Article re-printed with kind permission from GSM Q, October 1998 Issue 12
It's been more than ten years since a small number of operators signed the Memorandum of
Understanding that kicked off the GSM era. The number of member operators of what became the GSM
MoU Association has long since passed three figures. Meanwhile, the take-up of GSM has passed
100 million subscribers and is continuing to grow at a speed roughly comparable to the global
birth-rate -- 6.7 million per month.
However, in all this time the MoU Association has remained solely an operators' grouping. More
surprisingly, until recently no formal grouping existed to represent the suppliers' side of the
industry. This situation has now changed with the establishment of the Global Mobile Suppliers
Association (GSA), on 2 October 1998.
The idea was first discussed in Cannes during the 1998 GSM World Congress. A number of major GSM
suppliers had seen the need to be better organised to promote GSM globally, and for their sector's
interests to be focused and represented in the way they are for operators through the GSM MoU
Association. A significant number of suppliers confirmed their interest in moving ahead with GSA
at the founders' meeting held in June. Richard Midgett and Michael Stocks, chairman and deputy
chairman of GSM MoU Association, also attended.
The organisers of the GSA point out that, whatever GSM's successes, the industry cannot afford to
be complacent. Co-ordinator Alan Hadden explains: "Success has to be earned, and the market is
extremely competitive. Realisation of the opportunities that new third generation technologies
such as UMTS will offer presents major challenges not only to GSM operators but also to new
players, including those engaged in the IT, media and content industries. This will require a
fusion of ideas and cultures if we are to transform visions of the future into reality."
GSA brings together suppliers of GSM products and services not only from across the supply chain
but also from across the world. Its members include GSM industry players including
telecommunications manufacturers, billing and customer care suppliers, component and
semiconductor manufacturers, OEMs, messaging platforms and support systems suppliers and
consultancies.
At launch, the GSA had 21 founding members, including Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Hewlett
Packard, Nokia, GTE Telecommunication Services, Compaq, Schlumberger and Siemens.
The GSA has established a number of terms of reference:
- To strengthen the promotion of GSM world-wide and to ensure its continuous growth and geographical spread as the de facto world digital cellular standard;
- To promote GSM as the de facto basis for the delivery of third generation mobile wide-band multi-media services, within the context of global ITU IMT2000 initiatives;
- To improve customer understanding of the features and functionality of GSM;
- And to co-operate with, and complement other bodies working in the GSM field.
Alongside these terms of reference, the GSA has produced a list of key goals:
- To promote GSM competitiveness;
- To promote GSM products, systems and services in new and existing markets;
- To increase market awareness;
- To pro-actively support take-up of new GSM capabilities/enhancements/applications;
- To create the commercial environment for GSM introduction and growth;
- To promote GSM network evolution to support third generation services;
- And to encourage development of efficient GSM-based software tools and applications.
The new grouping will be funded by membership fees, and intends to provide what Hadden calls a
'unique framework' within which suppliers can co-operate with GSM operators and the GSM MoU
Association. Suppliers, the organisers point out, will benefit from greater leverage in the
marketplace, and also from having a common forum providing common views, responses and positions
on key GSM issues.
It is also argued that significant cost savings will result on advertising, syndicated market
research and new studies, and access to lobbying activities and large-scale public events. Early
efforts in the major developing regions of Asia, Latin America and Africa are a priority for the
Action-Oriented Project Groups that have been established.
GSM operators benefit, says Hadden, as the GSA provides additional resources to promote GSM's
competitiveness. It is argued that this will further enlarge the GSM footprint, achieving
increasing revenues, economies of scale, more competitive choice and evolution to third generation
mobile communications services and systems. In many cases these promotional activities will be
co-ordinated with those of the GSM MoU Association.
It seems reasonable that the suppliers' group should exist apart from, yet complementary to, the
operators' group. Both areas of the industry have grown and expanded so much during the 1990's
that one vast umbrella organisation for both would be a ni.php4are to coordinate. However, the
next challenge for both groups is to develop effective working relationships with each other.
Suppliers of GSM products, systems and services who are interested in membership should contact
the GSA Secretariat.
Further information about the GSA
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