User:MADUPUIS/sandbox

Big text Philippe Dupuis (engineer)

Philippe Dupuis is a radiocommunication expert particularly known for his contribution to the creation of the the first digital mobile phone standard, the GSM currently used by +5 billion people in 220 countries. Philippe Dupuis was born in 1931 in Saint Romain-de-Colbosc, in the Normandy Region of France. He died in Paris at 87 years old, on February 7th 2019.

Studies

He grew up with his 2 sisters and parents in the city of Bolbec, until studying in Rouen (lycée Corneille) and Paris (lycée Saint Louis). In 1949 he was a laureate in Mathematics of the Concours Général des Lycées et Collèges, a national competition created in 1744. In 1951 he entered Ecole Polytechnique and lately Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications.

Professional Life

He spent his entire career within the French telecommunications group France Telecom (ancestor of the current Orange). in 1956, he joined the department of wireless communications of the French telecommunications administration where he was in particular supervising the technical operation of the first French mobile VHF telephony network covering the Paris area. In 1962 he joined France Câbles & Radio, a government owned company operating international telecommunication services in various countries. After directing their operations in West Africa from 1962 to 1965, in residence in Senegal, he set up in Paris a team of engineers who pioneered technologies that drastically reduced the cost of satellite earth stations in developing countries. In 1972 he returned to the French telecommunications administration to manage the division in charge of the operations of international services. In 1978 he became managing director of Sofrecom, a French company providing technical consultancy services to telecommunication operators worldwide. In 1981 he became advisor of the Director General of France Telecom for mobile services. In this position he was the head of the French delegation to the CEPT Groupe Special Mobile (GSM) chaired by Thomas Haug. His wide expertise of radio technologies and international cooperation enabled him to organise an efficient support to the GSM in the context of a Franco-German joint R&D programme while, in parallel, establishing the industrial and political conditions for the adoption of a single mobile telecommunication standard in Europe, also open to the rest of the world, and free of intellectual property rights to the largest extent possible. After its adoption in 1987, Philippe Dupuis left France Telecom to work as an independent consultant while the SMG group, affiliated to the European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI), took over from the GSM group and started to develop the detailed specifications of the standard. In 1992 Philippe Dupuis was chosen to take over from Thomas Haug the chairmanship of the SMG group. He was thus in charge, in close coordination with the GSM Association, of supervising the maintenance and evolution of the GSM specifications, as well as the initial work on 3G, until his retirement in 1996.

In addition to being one of the main leaders in the construction of the consensus between the key European partners, he has had a fundamental role in the selection of the radio technology used by GSM, notably the inclusion of Slow Frequency Hopping.

The GSM, an European initiative, has been a great success that has enabled the world to have its first international mobile telephony service. This system replaced the previous and incompatible analogical systems. The GSM has imposed itself thanks to its multiple innovations: efficiency of the digital radio system (including handover and roaming), security by SIM card, SMS service, etc. These actions earned Thomas Haug and Philippe Dupuis a joint receipt of the 2018 James Clerk Maxwell IEEE/RSE medal given by Prince William, duke of Cambridge, in July 2018 in Edinburgh. Philippe Dupuis co-authored the reference book on the history of the GSM, "GSM and UMTS", with Friedhelm Hillebrand.

Awards

He was awarded the distinctions of : Chevalier de la Valeur de la République fédérale du Cameroun, Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite français, Chevalier de l’Ordre français de la Légion d’Honneur (1989), Co-recipient with Thomas Haug of the IEEE/RSE James Clerck Maxwell Medal (2018). Philippe Dupuis is a Senior member of the French Société des Electriciens et Electroniciens, from whom he received the Médaille Ampère.