Harnessing a protocol synergy, the UMTS Forum and 3G Americas are trumpeting the achievement of their brand of technology as the wireless industry migrates to third-generation services.
Both groups, one based in the United States and the other in Europe, said they are working together to promote EDGE and UMTS technology. This pits them against the other 3G protocol, CDMA2000, which will do battle with its EV-DO and EV-DV subsets.
While some analysts have talked up the benefits of DO over UMTS in the realm of data, 3G Americas said EDGE is making inroads at an impressive pace.
“EDGE is available today on a nationwide basis in the U.S.,” noted Chris Pearson, executive vice president of 3G Americas, “and is available in Bermuda, Brazil, Chile and Puerto Rico.”
Pearson said 38 operators in 24 countries of the Americas have committed to deploy the protocol, and these operators will reach about 110 million end users. Outside the Americas, 25 operators in 18 countries have committed to EDGE networks. The technology is available in Finland, Hong Kong and Thailand, said Jean-Pierre Bienaime, chairman of the UMTS Forum.
In the United States, Cingular Wireless L.L.C. already has launched EDGE services in San Diego and Washington, D.C., while AT&T Wireless Services Inc. recently began offering EDGE services nationwide.
Both bodies support GSM technology, which is the dominant technology in the world. “UMTS Forum and 3G Americas agree that although every market, and indeed every operator is different, there are overwhelming reasons for operators across the world to align with the GSM evolution family in any of its different guises-whether GPRS, EDGE or UMTS,” said both organizations.
The UMTS Forum comprises 160 members, including operators, manufacturers, regulators and other information technology companies, from about 40 countries. “The mission is to promote a common vision for 3G UMTS and its success around the world,” said Bienaime.
UF’s push for 3G was emboldened by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo’s launch of its FOMA service in 2001. DoCoMo has between 1.2 million and 1.3 million FOMA users, he said. European carrier Hutchison 3 has followed suit with several UMTS launches. Ten networks have launched UMTS outside of the United States, including in Italy, Sweden, Austria and Australia. The three South Korean operators are expected to launch W-CDMA services next year.
“Following deployments in Japan and several European territories, subscriber numbers have increased dramatically,” he said. “The latest figures show that there are about 2 million UMTS users across the world. Customers using the technology are now taking advantage of services, such as online video telephony, personal multimedia recording, streaming and audio and video downloads.”
