MOBILE INDUSTRY, EUROPEAN COMMISSION SEEK TO ASSURE 3G SUCCESS
Buoyed by European 2G mobile penetration rates exceeding 80%, the European Commission (EC) this week meets with industry and other stakeholders to ensure the success of emerging high-speed mobile data services. Europe can’t afford to be complacent about its leading role in mobile communications, Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen said Tues. He said Europe must “replicate our past approach by focusing on key enablers” such as R&D, interoperability, the content regulatory environment and spectrum policy.
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Such issues are slated for discussion at a Fri. workshop in Brussels on high-speed mobile services. The workshop will give the EC “useful input ahead of its Communication on high speed mobile data services due at the end of this month,” a spokesman said.
Market forces will drive uptake of such services, Liikanen said, but several “concerted actions at [the European Union] level need to be reinforced.” These include: (1) A comprehensive, properly-funded program of integrated research activities. (2) A new understanding of “innovation” -- across disciplines rather than via the traditional path of basic research, applied research, development and deployment. (3) Interoperability, which is critical to deployment of high-speed mobile services.
Liikanen said it must be recognized: (1) High-speed data services will involve personal and sensitive data for which trusted and secure identification and authentication are needed. (2) Uncertainty over the application of EU e- money rules to mobile payments must be resolved. (3) Member states must tear down regulatory and quasi-regulatory barriers to the establishment of new base stations and masts. Unless countries “unite around” EC recommendations, Liikanen said, “there is a risk that the imposition of stricter electromagnetic limits than those recommended at EU level could represent a continuous barrier for 3G network deployment.”
Liikanen’s concerns closely track industry’s. In a Jan. 8 report requested by the EC, the Mobile Communications & Technology Platform (MCTP) outlined key steps they and govts. must take to promote 3G, including these: (1) European standards bodies should keep pace with technological evolution, and streamline mechanisms to achieve network and device interoperability. (2) To stimulate the content market, suitable mobile payment mechanisms should be made available. At the same time, the group said, a secure generalized digital rights management mechanism must be harmonized at EU level. MCTP members are Alcatel, Bertelsmann, Ericsson, Orange, Hutchison 3G, Nokia, Royal Philips Electronics, Siemens, ST Microelectronics, Telefonica Moviles, Telecom Italia Mobile, T-Mobile International, Vivendi Universal and Vodafone Group.
The industry group also urged all European stakeholders to create a common “EU Security Framework” to deal with network infrastructure issues, and asked the EC to ensure a harmonized approach to spam to build consumer confidence. Both operators and govts. must try to cut mobile theft, the MCTP said. The group also stressed the need for a European debate on spectrum policy, including trading.
Interoperability is “the bottleneck at the moment” to convergent mobile communications, said a spokesman for the European Information & Communications Technology Industry Assn. (EICTA). While EICTA is concerned about all issues related to high speed mobile data services, he said, it’s focused on interoperability, the “key enabler if applied properly.” The organization expects to issue a white paper on defining interoperability and open standards, the spokesman said. He said the EC Dir.-Gen. Enterprise is crafting a communication on interoperability as well. Though it applies to. e-govt. services, the spokesman said, it will be relevant to other areas.
Meanwhile, a U.K. parliamentary panel is readying a report -- due out in about 3 weeks -- on planning and siting mobile base stations, said Derek Wyatt, vice chmn. of the All Party Mobile Group. Asked what the govt.’s role should be in the rollout of mobile communications, Wyatt said “base stations are still a perceived issue which will not go away. Planning them should be in the hands of local authorities.”