ATIS, 4G Americas Agree To Cooperate on Key Wireless Issues

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and 4G Americas signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at “alignment of the organizations' common technological and policy efforts in the field of mobile broadband communication,” they said Tuesday in a news release. The MOU lays out the terms for “knowledge-sharing and exploring opportunities” so they can work together on topics important to the wireless industry, the groups said. Areas of common interest include the move to 5G, emergency alerting, text to 911, preventing mobile device theft and “network functions virtualization/software-defined networking,” the two said. "Our alignment with 4G Americas will increase the momentum to advance the network toward its 5G future, help identify smartphones reported stolen, accelerate the delivery of critical emergency communications and more,” said ATIS President Susan Miller. "As the mobile broadband industry progresses at a rapid pace toward 5G … it is becoming increasingly important to cooperate with other major associations regarding critical common areas of interest to ensure there is no technical fragmentation,” said Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas.