BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - February 11, 2009) - 3G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the GSM family of technologies, including LTE, today announces that it has published a new edition of the white paper many have considered necessary reading for learning about the latest 3GPP standards. Now titled "The Mobile Broadband Evolution: 3GPP Release 8 and Beyond," the report fully explores HSPA+, SAE/LTE and LTE-Advanced from a technical, business and applications approach and makes comparisons to other mobile broadband technologies.

UMTS/HSPA is the leading 3G technology used by the majority of wireless operators and subscribers worldwide today and into the foreseeable future. Globally, the demand for wireless data services is driving the growth of 3G HSPA technology with more than 270 commercial HSDPA networks today and subscriptions to UMTS/HSPA estimated at nearly 300 million at the end of 2008 by Informa Telecoms and Media. UMTS/HSPA will represent 1.4 billion subscriptions or an 85% share of the mobile wireless broadband market by year-end 2012 and 1.8 billion by year-end 2013 according to Informa. It is upon the foundation of the current 3.6 billion GSM-HSPA subscriptions that the future evolutions of 3GPP Release 8 and beyond will be introduced (HSPA+, LTE, LTE Advanced).

Some of the detailed discussions in "The Mobile Broadband Evolution: 3GPP Release 8 and Beyond" include the following:

--  HSPA+ enhancements in Release 8 (Rel-8) as well as the EPS, EPC and
    LTE architecture, features/capabilities and performance estimates
--  3GPP planning for Rel-9 and Rel-10 content, which has already been
    initiated in standards work at 3GPP
--  Further enhancements to HSPA+ in Rel-9
--  Features that enhance upon the Rel-8 EPC/LTE capabilities in areas
    such as location, emergency and broadcast services, support of CS over LTE,
    Home NodeB/eNodeB architecture considerations (i.e., support for femtocell
    type applications) and IMS evolution
--  A new 3GPP study item in Rel-10 to define evolution of the LTE
    technology to meet IMT-Advanced requirements, called LTE-Advanced; work is
    commencing in parallel with Rel-9 work
--  The requirements of Rel-10 that will officially define "4G"
    technologies with the significant new technology enhancements to EPC/LTE
    for meeting the very aggressive IMT-Advanced requirements
--  An exploration of the growing demands for wireless data and successes
    for a variety of wireless applications, the increasing Average Revenue Per
    User (ARPU) for wireless services by operators worldwide and recent
    developments in 3GPP technologies by several leading manufacturers
    

James Seymour, Ph.D., Bell Labs Fellow, Consulting Member of the Technical Staff, Wireless Networks CTO Organization of Alcatel-Lucent and project leader for the white paper, explained, "The amazing uptake in commercial HSPA deployments, the growing number of mobile broadband subscriptions, the increasing number and success of data services and applications, and the more than 1000 HSPA devices offered today -- are all the result of a beneficial marriage between a globally accepted standard and an evolutionary upgrade of existing systems."

Building further upon this point, Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas, commented, "HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE are all significant technologies in providing mobile broadband to the mass market in all areas of the world." He added, "The 3GPP evolutionary standards continue to deliver with faster peak data rates, lower latency, a flatter architecture and increased spectral efficiency."

To date, there are more than 100 operators who have indicated their intention for trial, planned deployments or commitments to an evolution to LTE including ten leading CDMA operators according to Informa Telecoms & Media.

The popular white paper, "The Mobile Broadband Evolution: 3GPP Release 8 and Beyond," was written collaboratively by members of 3G Americas and is available for free download at: www.3gamericas.org

About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology

3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment of the GSM family of technologies including LTE throughout the Americas. 3G Americas has contributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM across the Americas and its place as the number one technology in the region, as well as the global adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas, Texas. More information is available at www.3gamericas.org.

Contact Information: Contact: Vicki Livingston (262) 242 3458