Article 23:    TSG and WG Chairman and Vice Chairman responsibilities

The TSG Chairman is responsible for the overall management of the technical work within the TSG and its Working Groups. The Chairman has an overall responsibility to ensure that the activities of the TSG follow the Partnership Project Working Procedures.

The WG Chairman is responsible for the overall management of the technical work within the WG and its sub-groups.

The Chairman may nominate officials to assist in the work.

The Chairman may delegate tasks to the Vice Chairmen.

The Chairman may be assisted by the Support Team.

The Chairman shall form a Management Team, including the Vice Chairmen and Support Team, in order to assist in discharging his duties.

Recognizing the need to balance the requirement of rapid specification development with the limited resources of delegates, the Chairman should encourage a minimum number of meetings, especially parallel meetings, and maximize the use of electronic means to advance the work.

In performing their leadership role, the Chairman and Vice Chairmen shall maintain impartiality and act in the interests of 3GPP.

At the commencement of each meeting of a TSG or WG, the group shall be reminded that:            

(i) compliance with all applicable antitrust and competition laws is required;

(ii) timely submissions of work items in advance of TSG or WG meetings are important to allow for full and fair consideration of such matters; and

(iii) the leadership will conduct the meeting with impartiality and in the interests of 3GPP. 

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A secret ballot shall be taken for the proposal to dismiss a TSG or WG Chairman or Vice Chairman because of a failure to effectively perform their duties, if requested by 30% of the TSG or WG membership list. 71% of the votes cast are required to recommend dismissal.

The PCG shall dismiss a Chairman or Vice Chairman on the proposal of the TSG.

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TSGs and WGs shall endeavour to reach consensus on all issues, including decisions on Technical Specifications and Technical Reports. Informal methods of reaching consensus are encouraged (e.g., a show of hands). If consensus cannot be achieved, the Chairman can decide to take a vote. The vote may exceptionally be performed by a secret ballot if decided by the TSG or WG. A vote may be conducted during a TSG or WG meeting or by correspondence.

A proposal shall be deemed to be approved if 71% of the votes cast are in favour. Abstentions or failure to submit a vote shall not be included in determining the number of votes cast.

It is the responsibility of the Chairman to ensure that questions to be voted upon are phrased in a positive yes/no manner, with 71% required to approve the question. Questions should not be phrased as the TSG shall not do something. Examples of appropriate questions are; Shall the TSG approve the Specification and send it to the SDOs? Shall the liaison be approved? Shall the new WI be approved? Shall the existing WI be stopped? If the issue is to choose option A or B, the question should be split into two questions, with the Chairman selecting the order. First, shall the TSG take option A as the way forward? If this question fails the second question is, shall the TSG take option B as the way forward?

Contributions on which decisions will be based should be made available in good time before each meeting. TSGs may establish informal guidelines for dealing with late contributions.

Working Agreements may be used to establish tentative agreements in cases where consensus cannot be obtained.  The working agreement process is described in annex G.

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The following procedures apply for voting during a TSG or WG meeting:

·       before voting, a clear definition of the issues shall be provided by the Chairman;

·       Voting Members shall only be entitled to one vote;

·       if a Voting Member has more than one representative present, only one representative may vote;

·       each Voting Member may only cast the vote once;

·       each Voting Member may carry proxy votes for up to five other Voting Members. All proxy votes shall be accompanied by a letter of authority from the authorising Voting Member. Proxies will not be taken into account when determining the quorum;

·       the quorum required for voting during a TSG or WG meeting shall be 30% of the total number of Voting Member companies on the TSG or WG voting list;

·       the result of the vote shall be recorded in the meeting report.

For the determination of the quorum, see annex H.

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The following procedures apply for voting by correspondence:

·       before voting, a clear definition of the issues shall be provided by the Chairman and disseminated to all on the TSG or WG membership list;

·       Voting Members shall only be entitled to one vote;

·       each Voting Member may only cast the vote once within the voting period;

·       the voting period shall be 30 days;

·       there are no quorum requirements;

·       The result of the vote should be disseminated to the TSG or WG.

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In the case where there is more than one candidate for TSG or WG Chairman or Vice Chairman, a secret ballot shall be used. For interpreting the result of the secret ballot the following procedure shall apply:

When, in the first ballot, no candidate has obtained 71% of the votes cast, a second ballot shall be held. In the second ballot, in cases where there are only two candidates, the candidate obtaining the higher number of votes is elected. In cases where there are more than two candidates, if none of them has obtained 71% of the votes, a third and final ballot shall be held among the two candidates who have obtained the highest number of votes in the second ballot. The candidate obtaining the higher number of votes in the third ballot is then elected.

The TSG or WG Chairman shall be responsible for the voting process and shall ensure that confidentiality is maintained.

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An Individual Member of 3GPP who opposes a Chairman’s ruling on a vote taken within a TSG or WG may submit its case to the PCG for decision. In such cases the Individual Member shall also inform the relevant TSG or WG Chairman.

When a TSG or WG Chairman has made a ruling, his decision shall be taken as the basis for future operations, unless or until overturned by the PCG.

If an Individual Member in a TSG or WG believes that a Chairman or Vice Chairman of any such group is acting without impartiality and not in the interests of 3GPP, such Individual Member may object to such actions within the relevant group, and may request that such objection be recorded in the minutes of the applicable group meeting and it shall be so recorded. The objecting Individual Member may ultimately take its objection to the PCG for consideration.  In such cases the Individual Member shall also inform the relevant TSG or WG Chairman.

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TSGs and WGs shall meet as necessary to complete their work within the prescribed timeframe. TSGs should endeavour to hold their meetings at the same time and place to assist in the overall co-ordination of the work.

Meeting locations should reflect the geographical diversity of the TSG and WG delegates.

Further information on meetings is given in annex F.

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The invitation to a TSG or WG meeting and the necessary logistical information should be disseminated as soon as practically possible, taking into account the need to obtain travel documentation. It shall be disseminated at least 28 days before the meeting to all on the TSG or WG membership list.

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The draft agenda for a TSG or WG meeting shall be disseminated by the responsible Chairman to all on the TSG or WG membership list at least 21 days before a meeting. The draft agenda should indicate subject matters where voting may be required. The draft agenda shall indicate elections to be held (including known candidates).

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Every delegate shall register on arrival at each TSG or WG meeting. Each delegate who represents an Individual Member shall declare the precise name of that Individual Member. A delegate may only register to represent one Individual Member.

 

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Documents for a TSG or WG meeting shall follow a consistent numbering system as shown in the following example:

xminnzzzz

This numbering system has six logical elements:

1)   x:                a single letter corresponding to the TSG;

where x :           R (Radio Access Network)

N (Core Network) [TSG closed March 2005]

S (Service and System Aspects)

T (Terminals) [TSG closed March 2005]

G (GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network)

C (Core network and Terminals)

2)   m                A single character corresponding to the Working Group identity  (typically 1, 2, 3, etc) or, in the case of the TSG itself, the letter "P".

3)   i:                 Normally the hyphen character "-".  May take on other values depending on the nature of the meeting at which the document is presented, eg the identity of a subgroup.

4)   nn:             two digits to indicate the year, i.e. 99, 00, 01, etc;

5)   zzzz:          unique number of the document

No provision is made for the use of revision numbers. Documents which are a revision of a previous version should indicate the document number of that previous version.

The filename of documents shall be the document number.  Documents may be compressed to .Zip files (and thus bear a file extension ".zip").  For example, document S1-060357 will be contained in file S1-060357.zip.

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35.1      Voting list

Each TSG and WG shall maintain a list of Individual Members eligible to vote in that group.

The voting list shall be used to establish quorum and for determining those eligible to take part in a vote.

NOTE 1:   The term "membership list" has no particular significance in the context of TSG and WG meetings. The term "attendance list" is used for a list of individuals who attend a given meeting representing an Individual Member or other entity entitled to participate in meetings – see annex F.

For the determination of the quorum, see annex H.

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35.2      On creation of new TSG or WG

When a new TSG or WG is formed an Individual Member is added to the voting list at the first meeting at which it is represented, and may vote at the second meeting where it is represented.

Exceptionally, if inadequate notice (less than the period of time given in article 31) had been given for the first meeting of the new group, an Individual Member shall be added to the voting list on its delegate's attending the second meeting (the election meeting) and vote at that meeting even if it had not been represented at the group’s first meeting.

Only an Individual Member that had been represented at the group’s first meeting may provide a proxy for the second meeting.

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35.3      Established TSGs and WGs

To qualify for the voting list it is necessary for at least one delegate of an Individual Member to attend at least two meetings of the group concerned, without being removed according to the provisions of article 35.4..

An Individual Member having been represented at at least two ordinary meetings of the group has the right to cast a vote by proxy (see article 26).  Thus an Individual Member may not cast a vote by proxy during a meeting at which it is not represented unless it had already been represented at two or more qualifying meetings of the group.

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35.4      Removal from and reinstatement to voting list

An Individual Member which is not represented at three consecutive meetings of the TSG or WG shall be removed from the voting list.

The right to vote is reinstated at the second meeting which a delegate of the Individual Member attends without missing the number of consecutive meetings mentioned in the previous paragraph (but see article 35.3 for eligibility to cast a proxy vote).

EXAMPLE 1:       If Individual Member Z is represented at meeting K and K+3 (and is thus eligible to vote) but is not represented at meetings K+4, K+5 and K+6, it is removed from the voting list.

EXAMPLE 2:       If Individual Member X, not previously having been represented at a meeting of the group, is represented at meetings N and N+3, it may cast a vote at meeting N+3.

NOTE:      Individual Member X might choose to cast a vote by proxy at meeting N+3, even though its delegate is physically present. This is sometimes useful for coordinating company positions where one large company has several Individual Memberships, possibly via several different Organizational Partners.

EXAMPLE 3:       If Individual Member Y, not previously having been represented at a meeting of the group, is represented at meeting N only, it may not cast a vote by proxy at meeting N+2.

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35.5      Meetings other than ordinary meetings

Any group that wants to call an electronic meeting (audio, video, document distribution by posting or e-mail, etc) may do so, although this works best with smaller groups. Therefore, all electronic meetings are allowed but only ordinary meetings (see annex F) count towards attendance. However, if a meeting is designated as face-to-face, provision of bridge and speakerphone capabilities for those requesting it would be at the discretion of the host. Those participating by speakerphone are not to be counted toward quorum or attendance, and are not allowed to vote.

For the determination of the quorum, see annex H.

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A Working Group may establish a Sub Working Group (SWG) with defined Terms of Reference. The Working Group shall appoint a SWG Chairman. The SWG shall work by consensus. The meeting notice requirements for a SWG meeting are the same as for TSGs and WGs.

 

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The 3GPP Work Programme shall consist of Work Items defined by the TSGs.

 

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A 3GPP Work Item is a specification task defined in terms of the following principal parameters:

·       title;

·       intended output (i.e. Technical Specifications or Technical Reports);

·       impact on other Technical Specifications and Technical Reports;

·       technical scope, including the field of application of the intended output;

·       impact on other 3GPP Work Items;

·       the schedule of tasks to be performed;

·       the identities of the supporting Individual Members;

·       the identity of the Work Item Rapporteurs.

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Each proposed new Work Item shall be supported by at least four Individual Members, and their names shall be recorded in the Work Item definition prepared for the TSG approval. One or more persons shall be named as Rapporteur for the proposed Work Item, and the Rapporteur shall act as the prime contact point on technical matters and for information on progress throughout the drafting phases. The supporting Individual Members are expected to contribute to and progress the new work item throughout the drafting phases.

In addition to the above, TSGs shall approve new Work Items, giving all essential parameters. The proposal shall be entered into the 3GPP work programme, clearly marked as a new entry, for which a unique reference identity shall be allocated.

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The 3GPP work programme shall be made available to all Individual Members. A new Work Item shall remain flagged as "new" until the end of the month following the month during which the 3GPP work item was entered into the 3GPP work programme. A new Work Item shall be adopted by the PCG unless a substantial objection is received from an Individual Member or Partner during this period. At the end of the period, the "new" flag shall be removed (even if there is an objection) and it is the responsibility of any objecting Individual Member or Partner to discuss their objections with the TSG Chairman. If it is not possible to resolve the objection, it is the responsibility of the Individual Member or Partner to raise the issue with the PCG.

The TSGs shall ensure that the 3GPP Work Item details are maintained at regular intervals.

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Prior to completion of the intended 3GPP output, the responsible TSG may conclude that a Work Item is no longer required. Any Work Item shall automatically be considered by a TSG for stopping, if no progress has been achieved in a given period of time, typically six months, e.g. due to a lack of contribution. In such cases, the Work Item shall be flagged as "stopped" in the Work Programme. The proposal to stop a Work Item shall be fully justified.

The Work Programme shall be updated accordingly, and shall show the Work Item as "stopped" until the end of the month following the month during which the Work Item was initially flagged.

The Work Item will be stopped by the PCG unless substantial objection is received from an Individual Member during this period. It is the responsibility of any objecting Individual Member to discuss their objections with the TSG Chairman. If it is not possible to resolve the objection, it is the responsibility of the Individual Member to raise the issue with the PCG.

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The PCG shall be responsible for determining the overall time frame and for managing the overall work progress. The System Aspects TSG shall have a particular responsibility for the technical co-ordination of work being undertaken within 3GPP, and for overall system architecture and system integrity. Problems encountered in performing this technical co-ordination role shall be reported immediately to the PCG.

 

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3GPP shall prepare, approve and maintain documents known as Technical Specifications and Technical Reports. Such documents shall be drawn up by the TSGs and shall, following approval at that level, be submitted to the participating Organizational Partners to be submitted to their respective standardization processes.

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Approval of Technical Specifications and Technical reports by a TSG shall normally be by consensus.

Where consensus cannot be achieved in the TSG a vote may be taken.

When Technical Specifications and Technical Reports become sufficiently stable, they shall be put under change control of the relevant TSG. The further elaboration of these Technical Specifications and Technical Reports shall be achieved by change requests to be approved by the TSG.

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The Technical Specifications and Technical Reports drafted by the TSGs shall follow the 3GPP drafting rules, using document processing facilities, format, languages and notations agreed by the Organizational Partners, and on a medium suited for electronic document handling and publishing.

 

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The Organizational Partners will have joint ownership (including copyright) of the Technical Specifications and Technical Reports produced by 3GPP.

 

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Organizational Partners shall use their best endeavours to convert the Technical Specifications and Technical Reports approved by the Partnership Project into national/regional deliverables in a timely manner through their normal processes.

The Organizational Partners are urged not to change the technical parts of the Technical Specifications and Technical Reports; they may add non-technical parts required by their own deliverable schemes and they may add descriptions of options selected.

Organizational Partners should ensure that all unresolved comments raised during their public enquiry and approval phases are delivered to the appropriate TSG.

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A report shall be prepared by the Chairman following all PCG and TSG meetings.

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The Chairman of each TSG shall inform the PCG of all organizational changes concerning Working Groups and their officials. An up to date record of the 3GPP structure shall be maintained.

 

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The PCG and TSGs shall maintain an up to date calendar of the dates and venues for future meetings.

 

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3GPP results should be submitted to the ITU as appropriate.

For working groups, the following handling of communications toward ITU shall apply:

1    Working groups shall send ITU submissions which are destined to become part of ITU deliverables to their parent TSG for review. 

2    Working group communications towards the ITU which are NOT destined to become part of an ITU deliverable must be reviewed by the TSG chairman and the appropriate ITU sector convener (if one exists for the given ITU sector).  The working group’s TSG chairman and ITU sector convener will determine if such a communication should be sent to the parent TSG for review.  If for some reason either the TSG chairman or ITU sector convener is not available, then it is sufficient for the remaining person to review the document and determine if it should be escalated to the TSG or not. 

3    If the working group communication does not require TSG review, then it shall be conveyed to the ITU from the WG using one of the mechanisms described below.

For TSGs, the following handling of communications toward ITU shall apply:

1    TSGs shall send ITU submissions which are destined to become part of ITU deliverables to the PCG for review. 

2    TSGs communications towards the ITU which are deemed sensitive by the TSG shall be sent to the PCG for review.

3    If the TSG does not judge the communication as sensitive, then it shall be conveyed to the ITU from the WG using one of the mechanisms described below.

To convey a communications towards the ITU, one of the following mechanisms shall be used based upon determination of the sending body (a body may determine a default mechanism).

a)   The communication shall be sent from the OPs as a deliverable from their organizations (applicable to PCG reviewed communications only)

b)   The communication shall be made by Individual Members who are also members of the ITU. In such a circumstance, the appropriate ITU sector convener will coordinate and handle the administrative matters for the submission.  3GPP Technical Specifications and Technical Reports may be taken as the technical content of such contributions (applicable to PCG reviewed communications or TSG reviewed communications).

c)   The communication shall be sent directly from the 3GPP liaison coordinator to the appropriate ITU receiver in the ITU (applicable to TSG reviewed communications or WG reviewed communications).

Representatives of ITU-D, ITU-R and ITU-T are invited to participate in the Project Coordination Group for the efficient coordination and exchange of information.

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TSGs and WGs are encouraged to liaise directly with the relevant technical bodies within the 3GPP and Partners as appropriate.

A liaison statement shall clearly communicate what is expected from the receiver, i.e., which parts are for information, which questions are expected to be clarified and by whom (especially if there are multiple receivers), and also when an answer is needed, e.g., when is the next meeting of the group sending the liaison statement.  

A TSG or any subtending Working Group may send individual liaisons to any external organization (other than ITU) without PCG approval, except if the statement is considered sensitive by the TSG Chairman, in which case PCG clearance is needed.

It is not necessary to have all external liaisons copied to the PCG and/or TSG SA. The liaison originating TSG should decide, at its own discretion, which should be copied. External liaisons that may have management implications such as schedules, organization, process, procedures, and policy shall be copied to the PCG, or approved by the PCG if sensitive.

Relations with the ITU are described in article 51.

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The resources for the operation of 3GPP shall be managed by the Organizational Partners. The resources are allocated to the TSGs by the PCG.

 

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The Partners shall provide logistical support to, and assist in the operation of, 3GPP. The support shall be in the form of a Support Team which shall operate under the overall management of the PCG and the day to day management of TSGs.

 

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Individual Members shall be bound by the IPR Policy of their respective Organizational Partner.

Individual Members should declare at the earliest opportunity, any IPRs which they believe to be essential, or potentially essential, to any work ongoing within 3GPP. Declarations should be made by Individual Members to their respective Organizational Partners.

Organizational Partners should encourage their respective members to grant licences on fair, reasonable terms and conditions and on a non-discriminatory basis.

The PCG shall maintain a register of IPR declarations relevant to 3GPP, received by the Organizational Partners.

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The working language for 3GPP shall be English.

Meetings of the PCG and TSGs shall be conducted in English.

3GPP Technical Specifications and Technical Reports shall be prepared in English (as defined by the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary).

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3GPP shall be task oriented and on completion of the tasks the future of 3GPP shall be re-considered. The continuation of 3GPP shall therefore be confirmed by the Organizational Partners on an annual basis.

 

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An evaluation of the activities of 3GPP should be made by the Organizational Partners at regular intervals.

 

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In the event of a voluntary dissolution of 3GPP, the Partners shall determine the terms of liquidation by consensus. All issues shall be documented and distributed at least 30 days prior to decisions being made.

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In connection with any claim or dispute of an Individual Member arising from or relating to any activity of any 3GPP meeting or action, including in connection with a TSG or WG meeting, such Individual Member shall, prior to commencing any such legal proceeding against 3GPP, its leadership, support staff, or one or more Organizational Partners in a court, an arbitral panel or other adjudicatory body, exhaust all appeal procedures provided in the 3GPP Working Procedures. Exhaustion of appeal procedures shall be diligently expedited by both the appealing party and the appeal body.

 

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These Partnership Project Working Procedures may only be amended by decision taken by the PCG.

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Consensus:                                          General agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interest and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments. (Note: consensus need not imply unanimity).

Conversion:                                         The transformation of a 3GPP output document into an Organizational Partners deliverable following the Organizational Partners’ recognized processes.

Delegate:                                              An individual taking part in a TSG/WG meeting physically or by electronic means.

Drafting Rules:                                    A document approved by the Organizational Partners providing rules for the drafting of 3GPP Technical Specifications and Technical Reports.

Election:                                               The voting process used to identify an individual from a number of individuals.

Guest:                                                   An entity fulfilling the criteria to become a future Individual Member, which has been granted temporary participation rights in the 3GPP

Individual Member:                           A member of an Organizational Partner having participation rights within that Organizational Partner and which has registered to take part in 3GPP.

ITU Representative                            Representatives of ITU-D, ITU-R and ITU-T invited to participate in the Project Coordination Group for the efficient coordination and exchange of information.

Leadership:                                          A Chairman, Vice-Chairman, or Convenor of an OP/PCG/TSG/WG/SWG/Ad-Hoc or any other 3GPP meeting.

Market Representation Partner:      A Partner invited by the Organizational Partners to participate in 3GPP to offer advice and to bring into 3GPP a consensus view of market requirements.

Observer:                                              An Organization fulfilling the criteria to become a future Partner which has been granted temporary participation rights in 3GPP.

Organizational Partner:                     A recognized Standards Organization which has been accepted as a Partner in 3GPP.

Partner:                                                 An Organizational Partner or a Market Representation Partner of 3GPP.

Partnership Project Agreement:        The document signed by 3GPP Partners defining their rights and obligations.

Partnership Project Description:       A document which describes the overall structure and operation of 3GPP.

Represent:                                            Attend on behalf of.
A person who attends a meeting on behalf of an Individual Member represents that Individual Member. The person is not necessarily employed by that Individual Member, but may be, for example, employed by a subsidiary company in the same group as the represented Individual Member; or the person may be an independent consultant under contract to the Individual Member. "Representation" sometimes influences the eligibility to vote – see article 35 and annexes A and F.

Sub Working Group                           A subordinate body of a Working Group.

Support Team:                                    A number of persons dedicated to support 3GPP.

Technical Report:                               A 3GPP output document containing mainly informative elements approved by a Technical Specification Group.

Technical Specification:                   A 3GPP output document containing normative provisions approved by a Technical Specification Group.

Voting Member                                   An Individual Member who has voting rights within a TSG/WG.

Work Item:                                          The documented record of a specific technical activity of 3GPP.

Work Programme:                              The documented record of the all technical activities of 3GPP.

Working Group:                                  A subordinate body of a Technical Specification Group.

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3GPP                      Third Generation Partnership Project

ARIB                     Association of Radio Industries and Businesses

ATIS                      Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (successor to T1)

CCSA                    China Communications and Standards Association (successor to CWTS)

CDMA                   Code Division Multiple Access

CWTS                    China Wireless Telecommunications Standards Group (superseded by CCSA)

ETSI                      European Telecommunications Standards Institute

FDD                       Frequency Division Duplex

GSM                      Global System for Mobile Communication

IMT-2000             International Mobile Telecommunication

ITU                        International Telecommunication Union

MRP                      Market Representation Partner

PCG                       Project Co-ordination Group

SWG                      Sub Working Group

T1                           Standards Committee T1 (superseded by ATIS)

TDD                       Time Division Duplex

TSDSI                    Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India

TSG                        Technical Specification Group

TTA                       Telecommunications Technology Association

TTC                       Telecommunication Technology Committee

UIM                       User Identity Module

UTRA                    Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

UTRAN                 Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

WG                         Working Group

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APPLICATION FORM

for INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

of the THIRD GENERATION PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

Please complete this form and return it to your Organizational Partner

COMPANY NAME                  .................................................................

Please indicate below which ORGANIZATIONAL PARTNER you are a member of

ARIB
CCSA
ETSI
ATIS
TSDSI
TTA
TTC

Please indicate below which Technical Specification Groups you wish to participate in:

Radio Access Network
Core Network and Terminals
Service and System Aspects
GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN)

 

Upon your approval as an Individual Member of the Third Generation Partnership Project you agree that you will be bound by the Working Procedures of the Third Generation Partnership Project then in effect and as they may be amended from time to time.   

Signed by (Authorized Representative) (See Note 1)
Print name
Position
Date
Telephone
Fax
Email
Company Website URL

 

Contact person’s family name (See Note 2)
Contact person’s given name
Job title
Mailing address
Telephone
Fax
Email

Note 1:   Is either the official contact person or voting contact of a company.

Note 2:   People attending meetings and who can also have signing authority.

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E.1       Introduction

The conditions for the acceptance of Market Representation Partners (MRPs) in 3GPP are given in article 7 of these Working Procedures. This annex provides additional guidance to MRP Applicants.

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E.2       Guidance

During the application process, the Organizational Partners will need to be assured that an Applicant:

(a)           Has a field of interest directly or indirectly related to the work being undertaken by 3GPP;

(b)           Has attained a demonstrable level of recognition within this field of interest;

(c)           Has an understanding of the market requirements relevant to 3GPP;

(d)           Is willing to actively contribute to the work of 3GPP and has sufficient resources for this purpose;

(e)           Fully supports the goals and objectives of 3GPP and does not take part in activities that conflict with these goals and objectives.

In processing an application, the Organizational Partners will peruse openly available documentation published by an Applicant, including material posted on its Website, in order to confirm that the points listed above have been satisfied.

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F.1        Meeting classification

TSG and WG Meetings are classified either:

·         ordinary; or

·         ad hoc.

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F.2        Ordinary meetings

Ordinary meetings are ones where the regular business of the TSG or WG is conducted.  Such meetings are normally chaired by the Group's chairman or, if unavailable, a vice-chairman.  Ordinary meeting should be announced at least six months prior to the opening day of the meeting.

TSG and WG ordinary meetings shall follow an incrementing number sequence.  If an additional ordinary meeting is required between two ordinary meetings, the sequence may be preserved, even though this means renumbering subsequent meetings, or the additional meeting may be numbered using the ‘bis’ suffix as a numbering scheme.

Attendance at an ordinary meeting counts towards an Individual Member's eligibility to cast a vote in the Group (see articles 26 and 27).  The Support Team shall record the participation in an ordinary meeting (each person and organization represented) and the attendance list shall be included in the meeting report.

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F.3        Ad hoc meetings

An ad hoc meeting of a WG or a TSG is one called to address one or more particular topics.  The ad hoc meeting shall be called by decision of the WG (or its parent TSG) or TSG concerned; the decision to hold any subsequent ad hoc meetings on the same topic may be made by the ad hoc meeting participants themselves without reference to the parent WG or TSG, although the parent WG or TSG shall review any ad hoc activity at every Ordinary meeting and determine to either continue or to close the ad hoc activity, even if the previous ad hoc meeting suggested a further meeting.  The scope of each subsequent ad hoc meeting shall be indicated by the chairman at least 21 days before the meeting. The ad hoc meeting shall not expand or change the scope originally determined by the parent group. An ad hoc meeting is allowed to make decisions only within its pre-defined remit, and any such decisions shall be ratified by the parent WG or TSG unless, in the case of a WG, a decision was previously explicitly delegated by the WG to the ad hoc meeting.

An ad hoc meeting may be chaired as described for an ordinary meeting above, or, with the agreement of the WG or TSG concerned, by a Work Item rapporteur, or other appropriate person.  Although open to all 3GPP Individual Members, ad hoc meetings may attract only a subset of Individual Member representatives who would normally participate in ordinary meetings.

Ad hoc meetings shall not be considered when calculating voting rights.  That is, attendance at (or absence from) an ad hoc meeting shall not influence voting rights, which are determined solely by attendance at "ordinary" meetings.

No voting shall occur at ad hoc meetings.

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F.4        Attendance register

F.4.1  Face to face meetings

A delegate is deemed to have attended a given meeting if the individual confirms his or her participation by signing the attendance list made available by the group's secretary during the meeting.  If a delegate does not sign the attendance sheet during the meeting, the secretary shall assume that the individual did not attend.

A delegate, having registered and begun to participate in a meeting, is not allowed to change the organization he represents during the course of that meeting. An individual delegate is not allowed to simultaneously represent two or more Individual Members at a meeting.

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F.4.2  Electronic meetings

Electronic meetings such as audio / video conferences, email exchanges considered as meetings, etc, are encouraged where appropriate.  For such events, the Secretary will establish the attendance list on the basis of those actually participating in the meeting (those dialling in to the conference bridge, those issuing and responding to emails, etc.)  Nevertheless, advance registration is strongly encouraged.

Fully electronic meetings are to be considered as "ad hoc" as defined above.

Participation by Individual Member in fully electronic meetings, or electronic participation in a face to face meeting (eg by phoning in) is not considered for the accrual or loss of voting rights.

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