However, assessing 3GPP leadership is not a simple task. And certainly, not as simple as some have implied by using simplistic methods like counting the number of technical contributions that member companies have submitted into the standard-setting process. As I will detail in a subsequent blog, this method for assessing 3GPP leadership has numerous pitfalls and misrepresents the way decisions are made within 3GPP.

At Qualcomm, we have been a leading contributor to 3GPP throughout its 18+ year history — not only in the number of technical contributions we have submitted, but more importantly in the quality of these contributions. Our system-level inventions have been fundamental in leading the evolution and expansion of 3G and 4G LTE. Moreover, we have a rich history of building consensus in the industry towards impactful new directions for cellular technology as well as the proven expertise in driving end-to-end designs through a complex 3GPP standardization process. These 3GPP leadership capabilities, which Qualcomm has consistently demonstrated the last 18+ years, are essential to allowing members of the ecosystem to confidently move forward at scale towards commercialization of these complex cellular technologies and systems that have fueled the mobile innovation we love so much.

On a personal note, I’ve been leading the 3GPP technical standards team at Qualcomm Technologies for the last few years, and have been involved with our 3GPP design teams for over a decade. I’m very proud to be a part of these extraordinary efforts to drive the mobile industry forward. Beyond 3GPP, Qualcomm is also active in more than 160 standard-setting organizations that cover a wide range of enabling technologies critical to the modern mobile experience including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio and video compression technologies, Internet protocols, interface technologies, and more.

My objectives for this blog, along with the more detailed supporting blogs listed below, is to provide you an insider’s perspective on how the 3GPP standardization process works, why simplistic methods for assessing 3GPP leadership like contribution counting fall short, and what Qualcomm’s essential leadership role in 3GPP consists of. The subsequent articles in this series will cover the following:

And finally, as a preview into these future blogs, we are not proposing an alternative, simplistic metric for assessing 3GPP leadership. This may disappoint some, and I get it — I also like to have simple data and charts that tell a simple story. But as you’ll see through the series of blogs, the 3GPP process is not that simple and therefore assessing 3GPP leadership requires some knowledge and time. We firmly believe the quality (vs. number) of contributions is what matters, as well as the proven ability to build industry-wide consensus and drive end-to-end designs through 3GPP. I encourage you to read through this series of blogs, and/or join us for our upcoming FierceWireless webinar “How do Global 4G and 5G Standards get Created? Demystifying 3GPP.” I believe you will walk away from them not only having a much richer knowledge of how 3GPP works, but a much richer appreciation for the essential role Qualcomm has played and continued to play in driving 3GPP standards.