NEWS

NGMN News, Press Releases

UMTS Forum and NGMN Alliance confirm co-operation agreement

Frankfurt, 27th June 2008 - Industry fora the UMTS Forum and NGMN Alliance have today announced a co-operation agreement between the two bodies. The agreement aims to support successful development and commercialisation of next-generation mobile broadband systems beyond 3G/HSPA (High Speed Packet Access).

Under the terms of the co-operation agreement, the two organisations will work to facilitate the timely development of next-generation mobile broadband systems while avoiding duplication of work. This includes areas such as defining market requirements; assessing spectrum requirements; optimised backhaul solutions; and the development of recommendations to mobile operators, equipment developers, standardisation bodies and national administrations.

Speaking at this week’s 2nd NGMN Industry Conference in Frankfurt, UMTS Forum Chairman Jean-Pierre Bienaimé emphasized the importance of partnerships between industry associations in promoting technology solutions defined by standardisation bodies.

“HSPA is already a proven market success, with more than 40 million subscribers to almost 120 HSPA networks worldwide. Going forward, our industry now needs to focus its attention on creating a fertile ecosystem to meet future mass-market demand for cost-effective next-generation systems. These advanced solutions will offer an order of magnitude increase in speed, capacity and performance over today’s networks. In the UMTS Forum we are delighted to support and endorse the objectives of the NGMN Alliance in building an environment where technological solutions can be translated into a successful commercial reality.”

Dr. Peter Meissner, Operating Officer of the NGMN Alliance. explained: “The partnership between the UMTS Forum and the NGMN Alliance will offer the mobile industry will certainly help to steer the future of mobile broadband and will support the rapid deployment of NGMN technologies. Fulfilling NGMN requirements will provide a step change in existing mobile broadband experience and will enable and accelerate mass market access to new products and services. Based on intensive and detailed technology evaluations, 3GPP LTE/SAE is the first technology which broadly meets its recommendations and is approved by its Board”.

NGMN Press Contact

• Press_Release_UMTS_Forum_and_NGMN_Alliance.pdf