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Defining 4G: 3G Americas Publishes White Paper on the ITU Process for 4G
| Source: 3G Americas
BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - July 16, 2007) - 3G Americas today published a new white paper
entitled "Defining 4G: Understanding the ITU Process for the Next
Generation of Wireless Technology." The white paper provides the factual description of how IMT-Advanced or 4G
will someday be defined by the International Telecommunications Union
(ITU). ITU is the internationally recognized authority that will produce
the official definition of the next generation of wireless technologies
beyond IMT-2000 or 3G.
Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas, stated, "The ITU is currently
establishing criteria for IMT-Advanced and will be screening various
technologies for inclusion in the IMT-Advanced family. Only then will we
understand what is and can be rightly and credibly called 4G." He
continued, "Any claim today that a particular technology is a so-called '4G
technology,' in reality, is simply a marketing spin, creating market
confusion and deflating the importance of the telecommunications industry
standards. Technologies should be verified against a set of agreed-upon
requirements in order to qualify as 4G, and this will happen in the future
when the requirements are outlined by the ITU."
Significant progress has been made by the Radiocommunication Sector of the
ITU (ITU-R) in establishing an agreed and globally accepted definition of
4G wireless systems, and ITU-R is close to releasing a full set of
documentation for this definition. Working under a mandate to address
systems beyond 3G, ITU-R has progressed from delivering a vision of 4G in
2002 to establishing a name for 4G in 2005 (IMT-Advanced). In 2006, ITU-R
set out the principles for the process of the development of IMT-Advanced.
The work of the ITU encompasses the important elements of business success
in the wireless industry, especially the balance of a market and services
view, a technology view, a spectrum view and regulatory aspects. In early
2008, ITU-R will translate the vision into a set of requirements by which
technologies and systems can, in the near future, be determined a part of
IMT-Advanced and in doing so, earn the credible right to be considered 4G.
During 2008 and 2009, ITU-R will hold an open call for 4G (IMT-Advanced)
candidates as well as an assessment of those candidates' technologies and
systems. The culmination of this open process will be a 4G, or
IMT-Advanced family of technologies. Such a 4G family of technologies, in
adherence to the principles defined for acceptance into this ITU process,
is globally recognized to be one which can grow to include all aspects of a
marketplace that will arrive beyond 2010.
"Third generation technologies are growing immensely in the marketplace,
but they too once started out with a vision and requirements from ITU,"
stated Pearson. "The evolving wireless marketplace and its customers will
be well served by the current ITU process for the next generation of
wireless services."
The white paper, "Defining 4G: Understanding the ITU Process for the Next Generation of
Wireless Technology," is available for free download at
www.3gamericas.org.
About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology
The mission of 3G Americas is to promote and facilitate the seamless
deployment throughout the Americas of GSM and its evolution to 3G and
beyond. The organization fully supports the Third Generation (3G)
technology migration strategy to EDGE and UMTS/HSPA adopted by many
operators in the Americas. The GSM family of technologies accounts for 85%
of wireless mobile customers worldwide. 3G Americas is headquartered in
Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas,
TX. For more information, visit our website at www.3gamericas.org.