Development of Mobile Communications

Abstract
This article describes the development of GSM and 3G cellular-based mobile communication systems
from the early days, where only the privileged few could communicate on the move, to the emergence
of the mass market systems of today where, it seems, everyone has a mobile phone. The technology
changes that have brought this about are described and the various buzz-words such as GPRS,
EDGE, i-Mode & UMTS are explained. The story of the development of the different generations of
mobile system is told and the key features of each of these generations are described. This covers an
appreciation of the technology and describes some of the services and products that can be provided to
customers. Finally, the article takes a brief look beyond the present day and describes some future
trends and how the world of mobile communications will change.

Cellular radio operation

The key to the success of cellular radio communications systems is its efficient use of the radio
spectrum and its ability to manage the mobility of a large number of connected mobile terminals. This
allows a large number of users to be accommodated in a small number of frequencies.
The basis of cellular radio is that the same radio channels (frequencies) can be used over and over
again thus allowing much greater capacity than the simple mobile communications systems that
preceded it. This is done by limiting the range of each channel so that it does not interfere with the
same frequencies used in a nearby area. The coverage area is divided into discrete cells each capable of
serving a number of users who can pass seamlessly from cell to cell as they move through the network.
Coverage can therefore be provided over large areas in which customers can move freely while
maintaining service.

Early cellular mobile systems

1st Generation Systems
The 1st Generation cellular radio systems used analogue radio technology (usually frequency
modulation). Different countries had different frequency allocations and there was little industry
collaboration on the development of the systems. As a result, many different systems, that were mostly
incompatible, arose in different parts of the world.
The system used in the UK was called TACS (Total Access Communications System). It was based on,
but was not compatible with, the US system known as AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System).
Cellular mobile service in the UK using TACS technology was opened by Cellnet and Vodafone in
January 1985.
One of the main problems with the analogue systems is that, generally, because of the incompatible
standards, it was not possible to take phones to other countries and use them (i.e. roaming was not
generally possible). Also, these systems primarily provided voice communications and could not easily
accommodate the increasing requirement for data communications.
The TACS service in the UK had closed down by 2001 and was superseded by the next generation
system.

2nd Generation Systems

New cellular radio systems were developed to overcome the limitations of the first generation systems.
In Europe, a new system based on digital techniques was proposed and developed. This is known as
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications).
The Early Development of GSM
In 1982, a new body - Groupe Spcial Mobile (the original meaning of GSM) - was set up under the
European body the CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunication Administrations).
Its task was to specify a new mobile radio system operating at 900MHz. The first meeting was held in

Sweden in December 1982 with representatives from 11 countries present. The GSM standard was
conceived.
The main work started in 1987 following extensive prototyping. It was decided to adopt a digital radio
interface using TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) operating in the 900MHz frequency band. The
GSM TDMA system uses 8 timeslots in a basic 200kHz carrier. GSM was designed to offer a standard
set of services & features. This allows inter-operator roaming.
In 1989 the work was transferred to the European body ETSI (European Telecommunications
Standards Institute). By 1990 the Phase 1 specifications were frozen. Work then started on adapting the
specifications to work in the 1800MHz frequency band.
GSM Becomes a Global Standard
In 1987 a group of future GSM operators (15 operators from 13 countries) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) intending to promote the use of the GSM standard world-wide. With the change
of emphasis to a world-wide standard, GSM was renamed "Global System for Mobile
communications". Other countries outside Europe began to adopt the standard in particular the UAE,
Hong Kong, Australia & New Zealand.
The first commercial GSM networks started service in 1991; 13 networks went live in 7 countries
The first roaming agreements were signed in 1992 and roaming started soon after. GSM was born!
General Features of the GSM Standard
The GSM standard was designed to be very flexible to allow the easy provision of services. Because
there is a common standard, all GSM networks work the same way and, generally, every network can
offer service to users from any other network. As a result, there is a large amount of roaming traffic and
users have become used to receiving service when they travel abroad.
Another important feature of GSM is the high level of security provided. Powerful algorithms are used
to authenticate users. Also, the radio interface is encrypted to a high degree of security which makes it
very difficult to eavesdrop.
GSM uses a removable SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card that holds the identity of the user.
Because the SIM card can be plugged into any compatible mobile phone, users can change mobile
terminals easily and take their identity with them. Also, a users list of names and telephone numbers
can be stored on the SIM card so personal information can be transferred easily also. The SIM card has
been further developed to add more processing power and memory. This allows new types of
applications and operating systems to be run on the SIM that could be used by the network operator to
offer customised services.
Because key interfaces are standardised, equipment from different manufacturers work together in the
same network. Because all equipment works to the same specification, it is mass produced from many
competing manufacturers thus lowering the cost. This also gives GSM network providers a wide choice
of equipment vendors as well as the ability to mix and match equipment from different vendors.
Main Services Provided by the Original GSM Standard are:
Speech - Speech is digitised and good speech quality is possible in GSM's relatively low bit
rate.
Data & Fax - A range of data rates up to 9600 bit/sec was standardised initially. The capability
of sending and receiving Group 3 Fax was also provided. A data rate of 14.4kbit/s was later
standardised.
Supplementary Services - These include Call Forwarding; Call Barring; Call Waiting, Multiparty calls; CLI (Calling Line Identification).
Short Message Service (SMS) - Text messages of up to 160 characters in length can be sent
between mobile phones. Longer messages can be sent by concatenating SMS texts.

Cell Broadcast - Broadcast messages that can be customised for specific areas and for specific
topics (eg weather) can be sent to all mobiles in the service area of a cell or group of cells.
Improvements to the GSM Standard in Later Standardisation Phases Included:
Better Speech Quality - New voice coders (codecs) were developed that improved speech
quality and made better use of the radio capacity. These included the EFR (Enhanced Full
Rate) and AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) codecs.
HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) A number of developments improved on the
basic 9600bit/sec data rate provided: The HSCSD standard was developed to provide data
rates greater than 64kbit/sec although in practice the rate is limited by the radio capacity and
the capabilities of the mobile terminals. HSCSD gives the user dedicated multiple time slots to
provide the higher rates. However, this technique is very hungry on radio resource and
because multiple time slots are allocated to each user, the capacity of each radio carrier is
greatly reduced. An advantage of HSCSD is that it can be used to provide real time services
like live video because each user has dedicated resource.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) This is another development intended to provide
higher data rates. Like HSCSD, GPRS uses multiple time slots to increase the data throughput.
Unlike HSCSD, GPRS does not allocate these slots just to one user many users share the
slots using them to send and receive data only when they need to. As a result, GPRS uses the
radio resource much more efficiently than HSCSD and the capacity of the radio carrier is
much higher. The way GPRS works, however, means that it cannot (currently) support real
time services (like live video) as the users application cannot be guaranteed a time slot
immediately when requested. The result is that variable delay is introduced to the data
transmission. This makes GPRS much more suitable for packet based types of services such
as Web browsing or downloading of data files. Practically, at present, typical rates of around
40kbit/sec (peak) can be achieved. There is scope for these rates to increase with further
development of the mobile terminals and the introduction of more advanced channel coding
schemes. Another feature of GPRS is that the user can set up an always on connection.
Because the time slots are not used unless there is data to transmit, there is no overhead and
the user can be permanently connected to a service such as an email server or an intranet.
EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) EDGE is a modulation technique that allows
each time slot on the GSM radio access to carry more data. As a result, the data rates provided
by HSCSD and GPRS can be further increased. The take up of EDGE technology has been
relatively small and many operators have chosen 3rd Generation systems as the route to higher
data rates.
New Network Services Some of the new services that were specified are: Multiple
Subscriber Profile; Call Transfer, Calling Name Presentation and pre-pay control. Some of the
new services are provided by Intelligent Network (IN) platforms (such as CAMEL) that have
been introduced in the GSM core network.
Location Technologies Basic location of the mobile can be provided by the identification of
the cell and sector in use. More accurate location methods have also been developed using a
variety of technologies including GPS (Global Positioning System). In some cases, it is a
regulatory requirement to identify the location of the mobile for emergency calls (eg in North
America).
Development of Mobile Terminals
Mobile terminals have also undergone rapid development. The early "brick-like" mobile terminals were
soon superseded by more elegant models with superior performance. Battery life improved, multiple
frequency bands introduced and new capabilities such as data downloading and web browsing
incorporated.
More recently, many more new features have been incorporated into mobile terminals including high
resolution cameras, music players, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and email functions and even radio
and TV reception. The mobile device has become an essential "life tool" for many people.

In summary, the mobile terminal has undergone a remarkable transformation in a very short time. This
has been driven by improvements in technology and manufacturing and also customer demand
A terminal that performs well and is easy to use is key to giving the user a good experience of the
mobile network.

Other 2nd Generation Systems

In addition to GSM, other types of 2nd Generation network that were developed and some of these are
still in use in various parts of the world. The most significant are ANSI-95 (based on Code Division
Multiple Access CDMA- radio techniques), ANSI-136 (based on Time Division Multiple Access
TDMA radio techniques) and PDC (Personal Digital Cellular).
The ANSI-95 standard is used mainly in North America and parts of Asia (particularly Korea); the
ANSI-136 standard is used mainly in North & South America; the PDC standard is used mainly in
Japan. GSM is by far the most widely used system in the world, only a few major countries (eg Japan,
Korea) have not adopted the 2nd Generation GSM standard. The diagram below shows the approximate
numbers of 2nd Generation subscribers for each of the major technologies at the end of 2006.

GSM 2,129M

ANSI-95 20.7M
ANSI-136 20.4M
PDC 31.7M
iDEN 24.2M
Approximate number of subscribers to the 2nd Generation
Technologies. Total number over 2,200 million. (at end 2006).

Unfortunately, these different systems are incompatible and dedicated mobiles from one system
generally cannot work on a different system. In recent years, however, mobiles (called dual-mode or
multi-mode) have started to appear on the market that can operate on more than one type of network.
The number of mobiles that have this capability remains very low, however.

Other Mobile Applicable Technologies

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
WAP was developed to provide a practical way of accessing World Wide Web type information on a
mobile phone. Web content would be very difficult to access direct on a mobile phone because of the
low data rates and the inadequate displays that are used on mobile devices. WAP overcomes these
limitations by simplifying the presentation of the information. WAP based content is provided from a
number of sources and includes travel, news and weather information.
The WAP protocol was developed independently of the mobile standards such as GSM by the WAP
Forum. WAP can be used by all the different mobile communications systems and is device and radio
technology independent.
i-mode
The i-mode service was started in Japan although it is now established in other parts of the world. It is
an alternative to WAP and provides access to similar types of services. As well as text based
information, it is capable of sending graphics and images. Customers of i-mode can access the internet

directly from their i-mode-compatible mobile phones. The i-mode web sites use subsets of HTML 2.0,
3.2 and 4.0 and can support images in the GIF format. Java and other scripting languages are not
supported. As i-mode is based on a packet-data (9600bit/sec) transmission system, subscribers can be
charged according to the volume of data transmitted, not the time spent on line.

Limitations of 2nd Generation Systems

Although 2nd Generation systems have been extremely successful, the technology presents a barrier to
the achievement of high data rates comparable to those of fixed line broadband. This limits the user
experience for data based services.
The quest for higher data rates coupled with the need to achieve a more efficient radio interface drove
the development of 3rd Generation systems.

3rd Generation Systems

GSM grew rapidly and, as described above, was developed further to add new capabilities and features.
In spite of this, shortcomings were perceived particularly in terms of its capacity and ability to carry
fast data traffic. This led to the development of the next generation systems.
The key change was to the radio interface as this was seen to be the most significant bottleneck in
terms of capacity and data rate. The TDMA based GSM radio system was superseded by one based on
WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) to form the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephony
System) standard. Similarly, the ANSI-95 CDMA system was evolved to a 3rd Generation version
called CDMA2000.

Development of the 3rd Generation

In 1992, the WARC (World Administrative Radio Conference) agreed a common frequency range for
3rd Generation mobile systems in the 2GHz band. The ITU (International Telecommunications Union)
defined a 3rd Generation system called IMT-2000 that is a framework that encompasses a family of
systems both terrestrial and satellite based.
IMT-2000 Systems Development
The work in various standards bodies defined specifications of systems to meet the IMT-2000
requirements. There were 2 main developments: one was based on an evolutionary route from GSM
called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System); the other was based on an evolutionary
route from ANSI-95 and is called CDMA2000. Both systems use a radio access technology based on
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, however, there are some key differences in how
this is applied and in the architecture and operation of the core networks. This makes the 2 systems
incompatible and a "multi-mode" mobile terminal is required to allow access to both systems.
The diagram below shows the original IMT-2000 core frequency allocation agreed by the WARC
(World Administrative Radio Conference) in 1992 for the ITU (International Telecommunications
Union).
IMT-2000
Terrestrial

UMTS
TDD

1885

UMTS FDD
(uplink)

1920

IMT-2000 IMT-2000
Satellite Terrestrial

Mobile
Satellite
Services
1980

UMTS
TDD

2010

2025

2110

IMT-2000
Terrestrial

IMT-2000
Satellite

UMTS FDD
(downlink)

Mobile
Satellite
Services
2170

2200 MHz

Further spectrum allocations have been subsequently agreed to support 3G services and it is likely that
3G services will be offered in the current GSM bands in the near future in some countries.

UMTS Radio Technologies

For UMTS, there are 2 main radio modes. Both modes use a radio access technology based on CDMA
(Code Division Multiple Access). The basic radio carrier for each of these modes is 5MHz in
bandwidth. For the FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode, there is a pair of carriers, one to carry the
uplink traffic (i.e. from mobile phone to base station) and one to carry the downlink traffic (i.e. from
base station to mobile phone). The other mode is known as TDD (Time Division Duplex) and uses only
one carrier to carry both the uplink and downlink traffic. It does this by time division multiplexing
techniques: some time slots carry uplink traffic and some downlink traffic.
The 2 modes have different characteristics and were intended to be used according to the type of traffic
to be carried and the radio environment in which coverage is provided. For example, TDD mode is best
suited to asymmetric traffic (e.g. more traffic in downlink direction than uplink) in an enclosed radio
environment such as an office or indoor shopping mall.
Development of UMTS
The development of the UMTS standard is the responsibility of the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership
Project). This is a collaborative effort involving the major standardisation bodies around the world.
Europe is represented by ETSI (the original GSM development body) and there is representation from
Korea, Japan, China and North America as well. The participants in the various working groups
comprise mostly operators and suppliers with a predominant interest in GSM but there are some (eg
Korean and Japanese participants) who do not have this starting point.
A parallel collaboration called 3GPP2 was set up to progress the development of the CDMA2000
system. This operates in a similar way to 3GPP and many companies, particularly the manufacturers,
participate in both collaborations.
The development in 3GPP was rapid following its set up in December 1998. The first 3G set of
specifications were completed and approved in early 2000 (known as Release 99). The next set
emerged by early 2001 (known as Release 4) and subsequent specification releases have followed that
have added further capabilities and features to UMTS. Currently (end 2006), work is starting on
Release 8. The first UMTS networks were deployed in 2001 (the main one in Japan) with many more
following soon after. Some further improvements to the GSM standard have also been included in these
releases.
UMTS Features in First Release (Release 99)
The key features of UMTS that were provided in the first release are:
High quality Speech A speech service with at least the quality of that provided on GSM
(using the high quality AMR codec).
High Speed Circuit Data Transmission A real time data transmission capability with a
maximum rate of 64kbit/sec. One of its uses by mobile operators is to offer a videophone
service.
High Speed Packet Data Transmission A packet data service capability that allowed
operators to offer a peak data rate of 128kbit/sec originally. A higher peak rate of 384kbit/sec
is now supported by many operators and this typically gives an average data rate of
250kbit/sec and above.
Handover to GSM/GPRS Voice calls can be transferred between GSM and UMTS
seamlessly, however, in practice, most operators do not implement voice handover from GSM
to UMTS as there is no major advantage in doing this and there is a small risk hat the call
could fail during the handover. Similarly, data sessions can be seamlessly transferred between
UMTS and GPRS. This is allows GSM/GPRS to support UMTS outside its coverage area.
Note, however, that because of the lower data rates of GSM/GPRS, a service handed over
from UMTS may be degraded and in some cases will not work depending on the data rate
requirements of the application used.

UMTS Development
The further work in 3GPP has improved both the GSM and UMTS standards and has added more
features, as described above. Some of the key new capabilities that have been standardised in the
various releases to date include:
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) A multimedia message service that allows the
transfer of multimedia messages between users without the requirement for the multimedia
messages to be transferred in real-time.
IP-based multimedia core network subsystem (IMS) This provides support for IP multimedia
sessions in a flexible manner to allow new multimedia products and services to be offered.
The IMS can use both the GPRS and UMTS radio access technologies.
Operation in other frequency bands In addition to the 900 and 1800MHz bands, GSM has
been specified to operate also in the 700/800MHz band; In addition to the 2GHz band, UMTS
has been specified to operate also in the 810MHz; 900MHz; 1700MHz and 2.6GHz bands.
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) There have been significant improvements in the data
download and data upload speeds through the development of HSDPA (high speed downlink
packet access) and HSUPA (high speed uplink packet access). These developments can now
give a standardised peak data rate of 10.2Mbit/sec in the download direction. Typically, this
gives a user rate of 1.4Mbit/sec peak. Further improvements to the radio network and user
devices will be able to offer user peak rates in the download direction of 3.6Mbit/sec.
Wideband speech A new wideband AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) codec to increase the
quality of speech provided over UMTS.
End to end Quality of Service Quality of Service management for the Packet Switched (PS)
domain including the IMS and the radio interface. This will better support real-time services.
MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) This feature allows information, such as
streamed audio and video to be sent over one radio channel to many customers
simultaneously. Examples of use could be to broadcast highlights to spectators at sporting
events or provide a real-time news service.
Wireless LAN inter-working This allows connection to the core network using WLAN as
well as the usual GSM/UMTS radio access.
Multimedia Telephony for IMS This uses the flexibility of the IMS to offer telephony
services to which can be easily added further media components such as video, text, picture
sharing, video clip sharing etc.
Network Selection Improvements To give the customer a better service while roaming,
improvements have been made to the way available networks are selected by the mobile
terminal. The improvements will help network operators and users to select the best network
for their needs while roaming.
Not all of the above features have yet been incorporated into commercial networks. Their use will
depend on the network operators' strategies for the deployment of enhanced features and services.
Commercial 3rd Generation networks
The number of 3rd Generation networks is increasing, however, the growth has been patchy. The
highest growth rates have been in the Asia-Pacific region with the growth in Europe and North America
more modest. The diagram below shows the approximate numbers of 3rd Generation subscribers for the
two major technologies at the end of 2006.

CDMA 2000 330M

UMTS

100M

Approximate number of subscribers to the 3rd Generation

Technologies. Total number over 430 million. (at end 2006).

It would be fair to say that the growth of 3rd Generation networks has been a lot more modest than
originally predicted. It was thought that the provision of faster data and multimedia services would be
attractive to many users. However, in practice, many users simply want voice and text messaging and
these are easily provided by 2nd Generation networks. The provision of a video-telephony service, made
possible by UMTS, was once thought to be a "killer" application that will drive the take-up of 3 rd
Generation but this has not yet happened. There are still barriers to the take up of video-telephony
including complex set-up procedures, cost, quality and ease of use (for example, it is not natural or
comfortable to hold the mobile terminal at arms-length while speaking to allow the camera to have a
good view of the user!). A true "killer" application that 3rd Generation enables has yet to be identified.
It is interesting to note that the take up of new services seems to vary in different parts of the world.
Users in Asia seem more enthusiastic about new services than users in Europe, for example. This is
consistent with the growth of 3rd Generation networks as outlined above.
Nevertheless, 3rd Generation networks will continue to grow and could begin to fulfil their early
promise as data rates improve to the point where they are comparable to broadband speeds. New and
more appealing services are promised, however, it is likely that voice and simple messaging will
remain the most popular services for the foreseeable future. Some of the new services that could be
offered are described below. Interestingly, some of these could also be offered over 2nd Generation
networks for those services for which high data speed is not necessary:
Mobile TV There have been several trials of mobile TV that have demonstrated that there is
a demand for this type of service. Video clips or complete programmes can be offered with a
range of broadcast channels to choose from. A number of standards exist: some use the 3G
radio bearer to carry the TV signal while others use a dedicated broadcast frequency band
separate from the 3G bands. It is yet unclear which standards will dominate but commercial
services are already starting.
Converged Messaging Further developments in messaging are in progress with the aim to
give the end user an easy to use but flexible messaging capability. Today, there are several
different types of messaging that can be used on mobile terminals including simple text
messaging (SMS); multimedia messaging (MMS); immediate messaging (IM) and email.
These different types typically have their own tariffs, use different address books and do not
inter-work. The challenge is to bring together these disparate types to create a common
messaging service that will be simple for the end user.
Music and video downloading Some services allowing the download of media are in
commercial operation but new capabilities are under development. These include a more
robust Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme to control the distribution and copying of
media subject to copyright.

M-Payments Some schemes that allow the user to pay for items by using the mobile terminal
are in operation or are being trialled. The use of "contactless" technology (e.g. NFC Near
Field Communications) will give greater ease of use and should allow rapid, easy payment.
Multimedia Telephony As already described, this will allow a flexible mix of voice, real-time
video, video clips, pictures etc to be sent between users. This may be more appealing than
simple video-telephony.
User Devices
As already mentioned above, the provision of attractive user devices is very important for the end user.
The 3rd Generation devices have rapidly changed from the early models that were bulky and had a short
battery life to devices that are as light and efficient as GSM devices. Many devices are multi-functional
and incorporate cameras, music players, web browsers and multiple frequency bands including WiFi
access. Some devices also include PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) functions such as personal
calendars, name and address databases, word-processors, spreadsheets etc. Also, some devices are
capable of video-telephony that is available over 3rd Generation networks. Further developments will
bring other useful functions such as speech recognition, integrated mobile TV capability and better
messaging services. Some devices now contain GPS capability also.

The Future
Many people are already talking about the 4th Generation mobile networks but there is still a lot of
development of the 3rd Generation in the standards bodies. The move to all-IP based networks is one
significant development as is the design of a new and much faster radio interface. Both of these
developments will result in extremely fast and flexible mobile networks that will allow high mobility at
broadband data rates across a range of access networks.
Another trend is FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) which is the seamless integration of fixed and
mobile networks. This will allow the use of the mobile terminal for all calls or data sessions: users will
use the fixed network from home or office (using short-range radio access to a local access point) and
the normal cellular network when away from home.
An interesting trend is for more and more intelligence to be incorporated into the mobile terminal. It is
possible that in the future, many services will be provided by 3rd parties directly to the user's terminal
using the mobile operator as a "bit pipe". Also, other types of access such as WiFi and WIMAX (a
more powerful version of WiFi that has longer range and, possibly in the future, mobility management
capabilities) could be more widely offered by new players to offer all kinds of services.
All this poses a challenge to the traditional mobile network operator and new ways to compete against
these developments will be needed. This will be done by offering attractive services at good quality and
by being innovative.
With further advances in technology and standards, mobile systems will continue to evolve and will be
capable of delivering more products and services at even faster rates. It is clear, however, that the
customer experience is key. Experience with 3G has shown that it is not enough just to deliver better
technology, customers want useful services at reasonable prices.
Whatever happens in the future, it is clear that mobile communications are here to stay and will be part
of everyday life for most people.
THE END

References & Further Information

Cellular Radio Engineering by Dr Ian Groves (issue 22)
GSM Association website: www.gsmworld.com
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) website: www.etsi.org
ITU (International Telecommunications Union) website: www.itu.int
3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) website: www.3gpp.org
BIOGRAPHY:
Chris Friel B.Eng C.Eng MIET
Chris Friel has spent the last 20 years in the mobile industry in a variety of roles in Cellnet and latterly
O2 including Billing System Manager, Product Development and GSM/UMTS standardisation. He has
chaired a variety of industry groups including the GSM Association TADIG group (responsible for
leading the work on the TAP inter-operator billing standard for GSM & GPRS); SerG (Services Group)
and SRG (Services Review Group). Chris continues to participate in and contribute to a variety of
standards groups in the GSM Association and the 3GPP.