International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

STANDARDS WARS: THE USE OF STANDARD SETTING AS A MEANS OF FACILITATING CARTELS - THIRD GENERATION WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARD SETTING
By Peter Grindley, David J. Salant and Leonard Waverman

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 2-3-1999

Abstract

This paper describes the process by which the third generation (3G) standards for wireless telecommunications services are being defined. The standard setting decisions will affect equipment suppliers, telecommunications operators, and consumers. The development of telecommunications standards is an arcane process. Many different firms and organizations play a role. Of particular interest is the impact of standard setting in facilitating cartels for 3G systems.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services (UMTS) is often referred to as a third generation (or 3G) standard. Analogue cellular, or Analogue Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), is a first generation standard and various forms of Personal Communications Services digital standards are second generation, or 2G, standards. There is no single global 2G standard, rather a set of 2G standards.

Standard setting is a global activity, with many national, regional and global organizations playing key roles. Europe has coordinated on one digital 2G standard, the “ ‘Global’ Standard for Mobile” communications, (GSM), a time division multiple access (TDMA) standard used in both the 800 MHz and 1.8 GHz frequency bands. The European Community (EC) is developing a single 3G. However, this third generation technology uses code division multiple access (CDMA) originally developed by a US firm, Qualcomm, and so will not be fully backward compatible with GSM.