WASHINGTON — Two competing U.S. wireless specs proposed for a next-generation global communications network will be merged into a single proposal.

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA; Arlington, Va.) and the Washington-based Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions' telecommunications standards group said they will merge rival specs into a single proposal for Third Generation Wireless Systems, or 3G. The new proposal, based on code-division multiple access (CDMA) technology endorsed in Europe and Japan, will be submitted to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU; Geneva), which is considering a global wireless standard called International Mobile Telecommunications-2000.

The groups said their specs will be merged into a new proposal called wideband packet CDMA, emphasizing fast-packet communications similar to what's widely used to access the Internet.

The proposal "reflects the focus of our effort that, ideally, 3G radio specifications should be capable of handling packet data with great efficiency," said Jesse Russell, chairman of TIA's 3G ad hoc group.

The move also reflects efforts to reduce the number of proposed U.S. standards for 3G. Europe and Japan are backing a single standard for 3G called wideband-CDMA, while U.S. officials have endorsed a multiple-standard approach.

The high-stakes debate over a new global standard for next-generation wireless services has pitted U.S. industry and government agencies against European rivals and standards groups. ITU officials who must settle the 3G standards debate predicted on Tuesday that a single global wireless standard would be adopted but would contain some competitive elements.

ITU is expected to complete the 3G interface standard by December. The group's recommendation is also expected to endorse a "family of services" concept based on interoperable technologies.