The U.S. Trade Representative and South Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) negotiated a compromise agreement regarding the wireless Internet platform for interoperability (WIPI) standard that was developed in Korea. Under the deal, the Korean government can require mobile carriers to use WIPI. However, on top of WIPI, mobile operators will also be allowed to add other specifications such as QUALCOMM's binary runtime environment for wireless (BREW), which currently in in use by an estimated 7 million Korean mobile users.
In a statement, Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Trade Representative, said he hopes the resolution of this issue can provide the momentum for resolution of another standards issue of importance to U.S. companies, namely Korea's plan to mandate an exclusive domestic transmission standard for portable broadband wireless Internet/http://www.ustr.gov
- Last week, China agreed to indefinitely delay the implementation of its proprietary wireless encryption standard, called WAPI for wireless authentication and privacy infrastructure, following negotiations with U.S. government trade officials. WAPI had been expected to become a mandatory requirement for WLAN products in China beginning in June.
- Earlier this month, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a report citing China's planned WAPI standards as one of the greatest obstacles for open competition in global telecommunications markets.
