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GMPCS
industry leaders laud ITU for fostering revolutionary
new telecommunications systems
Global operators such as
Iridium, ICO, Globalstar or Teledesic are deploying
revolutionary systems to deliver global personal mobile
communications and a few dozens more are to follow
shortly after. How has the work of the ITU (allocation
of spectrum, Policy Forum, GMPCS MoU) concretely helped
these projects reach the marketplace?
This year promises to see
telecommunications history in the making. Iridium has
announced plans to launch a revolutionary new
satellite-based wireless telecommunications system
designed to allow users to communicate to and from
virtually any point on the Earth's surface using a
small, highly portable handset.
Similar systems by ICO,
Globalstar, SkyBridge and Teledesic are already in the
pipeline, to be deployed in the years to come. Together,
these projects have created a new multi-billion dollar
telecommunications industry known as Global Mobile
Personal Communications by Satellite -- or GMPCS for
short.
But none of these competing
projects could have been launched without the tireless
efforts of the ITU. GMPCS leaders agree that the ITU has
been the driving force behind their industry, preparing
the groundwork for worldwide GMPCS operations.
Iridium plans to launch its full
commercial rollout during the 15th Plenipotentiary
Conference of the International Telecommunication Union.
As telecommunications experts from around the world
gather in Minneapolis to charter the future course of
the ITU, GMPCS industry leaders have unanimously lauded
the ITU for its efforts in fostering these innovative
new systems.
Their praise serves as a
powerful reminder of the vital work the ITU performs
every day. Many in the industry also believe the ITU
GMPCS success story will serve as a model for the
Union's future challenges.
"The ITU has been essential
in the progress that Iridium has made in getting its
products and services to market," Iridium Chairman
Bob Kinzie recently told the ITU.
"The success of innovative
communications solutions such as SkyBridge depends upon
a coherent, technologically aware and pro-competitive
environment for telecommunications around the world. It
is our belief, gained through solid experience and hard
work with the highly competent staff of all three [ITU]
Sectors, that the ITU is the only organization with the
credibility, the focus and the expertise to foster such
an environment at the global level," added Pascale
Sourisse, President and CEO, SkyBridge. Ms. Sourisse's
comments refer to the ITU Radiocommunications,
Standardization and Development Sectors.
Teledesic President Russell
Daggatt -- who favors the term "NGSO systems"
(non-geostationary satellites) over "GMPCS" --
concurs. "The uniquely global nature of the
emerging NGSO systems has created a need for a uniquely
global approach to the regulation of these systems. Only
the ITU brings together virtually all the
administrations of the world to adapt new responses to
these dynamic new global opportunities," he said.
The ITU Is The Only Global Forum
For Spectrum Allocations
Because all GMPCS systems rely
on wireless infrastructure, GMPCS operators agree that
securing global spectrum allocations marked the
essential first step toward making GMPCS systems a
reality. "The ITU's World Radiocommunication
Conferences provide the only effective way for a global
or regional GMPCS system to gain global spectrum
allocations, which are essential to launching
service," said Greg Francis, Manager Regulatory
Policy, ICO Global Communications.
"The ITU has played an
essential role in allocating and coordinating Iridium's
frequency assignments through the 1992, 1995 and 1997
World Radiocommunication Conferences and through the ITU
coordination process," Bob Kinzie agreed.
Spectrum Allocations Held Key To
GMPCS Financing
Mr. Kinzie added that ITU
decisions on MSS (mobile satellite systems) spectrum
allocations in the 1992, 1995 and 1997 World
Radiocommunication Conferences were key to the
industry's ability to obtain financing and for continued
project development. "Without these actions,
Iridium as well as other MSS system operators would not
have been able to raise financial resources or develop
competing systems to meet the needs of a growing market
place for GMPCS services," the Iridium Chairman
said.
The 1996 ITU World
Telecommunication Policy Forum turned the promise of
GMPCS services into reality
The defining feature that sets
GMPCS services apart from existing wireless
telecommunications systems is global roaming. While some
mobile systems already offer international roaming, none
can deliver seamless telecommunications services in all
four corners of the Earth.
But the promise of global
roaming is dependant upon the free transborder movement
of GMPCS handsets. It took the ITU to turn this promise
into reality.
In 1996, prior to ITU efforts,
many Administrations were reluctant to allow the free
circulation of GMPCS handsets. Some countries feared
revenue loss resulting from bypass of their Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Others harbored
security and national sovereignty concerns. And, since
the initial projected costs for using GMPCS systems were
so high, many developing countries doubted the new
technology would help them meet their universal service
goals.
Adding to these concerns, no
international system existed to reconcile differing
national policies on handset licensing or type approval,
and no internationally recognized mark existed to
demonstrate compliance once global policies were agreed.
These were the issues facing the
first ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) as
it opened in October 1996.
ITU Provided A Forum For
Exchange That Helped Dispel Fears
The WTPF provided "a forum
for operators to answer the fears or concerns of
governments about the consequences of their
services," Greg Francis of ICO noted.
"The WTPF provided an arena
in which the GMPCS industry could educate
Administrations and other interested parties on how
GMPCS operates and on the benefits that GMPCS services,
like Iridium's, can bring to users around the
world," Bob Kinzie concurred.
"The ITU performed a very
valuable service by convening the First World
Telecommunication Policy Forum in October 1996,"
agreed Globalstar. "This became the vehicle for
educating national regulators to a new global service
and, perhaps as important, it gave the GMPCS industry
some credibility. Many regulators and other government
officials, especially in small and less developed
countries, take their leads from the ITU. The WTPF
proved invaluable for education and exchanging views
between government and industry. In some ways it was a
model of government-industry cooperation. Only the ITU
can serve a function like this," Globalstar added.
The ITU WTPF adopted the draft
GMPCS-MoU that developed key international GMPCS-MoU
arrangements
"The ITU provided a neutral
platform for the exchange of ideas between
Administrations and industry, which led to the
GMPCS-MoU, associated implementation Arrangements and
the global introduction of GMPCS services," said
Iridium Chairman Bob Kinzie, in explaining how these
agreements were reached.
Initially, the 1996 WTPF
resulted in agreement on five "Opinions"
covering a range of GMPCS issues. The Policy Forum led
directly to the development of the GMPCS- Memorandum of
Understanding and the associated implementation
Arrangements. Specifically, Opinions 2 and 4 called for
Administrations to facilitate the early introduction of
GMPCS services and pressed for urgent action to
facilitate the global circulation of GMPCS terminals.
"The MoU is a direct result
of Opinion 4 -- it provides a commonly agreed upon
framework for arrangements to facilitate the transborder
roaming of GMPCS Terminals. The MoU arrangements address
four main areas that will facilitate the achievement of
cross-border circulation: mutual recognition of type
approvals of GMPCS terminals, a simplified regime for
the licensing of GMPCS terminals, a method of
identification (marking) of GMPCS terminals, and access
to traffic data by authorized national
authorities," the Iridium Chairman explained.
"Of course, the GMPCS-MoU
would not have become a reality without the dedicated
follow-through of the ITU, especially in the adoption of
Resolution 1116, which confirms the role of the
Secretary-General as the Depository of the GMPCS-MoU and
the use of the abbreviation "ITU" in the
GMPCS-MoU mark," Mr. Kinzie noted.
And the ITU will continue to
have a critical role to play in helping to shape the
future of the GMPCS industry. "Certainly, the ITU's
continued support of the GMPCS MoU and the Arrangements
will be needed. In addition, the ITU will be in a unique
role to promote improvements in the GMPCS implementation
process, as well as to facilitate the movement of GMPCS
terminals across borders," the Iridium Chairman
said.
ICO's Greg Francis added that,
through the work of the 1996 WTPF and the ITU's
Development Sector, "the ITU has allowed countries
to work with system operators, manufacturers, and
service providers to develop a framework for regulating
and licensing companies such as ICO. In doing so, the
ITU was responding to the needs of its membership (the
Member States) by devoting attention and resources to
examination of this new technology. Without that effort,
countries might have been reluctant to take action in
the regulatory domain, which might have delayed market
access for all GMPCS systems."
"We should praise the whole
GMPCS and Policy Forum processes as demonstrating the
leadership potential of the ITU within a wholly
voluntary process," Teledesic President Russell
Daggatt added.
The ITU succeeded because it is
uniquely positioned as an international organization
that includes both government and industry members.
"As an international
organization that comprises both Administrations and
private-sector Members, the ITU serves in a unique role
for GMPCS, which is intended to serve a global
market," Iridium's Chairman, Bob Kinzie, said. The
ITU currently has 188 Member States and some 500 sector
members representing public and private companies and
organizations with an interest in telecommunications.
"[The] ITU made a real
effort to foster a serious dialogue between the private
sector and the public sector so that each understood the
other's concerns," agreed Walda Roseman, President
and CEO, CompassRose International, Inc., who has been
an active participant in the ITU's work on GMPCS issues.
"The result is that both came out of the process
understanding that they had mutual
responsibilities," she noted.
Ms. Roseman further credited the
ITU's efforts "because there has been respect for
the time requirements involved and for the commercial
demands."
"The result is something
that's never been done before," the CompassRose
President said. "The result is a worldwide
consensus on a global framework for facilitating a new
communications service, a global policy framework.
That's extraordinary! This has been a superb example of
what a partnership between the private sector and
government, under the auspices of the ITU, can
accomplish," Ms. Roseman added.
The GMPCS process marks a new
evolutionary development in the work of the ITU, uniting
administrations, industry and users
"The Policy Forum marked a
distinct evolutionary development in the work of the
ITU," Iridium Chairman Bob Kinzie believes.
"The cooperation among the ITU, its Members and
industry illustrated the changing environment of
telecommunications. Through cooperation and
coordination, the Policy Forum achieved a balance among
the needs of the user, the market and Member
States," he added.
The ITU's efforts have not only
helped GMPCS companies, they have further enabled
customers to move their terminals across borders,
Iridium's Mr. Kinzie stressed. "By facilitating the
development of GMPCS services and the GMPCS industry,
the ITU has allowed telecommunications users to benefit
from the global coverage and expanded telecommunications
infrastructure offered within a competitive GMPCS
environment. Now, users will be able to make or receive
telephone calls from places where wireline and
terrestrial wireless service are currently not
available," he noted.
"Users will benefit from
increased mobility because of the ability to carry their
personal GMPCS terminals across borders. This
unobstructed ability to carry GMPCS terminals across
national borders would not be possible without the work
of the ITU," Mr. Kinzie remarked.
Fostering a GMPCS response
further helped the ITU to fulfil its mandate "to
facilitate the introduction of telecommunications,
especially to developing countries," ICO's Mr.
Francis added. GMPCS services will help extend access to
basic telecommunications, he explained. "By helping
to develop standards for the GMPCS industry, the ITU has
facilitated users' access to mobile and semi-fixed
voice, data, and eventually broadband communications,
such that all countries will have access to those media
which will help them be globally competitive," Mr.
Francis said.
GMPCS systems "will benefit
the world, particularly those areas in greatest
need," agreed Russell Daggatt. GMPCS "systems
made possible by the ITU, such as Teledesic's global,
broadband "Internet-in-the-Sky," will provide
global access to the telecommunications infrastructure
currently available only in advanced urban areas of the
developed world," Mr. Daggatt added.
GMPCS: an ITU success story --
and model for the future
The ITU's efforts in helping to
launch the new GMPCS industry is nothing less than a
success story. The ITU has proved to be an unrivalled
forum for the exchange of information and experience,
for debate and, ultimately, for agreement among and
between governments and industry on the launch of GMPCS
services. The ITU's efforts facilitated the birth of a
new industry and a new service for users across the
planet.
The ITU's response to the GMPCS
industry has also demonstrated the ITU's ability to
adapt to a changing telecommunications environment, an
environment marked by the increased participation of
private sector members and the advent of global
competition.
In addition, fostering the
launch of the GMPCS industry has helped the ITU to bring
new telecommunications services to all the world's
people. The ITU will continue to evolve as an
international organization that balances the needs of
all telecommunications players -- including governments,
industry and users.
Of course, new innovative
telecommunications technologies will continue to appear
on the horizon. And the ITU will help all its members
benefit from the promises these technologies hold.
"The ITU has shown an
impressive ability to adapt its processes from primarily
national concerns to truly global opportunities,"
Teledesic President Russell Daggatt remarked. "The
Internet, NGSO satellite systems and other elements of
the global information infrastructure require
coordinated policies among sovereign administrations.
The ITU has provided the leadership and fora for that
coordination," Mr. Daggatt added.n |
