Industry Unites for Global Roaming

Despite the heated competition, the promise of global roaming lured representatives of industry associations and companies that embrace different wireless standards and technologies to Chicago on March 29. Their goal: organize a group that will facilitate interstandard roaming across CDMA, GSM, iDEN and TDMA and multiple bands.

Participants included members of CDG, the GSM Association, Nextel and UWCC. The GSM Association took the lead by founding the forum, which will operate within the association and include members of other industry sectors.

"Our greatest contribution is the far-reaching expertise we've developed in creating seamless international roaming among GSM networks," said Robert Conway, GSM Association CEO. "It's now time for everyone to build on that."

To some, Conway's statement marks a change in the collective mindset of GSM operators, which dominate global roaming.

"Two years ago, they were sure (GSM) was going to exist everywhere. Today, they realize it doesn't," said Bill Thompson, BellSouth International Wireless Services director of sales. "Even GSM in the United States doesn't have the penetration that the GSM operators (have) in Europe."

In fact, GSM has not yet launched services to the site of the March meeting, but the GSM Alliance reports service soon will be available in Chicago.

"Would I as a person who travels constantly want to carry a GSM telephone with me in the United States?" Thompson asked. "The answer's no. Yet when I go to Europe, I'm thrilled to use my GSM phone because I get so many more services."

The lack of coverage in the United States may account for North American GSM operators' increasing willingness to collaborate with bearers of other standards. For example, in February 1999, the GSM Alliance signed an agreement with UWCC to work toward interoperability between GSM, TDMA and AMPS networks around the world.

"The forum was a natural extension of the GSM/ANSI-136 Interoperability Team (GAIT)," said Chris Pearson, UWCC vice president of marketing, who thinks both GAIT and the forum will create a win-win opportunity for all involved.

He views international wireless footprints as a natural extension of the national footprints common in the United States and interstandard roaming as the vehicle that will carry many service providers toward international footprints.

Echoing Pearson's words in a press statement, Terry Yen, director of CDG's Asia-Pacific Project, said, "The most significant accomplishment of this meeting was that despite the past, the various technology groups are getting together to make global interstandard roaming a reality."