ITU moving quickly on the convergence of 3G mobile networks

Geneva, 15 December 2000 — The first meeting of the Special Study Group on IMT-2000 and beyond closed today with the adoption of a roadmap for the future development of third generation network standards. The Study Group, which met in Geneva under the chairmanship of John Visser, Nortel Networks, from 11 to 15 December, agreed on an appropriate structure that reflects the market dynamics in this area, the scale of wireless penetration and the need to prepare and deliver timely results. The meeting also agreed on the work structure and work plan, setting out clear objectives, deliverables and target dates.

"It is essential that global IMT-2000 network standards be available in time and in a form that meets industry needs", said John Visser on the outcome of the meeting.

Less than two months after its creation, the Special Study Group participants swiftly crafted an aggressive strategy aimed at delivering results in the shortest possible timeframe. They agreed on principles that will guide the work of the Special Study Group in the next four years based on the overriding objective of building on the results of activities carried out by regional organizations and industry groups while adding value and providing a global perspective in the medium to long-term.

"We are serious both about the work we are proposing to do and about filling an important role which will provide on-going value", Visser said.

One of the goals of the Special Study Group is the definition of a converged set of requirements for the medium to long term which will stimulate harmonization and convergence of the various technologies and solutions presently being deployed. In addition, with several members of the Management Team representing developing regions of the world, the Special Study Group will work to ensure the relevance of its work to their needs and to assist them in developing their mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

The work plan provides for the adoption of standards on service capability requirements including the Virtual Home Environment by mid-2002 and completion of most of the work on network capabilities, mobility management and interoperability for global roaming between various IMT-2000 networks by the end of 2002. Other critical aspects such as interworking with fixed voice networks, packet data networks and requirements for convergence between fixed and IMT-2000 are also set for end-2002. The network architecture and interface requirements to facilitate the evolution of existing fixed networks towards a converged IMT-2000 compliant core network will first be carved out in early 2003 while the full architectural and network interface requirements that will facilitate service transparency to users across different access arrangements will be addressed over the following two years. Guidelines to assist countries in the deployment of existing and evolving IMT-2000 systems are also being prepared for the end of 2002.

"While much of the attention has so far focused on the radio aspects of IMT-2000, the core network infrastructure is equally important to interconnect mobile users", said Houlin Zhao, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. "In order to deploy full 3G networks that will deliver on the promises of global roaming and virtual home environment, a great deal of work remains to be done. A roaming user will want to see as little difference as possible between the service experience provided in the home network and in a visited network and this implies a very high degree of harmonization of network and services capabilities worldwide together with a convergence of approaches. I am confident that ITU can play a very successful role in this area", Zhao said.

The Special Study Group on IMT-2000 and Beyond is one of the 14 Study Groups of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). Established last October by the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, it is responsible for the harmonization of different IMT-2000 family member standards as they evolve beyond IMT-2000 as well as the evolution of network aspects of IMT-2000 from the existing fixed network by utilizing the IMT-2000 radio transmission technologies as fixed wireless access. It is also responsible for providing a migration path regarding network aspects and mobility from existing IMT-2000 systems towards systems beyond IMT-2000 specified by ITU-T and external standards development organizations (SDOs), 3G Partnership Projects (3GPPs), IETF, and relevant external forums. The mandate of the Special Study Group also includes addressing near-term IP-based internetworking and the development of a long-term common IP-based network architecture as applicable to IMT-2000.

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