It is with sadness and a great sense of loss that we report the recent passing away of Ian Harris, the ETSI EMTEL Chairman and former 3GPP T2 Chairman. Ian was a very well-known and loved figure in both the ETSI and the 3GPP standards communities.

Ian’s achievements related to 3GPP work were many; Ian was a vigorous supporter of the facsimile standards and became a main mover in establishing consensus between the facsimile and the GSM communities. As a delegate to the GSM IDEG committee (later ETSI SMG4) since the very beginning (1987), Ian was active in several work items related to mobile data, but his main focus moved to the completion of the SMS specification in 1990. At the end of 1996, he was elected chair of the ETSI SMG4 Message Handling group and he continued in that role as SMG4 became T2 in the newly formed 3GPP. He later became chairman of 3GPP T2. He remained the official rapporteur of several 3GPP specifications on SMS and data related matters.

Kevin Holley, Vice-Chairman 3GPP TSG SA, remembers Ian as a friend and a collaborator with a solid track record of achievement in the standards domain. In his email to the 3GPP community announcing the news, Kevin said:

“Ian will be most remembered as a very friendly and helpful standards delegate, and although we teased him often about his Tippex, scissors and glue in the early days before computers, we all recognised the dedication and thorough tenacity with which he made his mark on our standards world. He was never offensive and always well-liked. A really outstanding friendly gentleman who will be sadly missed.”

In November 2009 Ian was elected as Chairman of the ETSI technical committee EMTEL, where he was leading the work on the use of telecom services in emergency situations, across fixed and mobile domains.

Jean-Pierre Henninot, Vice-Chairman of ETSI EMTEL and Chantal Bonardi , Technical Officer for ETSI EMTEL, expressed their sadness and shock at Ian's death, In a joint email to EMTEL delegates they said:

“His dynamic and creative leadership could not give any hint of such a destiny. Among many qualities, his easy and friendly way to communicate with everyone and his attention to detail should remain in our memory. His knowledge in several technical areas and his experience enabled EMTEL to enrich its relations and to maintain its professional image.”

As an official and as a delegate Ian will be remembered as friendly, helpful and dedicated with a tenacity that allowed him to make his mark on our standards world.

John Meredith, of 3GPP and ETSI, summed up the feelings of the staff who knew Ian Harris:

“He was a mine of information on mobile terminal matters, his wealth of knowledge and experience will be missed by us all, as will his humour and humanity.”