Focus of the Regional and International Standards Efforts Panel will be to discuss standards development activities around the world for new wireless services and different approach/philosophies used for such developments.

In recent months there has been intense activity in Europe, Japan and North America, to come up with suitable transmission technologies for IMT-2000 systems. This panel represents a cross-section of these efforts. The panelists will present the main transmission technologies still under consideration, such as wideband CDMA and hybrid TD/CDMA.

The Iridium (trademark) System of 66 satellites in Low Earth Orbit, approximately 780 km, is planned to start to offer mobile voice and data services via handheld terminal access in September of 1998. This is a major event in mobile satellite systems. Since the Iridium system concept was announced by Motorola Inc., a large number of multi-satellite systems have been proposed from L-band to V-band that involve of the order of 1000 satellites in total. This panel will consider Global PCS systems via satellite that involve both Low Earth Orbit and Geosynchronous Orbit satellite constellations.

This session will deal with the implications for network operators, both traditional wireline and wireless, of the emergence of fixed wireless access as a viable approach for providing service. The panel members will address the aspects of service packages, including the concept of integration of fixed and mobile services, and some of the unique network and operational aspects associated with the provision of fixed service using Wireless technology.

In historical times, market places offered ideal conditions for people to meet and communicate : communication had already implications on the structure of the society. With the wide spreading of Postal Services and subsequently Telephone Services, the market place lost part of its Social meaning. Wireless Communications now offer the ability to communication "anywhere" and "anytime". As a result, communication has moved back to open and public places, as in historical times. Wireless communication is becoming part of our lives, of our Society and more importantly, started to gain acceptance or may be "get used to it" and perhaps "react to it" as well.

The Panel will present and discuss views relating to the impact on Society and its evolution of wireless communications

Date: Wednesday May 20, 1998

The dramatic worldwide growth of mobile systems and the Internet clearly illustrate the role that global mobile multimedia telecommunications will play in the next century. The International Telecommunication Union, which established the standards for today’s fixed telecommunications networks and manages global spectrum allocations and satellite "parking places", is developing the IMT-2000 standards for global telecommunications in the 21st century.

A panel of experts, both operators and manufacturers, from around the world will present and discuss their views on the role of global standards in future telecommunications.

The panel session will address the different approaches being taken towards meeting the requirements of Third Generation Mobile Systems. Both the "evolution" approach (migration from GSM and IS-95) and the "revolution" approach (a new architecture) will be considered. Pros and cons of these approaches for both the air interface and the core network will be discussed.