Article re-printed with kind permission from MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL magazine, November 1998.

The GSM industry's suppliers have got together to form a group dedicated to the promotion and forward movement of the GSM technology. Unlike the CDMA Development Group, which numbers operators and vendors alike among its members, the GSM MoU Association is restricted to operators only. For the GSM vendors there is now the Global mobile Suppliers Association -- the GSA.

According to Alan Hadden, president of the newly formed association, the GSA was the idea of "two or three of the big players" from the industry, with initial discussions taking place at the beginning of the year. These discussions ramped up around the time of this year's GSM World Congress in Cannes and work began on the realisation of the idea.

The main goals of the GSA are: To promote GSM competitiveness; to promote GSM products, systems and services in new and existing markets; to increase market awareness; to create the commercial environment for GSM introduction and growth; to promote GSM network evolution to support 3G services; and to encourage the development of efficient GSM-based software tools and applications.

There are 21 founding members of the GSA but at first glance there seem to be a few obvious names missing. On the infrastructure and handset side, for example, Motorola, Lucent, Nortel and Alcatel are not present. Hadden explains that the initial charter of the GSA calls for representation from across the supply chain and maintains that the current membership (see below) covers all areas fairly well. Many of those not present may well be taking a 'wait and see' stance.

Conflicting agendas
Olli Oittinen, vice president, system marketing and sales, radio access systems, for Nokia -- and the Finnish manufacturer's representative on the GSA -- indicates that there may be other reasons for the absence of some players. Some may have felt disgruntled that they were not approached in the very early stages, he suggests, and conflicting technology agendas might also have played a part. However, he also indicates that he expects all "serious GSM players" to be on board before too long.

"Motorola has been approached by the GSA and we are now in the process of reviewing its charter and mission. We will soon reach a decision based on its value and role within the mobile industry as a whole," comments Adrian Nemcek, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola ECIG. "Obviously endorsement by bodies such as the GSM MoU Association and clear delineation of charters would greatly assist the situation," Nemcek adds.

At least one of Nemcek's concerns seems to be settled. Michael Stocks, deputy chairman of the GSM MoU Association explains that it is, "very much our desire to co-operate with this group and encourage a warm relationship." Both Stocks and MoU chairman Richard Midgett were present at a GSA founder's meeting at the end of June.

The GSA's take on the MoU Association is exactly the same, although Hadden stresses that they will remain separate and distinct bodies in order that they may focus on "sector interests". Hadden is to appear on a panel at the upcoming GSM World Congress next February, representing the GSA and is confident that this will be the start of a mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationship.

At first glance, one thing seems strange, however. The term GSM is noticeably absent from the GSA's title. It is understood that the GSA and the MoU Association have had talks over the use of the term by the newly formed group but that, at the time of the GSA's launch -- and at the time of going to press -- these had not brought about a satisfactory conclusion. Alan Hadden reports that the GSA was keen to launch on its own schedule and could not wait for the resolution of the discussions. Many people involved in the situation indicate that this particular issue may yet be resolved amicably.

The 21 founding members of the GSA are: Aethos Communication Systems, ARC Cores, Benefon, BTI, Compaq/Tandem Computers, Comptel, Convergys Corporation, Ericsson, Filtronic Comtek, GTE Telecommunication Services Inc, Hewlett-Packard, Italtel, Logica Aldiscon, Nokia, Siemens AG, Schlumberger, Saville Systems, Scientific Connections, Texas Instruments, Wavecom and X-net.

Mike Hibberd - MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL
November 1998

Further information about the GSA