3G Mobile Licensing Policy:

From GSM To IMT-2000 -

A Comparative Analysis

This case has been prepared by Audrey Selian , ITU. 3G Mobile Licensing Policy: GSM Case Study is part of a series of Telecommunication Case Studies produced under the New Initiatives program of the Office of the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable guidance and direction of Tim Kelly and Fabio Leite of the ITU in the development of this study. The 3G case studies program is managed by Lara Srivastava and under the direction of Ben Petrazzini . Country case studies on 3G, including Sweden, Japan, China & Hong Kong SAR, Chile, Venezuela, and Ghana can be found at . The opinions expressed in this study are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Telecommunication Union, its membership or the GSM Association.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1 Introduction 6

1.1 The Generations of Mobile Networks 7

2 A Look Back at GSM 10

2.1 GSM Technology 10

2.2 The History of GSM 11

2.2.1 Conference Des Administrations Europeans des Posts et Telecommunications (CEPT) 12

2.2.2 The European Commission and the Memorandum of Understanding 13

2.2.3 European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) 14

2.2.4 The “Frequency Band” Obstacle Course 14

2.2.5 The Conclusion of the Interstate Bargain 15

2.2.6 The Launch 15

2.2.7 The United States and the FCC 16

2.3 The GSM Market 16

2.3.1 The GSM Success Story 16

2.3.2 Future Market Development 17

2.4 Licensing GSM 18

2.4.1 GSM Radio Spectrum 19

3 A Look Ahead at IMT-2000 19

3.1 From GSM to IMT-2000 19

3.1.1 HSCSD (High-Speed Circuit Switched Data) 22

3.1.2 GPRS (General Packet Radio