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4th-Generation Mobile Phone Standard Mulled
"All deliberations on 3rd-gen mobile phone standard must be something in recent two or three years. After another two or three years things will be all be over with that for we have come to mull over the 4h-generation standard", told Zhao Houlin, director with the Standard Bureau of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
A new work group named "IMT2000 and Beyond" was formed on Oct.6 in Montreal, Canada, with the purpose to formulate a set of unified standard for mobile phone worldwide. Zhao, who is the highest official of ICU's Standard Bureau, is now on a special trip to Beijing to attend the 2000 International Engineering and Technology Conference.
"We can do nothing helpful but watching the fierce 3rd-generation standard competition. Up to now there are three sets of major standards being widely observed and recognized by ITU, GSM, CDMA and TDMA. They have been fighting each other for bigger market shares but none can be eliminated. No one has, however, thought about their compatibility", said Zhao.
The phone card boasting for universal calls can actually connect no one with every corner of the world, Zhao pointed out. For example, a call to Europe may not get through due to different telecom standards. While the 4th-generation standard is to set up a set of universal operational standards getting on the Net, with faster speed and more functions.
Founded in 1865 and formerly called CCITT, ITU is one among those founded earliest and was designated as a special organ of UN in 1947. Officiating on its decision-making board are a general secretary, deputy secretary and three directors with Telecom Standard Bureau, Radio Committee and Development Committee.
The Standard Bureau directly decides various operation standards of telecom industry, with its leading position always held by Europeans. Zhao, elected director after beating three other rivals through fierce competition in 1998, is one among those of ranking officials sent to UN by China.
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