DENVER, United States-Cooperation and services are two focus areas for the GSM Association during the upcoming year, according to Scott Fox, who assumed the association’s chairmanship 1 May. Cooperation will extend from the group’s GSM Global Roaming Forum, which also includes rival TDMA and CDMA operators, to the group’s renewed focus on regulatory, privacy and third-generation (3G) issues.
The roaming forum now has 110 members and is working on a specific plan of action that will include specifications for the nuances of allowing handsets and networks to talk to each other. Fox said that during the last six months, the group has focused on intergenerational roaming versus interstandard roaming, and the fruits of those discussions will come to market this year. He cited the new dual-mode TDMA/GSM handset recently announced by Siemens as one example.
In terms of services, the association would like to see carriers focus less on the hype of new 2.5-generation (2.5G) and 3G technologies and more on the data services that will be available to subscribers. The group plans to become more involved in helping carriers convey the right message.
“We were guilty of letting GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) hype get out of control. We’ll be moderating some of those messages from getting out. We’ve been asked to call … on our members who are overhyping it.”
Last year, the association’s 535 members-455 of which are operators-asked the group to step up its role in regulatory and other issues, including potential health risks and privacy concerns surrounding mobile devices. The association is forming a new global regulatory group that will address the diverse regulatory issues of each country. In Europe, those items will obviously involve Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) issues, such as network sharing, license fees, and payment and rollout schedules.
Fox, the second American in a row to lead the GSM Association, is currently the president of network management and operations at Wireless Facilities, a U.S.-based consulting and engineering firm. He was the chief technology officer for more than five years at U.S. operator BellSouth, which is now part of Cingular Wireless. The association’s chairman must be a representative of a mobile carrier, and Fox represents Cingular in the association.
James Healy, president of U.S. operator Cook Inlet VoiceStream PCS, ended his tenure on 30 April.
