With 6G standardization progressing, Qualcomm’s Vice President of Technical Requirements discusses what it takes from a human perspective
Requirements are vital — 3GPP and different standardization our bodies grind by the technical (and political) work that permits new applied sciences to achieve world scale shortly and price effectively. Whereas it might not occupy a lot mindshare among the many finish person of a selected gadget, standardization is what retains this complete factor working. And behind these working teams, these releases, these requirements, are very good, very dedicated individuals who imagine in what they’re doing and work unbelievably arduous to do it. Right here’s a part of the story of a kind of folks: Qualcomm Vice President of Technical Requirements Juan Montojo-Bennassar.
Montojo-Bennassar has been in his present place for greater than seven years and with Qualcomm for almost 29 years. He’s initially from Spain and splits time between his residence nation and San Diego, California, the place Qualcomm is headquartered. Montojo-Bennassar has been married for 25 years and has a 16-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. He leads Qualcomm’s exercise at 3GPP, ETSI and different trade teams.
To offer you an understanding of what it takes to do that work — the time dedication concerned, and the psychological tenacity required— see Montojo-Bennassar’s enterprise journey schedule for a 33-day interval protecting parts of June and July:
- June 6: departed San Diego.
- June 9-13: attended the 3GPP RAN Plenary in Prague, Czechia, and labored by a Qualcomm world vacation.
- June 16: attended a 6G bilateral assembly in Helsinki, Finland.
- June 17-19: attended an ETSI board assembly in Sophia Antipolis, France.
- June 23-25: attended a 6G bilateral assembly and 3GPP elections in Beijing, China.
- June 30-July 2: attended a 6GIG assembly in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
- July 7: lectured doctoral college students on 5G-Superior and 6G in Catania, Italy.
- July 9: returned to San Diego.
And this journey schedule isn’t uncommon. It’s the job. Montojo-Bennassar acknowledged, “It’s numerous work. Just about you might be all the time on the go…and when you are on the go, it’s important to be reachable. And it’s important to attain out to folks…I like my job. [But] it’s a skinny line — being tremendous busy versus being wired.”
I talked to Montojo-Bennassar about his household life, the sacrifices he’s made for his profession, and the way that every one works on a day-to-day foundation. As I’m scripting this, I simply boarded a seven-hour flight that can kick off an eight-night work journey. I already miss my son and spouse. I don’t actually understand how he (and other people with equally demanding careers) do it. His reply was easy and profound: “Innovation doesn’t come without cost.”
This subsequent bit is for the highway warriors: Montojo-Bennassar is 1,000,000 miler on each American Airways and United Airways, however he’s not valuable about airline loyalty. “I prioritize time-wise and fare-wise comfort.” He prefers a window seat and his favourite airports (and terminals) are San Diego Worldwide Airport Terminal 2 and Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4 “for his or her effectivity.” His favourite place to go for enterprise journey is Nuremberg, Germany, the place he was based mostly for 4 years. Again to enterprise.
Standardization work is fascinating when you perceive what it truly is. After all it’s an train in establishing the technical consensus wanted to foster developments in a method that’s economically viable. But it surely’s additionally deeply political — corporations need their strategy to win out and international locations need their corporations to dominate. This course of is simply as a lot about growing a tech benefit as it’s about counting votes, whipping votes and in any other case turning delicate, interpersonal expertise into strategic benefit. It’s a posh, delicate factor.
Montojo-Bennassar talked me by the sheer gravity of levying objections inside 3GPP, primarily taking a stand towards consensus agreements and being seen as blocking progress. He identified that 3GPP now begins conferences by studying a “consensus ideas reminder.” The textual content is as follows:
“The eye of the delegates to the assembly is drawn to the truth that 3GPP endeavours to achieve consensus on all choices and subsequently will depend on a cooperative spirit of the person members. Particularly, particular person members are inspired to hunt a consensus-based resolution and solely to maintain objections as a really final resort, and the place completely essential and nicely justified. The management will conduct the current assembly in a fashion whereby casual strategies of reaching consensus are inspired, while guaranteeing that nicely justified considerations are taken into consideration.”
“I would like to face by myself two ft on the technical issues,” Montojo-Bennassar defined. Ultimately, “You construct credibility…That is one thing that you just achieve over time, you earn over time. It does take some braveness to go to the mic in entrance of all people — a packed room — and simply say what you care about. However over electronic mail, it’s very low cost.”
As Qualcomm celebrates its fortieth anniversary, and turns long-running foundational analysis and growth work into what’s going to finally be a 6G commonplace, Montojo-Bennassar mirrored on what the corporate’s historical past means to him and the way it informs his work. “Qualcomm has a really massive title due to all we characterize,” he mentioned. “It’s not faux. It’s not made up…You do carry that flag of Qualcomm’s popularity. To me, principally it meant I needed to dwell as much as that popularity.”
