, EDGE also called DECT

WCDMA. The common name for the first of the above standards (CDMA Direct
Spread) is Wideband CDMA, or WCDMA, which uses a 5 MHz bandwidth for
each channel. This standard was established in 1998, when the EU Commission
adopted a Common Position to promote the implementation of 3G, called the
Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS, another common name
for this standard) with WCDMA as the standard. Since Europe currently uses
GSM as its 2G standard, WCDMA is seen as the logical migratory path for GSM
systems where the necessary spectrum is available.

cdma2000. This standard (also called CDMA Multi-Carrier) is successor to

CdmaOne and includes three modes of operation, including cdma2000 1x, 1xEV-
DO, and 1xEV-DV. The 1x mode uses a channel bandwidth of 1.25 MHz and can
double the voice capacity of CdmaOne networks and delivers peak packet data
speeds of 307 kbps in mobile environments. The 1xEV-DO mode increases the
data rate of cdma2000 1x to a peak rate of 2.4 Mbps, allowing access to more
bandwidth-intensive applications. The 1xEV-DV mode provides integrated voice
and simultaneous high-speed packet data services, such as video, video-
conferencing and other multimedia services at speeds of up to 3.09 Mbps.10 All
three modes are backward compatible with each other and with cdmaOne.

CDMA TDD. This standard (TDD is for time division duplex) combines both
CDMA and TDMA techniques to separate the transmitted and received
transmission because it uses the same carrier channel for both. Other
technologies use a separate channel for each direction, so this technology uses
half the bandwidth of other systems. CDMA TDD is also referred to as UTRAN
TDD (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) and is also called TD-
SCDMA (the S stands for synchronous). It operates at two chip rates, 1.28
Mbps in which it uses a channel bandwidth of 1.6 MHz, and 3.84 Mbps in which
it uses a channel bandwidth of 5 MHz. This system was developed by Chinas
10
For further information on cdma2000 characteristics, see the CDMA Development Group website at
http://www.cdg.org/technology/3g.asp.

8
 government, which reportedly believes it is a smooth and economical way to
migrate from GSM to IMT-2000. However, the migration process is less clear for
this system than it is for either WCDMA or cdma2000.

TDMA Single Carrier. These radio interface specifications were developed by

TIA with input from the Universal Wireless Communication Consortium (in
developing a standard called UWC-136) to allow TDMA or GSM systems to
migrate to IMT-2000. It uses a 1.6 MHz channel and incorporates EDGE
technology to provide IMT-2000 services. Since it uses less bandwidth than
WCDMA, it is an alternative for TDMA or GSM 2G systems where additional
bandwidth is not available. There are no current plans to utilize this standard in
any country.

FDMA/TDMA. This standard, also known as digital enhanced cordless

telecommunications (DECT), was defined by ETSI. It is a TDMA TDD system
that operates with a channel bandwidth of approximately 1.728 MHz. There are
no current plans to utilize this standard in any country.

A fundamental requirement by the ITU is that the resultant systems must be

interoperable. However, despite promises from the manufacturers and mobile service
providers, it is not clear to what extent the different 3G standards adopted in various
countries will be interoperable. Equipment manufacturers assure the regulators that chips
can be designed for the handsets to support whatever technologies they want, and thus
could work across different networks.11

Industry Developments. WCDMA, CDMA TDD, and TDMA-SC are being

developed by the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a joint venture of the
five SDOs listed above (under Standards Developments).12 3GPP has been releasing
WCDMA in phases and annual releases. The first release, issued in December 1999,
defined enhancements and transitions for existing GSM networks. The second release,
issued in December 2000, provided similar enhancements for TDMA and CDMA
networks. The main feature of the first release is the adoption of the UMTS terrestrial
radio access (UTRA) interface. UTRA supports time division duplex (TDD)13 for public
micro- and pico-cells (much smaller cells than the typical cellular networks) and
unlicensed cordless applications. It also supports frequency division duplex (FDD) for
wide area macro- and micro-cells.

The migration of GSM networks to WCDMA could take a path from the 14.4 kbps
GSM rates to 57.6 kbps (using HSCSD), then to 115 kbps (using GPRS), then to 384
kbps (using EDGE), and finally to 2 Mbps (using UMTS). TDMA systems could be
upgraded to greater capacities (using 30 kHz channels) in phases from 28.8 kbps, to 64

11
Statement in an e-mail by Dan Bart, Telecommunications Industry Association, March 20, 2003.
12
See http://www.3GPP.org. Also, for background see UMTS Protocols and Protocol Testing,
Tektronix, Web Proforum Tutorials, International Engineering Consortium, http://www.iec.org.
13
Duplex refers to a two-way simultaneous signal transmission capability.

9
kbps (IS-136+), then to 384 kbps (EDGE adding a 200 kHz channel), and finally to
rates up to 2 Mbps by adding a 1.6 MHz channel.14

Because the 3GPP consortium focused on the migration paths for GSM/TDMA
technologies to 3G, companies using CDMA technology for their existing 2G services
decided to form a separate group, called 3GPP2, to address specifically the migration of
CDMA-based mobile services to 3G. The members of 3GPP2 are the same SDOs as are
in 3GPP, except that Committee T1 and ETSI are members of 3GPP and TIA a member
of 3GPP2.15 CDMA (ANSI-95) systems will be upgraded to 115 kbps (ANSI-95B), then
to 307 kbps (1xEV-DO, a data overlay network), or to 1xEV-DV (incorporating both data
and voice on the same channel), and finally to 2 Mbps with 3xEV-DO (also called IS-
2000, Wideband cdmaOne or cdma2000). For most ANSI-95 operators, the migration
path to 3G will be seamless and reverse-compatible: the 2G handset will operate on 3G
networks, and the 3G handsets will be able to operate on 2G networks. This transparency
for users, along with the ability to roam seamlessly across 2G and 3G platforms, gives
operators flexibility in deployment timing. Segments of the network can be upgraded
where capacity enhancements or higher data speeds are essential, while other segments
can remain interoperable.

Figure 3 below depicts the likely migration paths to 3G for TDMA, GSM, and
CDMA systems. The ITU is developing a handbook on the deployment of IMT-2000
(3G) systems globally, designed to help countries plan for the migration to 3G systems in
a harmonized way. This document, when completed, should clarify some of the
questions regarding the potential migration paths to 3G.

Figure 3: Migration Paths to 3G

TDMA IS-136+
IS-136 GPRS WCDMA
EDGE UTRA

GSM HSCSD GPRS

1xEV-DO 3xEV-DV
CDMA IS-95B 1xEV-DV cdma2000
IS-95
2G 3G

3G Implementation by Regions. As discussed above, the EU has adopted

WCDMA as its 3G standard. To ensure a pan-European service, one 3G licensee in each
national market is required to use WCDMA, but the EU will not prohibit other standards
for other licenses issued. While some European carriers are using the cdma2000

14
ITU Handbook on Deployment of IMT-2000 Systems, draft version 0k_sec: 2 December 2002.
15
See http://www.3GPP2.org for further information. In addition, several other new industry interest
groups have emerged3GIP and MWIF were initiated to drive development of IP-based 3G networks. The
Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is working on consolidating many of these fora.

10
standard, most carriers are concerned about not choosing WCDMA and then facing
potential interoperability problems with the dominant 3G carrier.

In the U.S., the FCC, following the same reasoning as with 2G implementation,
has maintained technology neutrality, and has not adopted any one 3G standard, but
instead allows mobile service providers to choose the 3G standard they believe is best
suited to their needs. Of the six national carriers, a likely scenario would be that the
carriers currently using CDMA (Verizon and Sprint PCS) will migrate to cdma2000, and
that the carriers using TDMA/GSM/iDEN (AT&T, Cingular, T-Mobile, NexTel) will
migrate to WCDMA. Verizon has begun offering cdma2000 services in selected U.S.
markets using the 1xEV-DO standard, but its subscribership numbers were not
available.16

In Japan, MPHPT has adopted both WCDMA and cdma2000 for 3G

implementation. DoCoMo and J-phone use WCDMA, and KDDI uses CDMA2000. No
other standards have been proposed by a Japanese mobile services provider. Japans
three mobile service providers have already provided Internet access over their 2G
networks, and are in various phases of migrating these services to 3G. In October 2001,
NTT DoCoMo began offering IMT-2000 (3G) services to Japanese consumers using the
WCDMA standard. An enhanced version of DoCoMos i-mode service (called FOMA
for Freedom of Multimedia Access) is DoCoMos 3G service. By July 2003, DoCoMo
had over 658,000 3G subscribers.17 KDDI began offering 3G services in April 2002
using the cdma2000 standard (originally called EZ-Web service). By August 2003 KDDI
had over 10 million 3G subscribers. J-Phone began 3G services in December 2002, and
had recorded 4,700 3G subscribers by February 2003 (no updates available).

The S. Korean government granted 3G licenses in 2000 to provide commercial

3G services to two consortia led by SK Telecom and KTF, and gave a third license to LG
Telecom. SK Telecom was the first company in the world to offer commercial 3G
services in October 2000, followed by KTF and LG in May 2001.18 SK Telecom and
KTF originally intended to deploy 3G systems using WCDMA technology,19 but instead
they both deployed cdma2000 technology. LG had always planned to use cdma2000. By
September 2003, Korea had recorded over 22.4 million 3G subscribers. The Korean
system was supposed to deliver data at speeds up to 2.4 Mbps to Internet-equipped
phones, but this rate has not been reached due to technical problems.20

Worldwide. As of September 2003, there were 57 commercial 3G operators in

29 countries with over 61 million 3G subscribers, according to one source.21 Most of
those operators have not yet publicly reported their subscriber numbers, which could
indicate that they are still in testing pilot programs.

16
Verizon launches Mobile Internet Access, San Diego Union Tribune, September 30, 2003.
17
3G Is Here Today, September 2003. http://www.3gtoday.com/operators_noflash.htm.
18
3G is Here Today, September 2003.
19
3G in Korea, Merrill Lynch Global Securities and Economics Group, 6 September 2002.
20
KTF Blazes Trail into 3G Future, Korea Times, October 29, 2002.
21
3G is Here Today, September 2003.

11
 The capabilities of some of the IMT-2000 terrestrial radio interfaces are already
being enhanced and extended up to 14 Mbps. Other enhancements include the IP
multimedia Subsystem, which enables data and video telephony via packet switching
technology; and interoperability with other networks such as Digital TV, Digital Audio
Broadcasting, and wireless local area networks.22

Even if the service providers work out seamless interoperability among the
different 3G standards, there could still be problems achieving interoperability between
the 3G systems and some of the previously existing 2G systems. Some industry analysts
claim that this might be more of a problem for the TDMA/GSM-based 2G systems than it
will be for the CDMA-based systems.

Technology-Related Issues in the Implementation of 3G

Competing Standards. Some U.S. policy-makers have expressed concern over the
EUs adoption of a single 3G standard, and whether that action might confer a market
advantage for WCDMA over other competing services. EU officials have stated that to
ensure a pan-European service, one 3G license in each national market is required to use
WCDMA technology, but the EU will not prohibit other technologies for other licenses
issued. Some individual EU member states, however, have adopted policies that
discriminate against other technologies competing in their markets. Even if individual
member states are technology neutral, market incentives in Europe could cause WCDMA
to predominate.

Competition from Wi-Fi. Many observers are concerned that some of the demand
for the data portion of 3G services will be taken away by a new unlicensed wireless
service called Wi-Fi (for wireless fidelity, also called 802.11, the IEEE standard
established for the data transmission technology).23 Wi-Fi systems were originally
intended to enable wireless LANs, but have also come to be used for mobile phone
connections to LANs (some also using Bluetooth technology), enabling mobile phone
users to gain access to data services available on LANs. Wi-Fi systems use landline
technologies to connect to the PSTN and the Internet. Some 3G proponents fear that
consumers could simply use Wi-Fi systems together with their existing mobile phone
services to circumvent the need for greater bandwidth, and more expensive, 3G services.

Even from the consumers perspective, however, Wi-Fi systems are not exactly
comparable to 3G systems for several reasons. First, Wi-Fi is designed for use within
small areas (such as a building), compared to 3G, which is intended to operate over large
geographic areas. Second, Wi-Fi has a much greater bandwidth (up to 11 Mbps using the
802.11b standard, and up to 54 Mbps using the 802.11a standard) than 3G, which can
operate only up to 2 Mbps for stationary applications, and less for mobile applications.
Third, consumers can use Wi-Fi systems without having to subscribe to any service.
They can simply purchase Wi-Fi equipment and install it on a LAN or at home. While
voice applications over LANs and the Internet are available, they are not yet as easy to

22
Mobile Evolution: Shaping the Future, the UMTS Forum, August 2003.
23
Wi-Fi Hot-Spot Networks Sprout Like Mushrooms, IEEE Spectrum, September 2002. pages 18-20.

12
use as cellular systems, and they are not intended for mobile applications over large
distances as are cellular systems.

Recently, several mobile service providers have entered the Wi-Fi business by
deploying and offering Wi-Fi access service to businesses such as restaurants, coffee
shops, hotels, and air ports.24 In the long run, Wi-Fi systems may become more
complimentary than competitive to 3G systems, fulfilling the in-building demand for
mobility, while 3G systems handle the out-of-building demands. It is not clear which 3G
standard would best facilitate the handing-off between Wi-Fi and 3G systems, or whether
such interoperability could be optimized if 3G standards are developed accordingly.

Intellectual Property Rights for 3G Technologies. The Interoperability of 3G

services is dependent on cooperation among the equipment manufacturers as well as the
service providers. While the 3GPP is using WAP as the transport protocol for advanced
services provided over GSM-based networks, the 3GPP2 (the CDMA consortium) has
not adopted any single protocol for that function. Qualcomm Inc. profits from patent
royalties when service providers and manufacturers use its CDMA-based patents, while
competing companies, such as Nokia, NTT DoCoMo Inc., LM Ericsson, and Siemens
might have an advantage if the service provider uses another standard with fewer
Qualcomm patents because they would pay fewer royalties to Qualcomm.25 Qualcomm is
currently marketing a software program called BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for
Wireless) that enables users to download applications onto their mobile phones.
Competing manufacturers claim that BREW favors CDMA-based applications, which
places them at a disadvantage.26 Many of these companies are lobbying the regulatory
authorities in various countries to establish policies that exclude their competitors. The
United States has adhered to its policy of technology neutrality in this case.

Delays in 3G Deployment. With the downturn in the global economy in general, and
in the telecom industry in particular, several telecom services providers have decided to
delay 3G service launches. For example, of the 18 new European 3G competitors, 11
abandoned their plans to build.27 Most of the operators are blaming the delays on
technological issues rather than on lack of anticipated demand. Some operators indicate
soft launches in mid-2003, i.e., non-mass-market launches, without major revenues.
Multi-national operators tend to coordinate these delays.28 Under the current tight fiscal
environment, many operators are not able to meet the 3G roll-out commitments they
agreed to when they received their licenses. One market that looks somewhat optimistic
is S. Korea, where the data indicate greater usage of the new sophisticated handset
features and data revenues are increasing.

Planning for the FutureBeyond 3G

24
FCC 03-150, Eighth Annual Report and analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to
Commercial Mobile Services, WT Docket 02-379, released July 14, 2003. pages 80-81.
25
Interoperability, IPR,Hang Over 3G, CR Wireless News, November 11, 2002.
26
Raise Your Glass to BREW, Computer Technology Review, March 2001.
27
Global Telecoms Monthly, Salomon Smith Barney (a member of Citigroup), 12 September 2002,
page 8.
28
3G Rollout Status, Northstream version 1.2, 4 October 2002.

13
 For several years, the mobile services industry has been thinking about the next
steps to develop mobile communications capabilities beyond 3G. The demand for more
robust mobile networks is expected to continue to increase, even after deployment of 3G,
to provide enhancements to existing mobile telephony services and greater bandwidth
capacity. One of the characteristics of the next generation of mobile services will likely
be an even greater global compatibility, giving users and information devices the
capability to roam across a variety of heterogeneous network environments, to operate in
various frequency bands, and to use a variety of air interface standards to optimize the
use of spectral resources.

Manufacturers are already planning for the introduction of a universal radio,

which would be able to automatically change frequency channels and adapt to different
air interfaces depending on the communications link. These systems will also provide
greater bandwidth through more efficient use of existing spectrum and (the industry
hopes) additional spectrum allocations. These systems would employ new modulation
techniques, intelligent antennas, pico-radios interference detection and multi-user
detection, and reconfigurable, self-healing networks to support videoconferencing, video-
on-demand, higher speed Internet access, large file transfers, and emergent m-commerce
applications.

In some countries (e.g., Japan and Korea) these futuristic capabilities are referred
to as fourth generation mobile communications systems (4G). S. Korea and Japan are
already jointly planning for the implementation of 4G services. In other regions (e.g., the
EU and in ITU meetings) the term beyond IMT-2000 is preferred, perhaps to give
mobile service providers time to deploy 3G services and allow 3G to fully mature. The
ITU even differentiates between enhancements or improvements to IMT-2000 systems,
and systems beyond IMT-2000. Throughout the policy development process and the
international negotiations on 3G and beyond, the U.S. position has been and remains
technology neutral. As a result, U.S. policy makers are not as entangled in the debate
over standards or nomenclature as our counterparts in most other countries. We continue
to advocate for other countries to adopt a similar approach.

14