16–20 February 1987

GSM Working Specification: Decisions and Working Assumptions at Madeira

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The Madeira meeting is remembered for failing to settle the contest between wideband and narrowband radio systems. These working papers preserve the less obvious achievement. Delegates developed a set of narrowband working assumptions that could carry the technical work forward, even while the wider argument remained unresolved. Typed decisions sit alongside handwritten parameters and amendments, showing a standard taking shape through negotiation rather than appearing fully formed. The opening draft identifies the meeting of 16–20 February 1987. These are the surviving papers behind the archive’s account of an important technical compromise, whose details would still be altered when ministers reached their political agreement in Bonn.

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Where this document is mentioned

About GSM History
Inside the Mobile Revolution — Chapter 13: A Week in Madeira Can Be a Long Time
Casting the Nets — Chapter 13: A Week in Madeira Can Be a Long Time
History of GSM