| The GSM MoU |
GSM has evolved from a purely Pan-European initiative towards a word-wide organisation, with 210 paid-up members from 105 countries belonging to GSM's main governing body, the "MoU" - Memorandum of Understanding.. Generally, the GSM "MoU Plenary" meets every four months to allow member organisations to decide on the direction in which GSM should develop, and to look at revisions and improvements to standard GSM MoU documents. |
| Task of the MoU |
| The MoU’s basic task is to establish
internationally-compatible GSM networks in member countries, and to provide a mechanism to
allow for co-operation between operators in respect of commercial, operational and
technical issues. At the MoU Plenary, the chairpersons of these various working and special interest groups bring members up to date with developments since the last meeting. All proposals tabled are voted on, with the number of votes allocated to a member dependent on factors such as the number of subscribers and the GDP of that member’s country. However, most of the interaction between the network operators is through various technical working groups which report back at each Plenary meeting. These working groups straddle issues such as international roaming, global marketing, harmonisation of tariff principles, definition of accounting and billing procedures, legal and regulatory matters, time scales for the procurements and deployment of systems, as well as discussion of any issues that MoU members want to raise. |
| MoU Administration |
| The MoU is administered by the Permanent Secretariat based in Dublin, Ireland and any transgressions by MoU signatories are reported to this office. A GSM Facilities Ltd was established in 1994 to deal with the complex issues surrounding the introduction of GSM Phase 2, which includes data/fax and SMS services. |
| Members of the MoU |
| The MoU includes members operating GSM networks at 900 MHz (GSM 900) and at the higher 1,800 MHz frequency (DCS 1800) and now 1,900 MHz (PCS) . MoU delegates usually comprise the technical representatives of members at director level - to allow decisions affecting the networks to be made at MoU meetings. |
| Special Interest Groups |
| There are also a number of special interest groups representing operators groups by geographical location or technology. These include the European, Pacific Rim and Arabic Interest groups. |
| For further information on the GSM MoU, contact: |
| Mary King GSM MoU Association Company, Ireland Tel: +353 1 269 5922 Fax: +353 1 269 5958 E-mail: marketing@gsmmou.ie Web Site: http://www.gsmworld.com |