OTTAWA-The Canadian wireless telecommunications industry is doing some important looking ahead, even though it still is preoccupied with rolling out the four competing national PCS services.
Appearing on the horizon for wireless-industry leaders in Canada are advanced wireless communications technologies-third-generation (3G) systems. Canada has left unallocated spectrum that could go for 3G wireless technology-a 40 MHz chunk within the 1.8 GHz PCS (Personal Communications Services) band.
Two key Canadian groups have organized a one-day conference 18 June in Ottawa to boost awareness among providers, suppliers and governments about the potential advantages and complications of 3G.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and the Radio Advisory Board of Canada are sponsoring the conference, with support from L.M. Ericsson, Northern Telecom Ltd. and Lucent Technologies Inc.
The conference is necessary “because not a lot has been discussed about it,” said Roger Poirier, president of Ottawa-based CWTA. “We want to bring people up to the same level of understanding about 3G.”
Until now, the industry has been preoccupied with the launch of PCS services, Poirier continued. However, with key International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conferences on 3G technologies slated for this year, it is important for the Canadian industry to begin focusing on the issues involved, he said. “There is plenty of lead time for this, but we want to be at the front at the ITU. Canada has to play a major role at the conferences.”
Canada’s objective at the ITU gatherings will be to promote the adoption of a worldwide standard for 3G, contended Phil Saunders of Toronto, vice president commercial relations at Nortel and president of the Radio Advisory Board. RAB advises the Canadian government on spectrum management and policy.
“You should be able to take your cell phone or your PCS (phone) anywhere in the world,” said Saunders. “It should have the same protocol and the same frequency.”
Promoting international roaming will be a key theme at the Canadian conference, and Saunders wants that message to be reinforced at the ITU meetings. “We see our conference as an opportunity to build awareness of the issues. We have worked with the CWTA to bring in some top experts to give all the issues a good airing.”
Besides the roaming issue, Saunders wants delegates to the Ottawa conference “to realize that a common international standard for 3G won’t happen automatically. It won’t happen on its own. It will take work and will.”
Without a cohesive position among ITU members, a variety of regional standards could be created for 3G that would reduce the value of high-speed links and other advantages the next era in wireless could bring. With enough support, “3G could accomplish some international harmony in telecommunications,” Saunders asserted. “To achieve that, we will need sober appreciation of what’s required.”
The industry also has to realize that some key policy decisions on 3G could be made this year, he said.
The sessions at the Ottawa conference also will focus on the kinds of decisions that industry and governments will have to make during the next few years, including what spectrum to employ in the new services, Poirier observed. “There are some strategic decisions that will have to be made on how we should move in Canada to develop 3G.”
Given the timeliness of the topic, Poirier expects several hundred delegates from various parts of the industry as well as government to attend. While the international issues will get a lot of attention, there also will be discussions about the potential of 3G in Canada as a boon to the development of high-tech companies and how next-generation technologies could help deliver communications services to rural and remote communities.
Contact: www.cwta.ca
