Conway to Issa: drop dead, you dunce...

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Paul Saffo <psaffo () iftf org>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 19:03:46 -0800
To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Conway to Issa: drop dead, you dunce...


Rob Conway retorts...

http://www.cmpnetasia.com/ViewArt.cfm?Artid=19229&Catid=5&subcat=48
John Walko, 31-Mar-2003
  
The GSM Association has responded vigorously to a second-term Republican
Congressman's outburst at plans to build a cellular network in post war Iraq
based on what was described as the 'outdated French standard' instead of the
'superior' CDMA technology developed by Qualcomm.

Rob Conway, CEO of the Association, said Congressman Darrell Issa's
intervention was "as ill-timed as it is misinformed".

In a letter to US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, Congressman Issa, a
former US Army captain, objected to plans by the US Agency for International
Development to use federal funds to build a GSM based network in Iraq. He
suggested it was outrageous that this could benefit companies from France
and Germany, and said any such network should be based on CDMA technology
that could benefit US equipment providers, notably Qualcomm, and 'safeguard
hundreds of thousand of American jobs'.

Conway said, " the right time to debate the technology will be when the real
conflict is over. And at that time we should look at the real facts, not the
Congressman's ill advised opinion. To suggest that GSM is simply a European
or French standard is, in the current climate, quite outrageous."

Conway added "the suggestion that CDMA technology be deployed in Iraq
post-war is completely at odds with the rest of the region and the majority
of the world. It would add to the country's isolation and arguably be at
odds with the overall war effort.

"I can't believe someone has started this debate at this time, and I
certainly can't believe it has been started from such a false position and
on such nationalistic terms."

The GSM Association CEO noted GSM is an 'open standard', so any manufacturer
from any country can make GSM equipment on a 'level playing field' -
including North American companies such as Motorola, Lucent and Nortel.

Issa suggested GSM (which in its very early development was referred to as
Groupe Special Mobile) was developed by the French, and that if it were
deployed in post-war Iraq, the system would be built by Alcatel or Siemens,
or 'elsewhere in western and Northern Europe'. Here he likely refers to
companies such as Ericsson of Sweden, the biggest supplier of cellular
infrastructure, and Finnish group Nokia.

Conway added major network operators in the USA offer GSM services such as
AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA. He stressed GSM is
already deployed in every country of the Middle East region - CDMA is not
deployed in any. 

He noted GSM was installed in Afghanistan post-war by an American company
(TSI of New York) after a full tender process.

More than 20 Arab countries operate GSM networks that serve 60million
customers in the region. However, since Iraq has been under UN sanctions, it
has not been able to purchase GSM technology.

It is perhaps not a coincidence that Congressman Issa represents the San
Diego district of California, hometown of Qualcomm.

This story first appeared in CommsDesign.com, a US-based CMP publication.


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