ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) has postponed their vote on a new nano-SIM standard following the events of this past week.
Conflict has arisen between Apple, who have one proposal for the 4FF (fourth form factor) standard, and Nokia, RIM and Motorola Mobility, who have a competing proposal on the table.
The postponement follows a letter sent to ETSI by RIM complaining that Apple employees were registering under a different company name for the meeting to vote on the standard. RIM claims that voting by proxy is not permitted for a technical body meeting.
Nokia also contributed to the postponement, first accusing Apple of abusing the standardisation process and then informing ETSI that they would not be contributing patents should Apple’s proposal be accepted.
As a result of this week’s postponement the vote will be delayed by at least a month. ETSI requires 30 days notice before meeting to vote on specifications according to a SIM card manufacturer spokesman.
Source: PC World
