The most powerful precedent for the EnergyOS model is the story of how the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) enabled the global mobile telecommunications revolution. This story is particularly instructive because it demonstrates how a complex, multi-stakeholder, multi-technology sector can achieve seamless global interoperability through a well-designed standards governance model.
5.1 The Problem 3GPP Solved
In the early 1990s, the mobile telecommunications industry faced a challenge that is strikingly similar to the one facing the UK energy sector today. Multiple incompatible standards existed — GSM in Europe, CDMA in North America, PDC in Japan — creating a fragmented global market that limited innovation, increased costs, and prevented the development of truly global services. The transition to 3G threatened to make this fragmentation even worse, with multiple competing proposals for the new standard.
The response was the creation of 3GPP in 1998. Rather than attempting to impose a single standard by fiat, 3GPP created a partnership of equals — a consortium of national and regional standards bodies from Europe (ETSI), North America (ATIS), Japan (ARIB, TTC), China (CCSA), South Korea (TTA), and India (TSDSI) — that would work together to develop a single, globally agreed set of technical specifications.
5.2 The 3GPP Model
The 3GPP model has several key features that are directly relevant to the design of EnergyOS governance:
Partnership Structure. 3GPP is not a standards body in its own right; it is a partnership of existing standards bodies. This structure ensures that the work of 3GPP is grounded in the legitimate authority of national and regional standards organisations, while enabling global coordination. The equivalent for EnergyOS would be a partnership that includes BSI, Ofgem, NESO, and other relevant bodies.
Technical Specification Groups (TSGs). 3GPP's technical work is organised into three Technical Specification Groups — Radio Access Networks (RAN), Services and Systems Aspects (SA), and Core Network and Terminals (CT) — each of which is responsible for a specific domain of the mobile system. This modular structure enables parallel work on different parts of the system while maintaining overall coherence. EnergyOS governance could adopt a similar structure, with working groups responsible for different layers of the EnergyOS stack.
The Release System. One of the most important innovations of the 3GPP model is its system of parallel "Releases." Each Release defines a stable, implementable set of specifications, while work on future Releases continues in parallel. This approach ensures that the industry always has a stable platform to build on, while enabling continuous innovation. The Release system has been used to manage the evolution of mobile standards from 3G through LTE to 5G, each generation building on the previous one while maintaining backward compatibility.
Contribution-Driven Process. 3GPP specifications are developed through a contribution-driven process, in which member companies submit technical proposals for consideration by the working groups. This ensures that the standards reflect the practical experience and expertise of the companies that will implement them, rather than being developed in isolation by a small group of experts.
Backward Compatibility. A core principle of 3GPP is to maintain backward and forward compatibility where possible, ensuring that existing devices and networks continue to work as new standards are introduced. This principle is equally important for EnergyOS, where the energy system includes assets with lifetimes of decades.
5.3 The Results
The results of the 3GPP model speak for themselves. Today, there is a single global standard for 5G, enabling seamless roaming across networks in different countries and a global ecosystem of compatible devices. The mobile industry has delivered successive generations of technology — 3G, 4G, 5G — each more capable than the last, while maintaining interoperability and backward compatibility. The economic value created by this global mobile ecosystem is measured in trillions of dollars.
The key lesson for EnergyOS is that the 3GPP model works because it combines mandatory interoperability (all networks must implement the 3GPP standards) with competitive innovation (companies compete on the quality and features of their implementations). This is precisely the model that the UK energy sector needs.