About 3GSM

Is W-CDMA the same as UMTS? Or is UMTS part of GSM? Presumably W-CDMA is a member of the CDMA family? No? Well, which one means the same as 3G?

There seems to be some confusion out there. Every technology-based industry suffers from impenetrable acronyms and a tendency to drown in alphabet soup. But few get to the point where confusing nomenclature threatens the currency of their core brand. This is an issue the GSM community is addressing with a degree of urgency as its members press ahead developing the networks of the future.

The many terms used to describe next generation GSM networks and services do nothing to leverage the unique value of the GSM eco-system and much to instil confusion. This is why the GSM Association proposes the universal adoption of "3GSM" to describe the 3G services delivered over the evolved GSM core network. After all, the GSM community has very a considerable heritage and brand-advantage it needs to protect.

Let's be clear. Operators haven't invested their billions in next generation licences for bandwidth alone. These are often global companies making very sizeable investments based on the knowledge they can build or evolve networks based on the GSM family of technologies. In fact, following expert advice and with complete freedom of choice, 98 per cent of operators who have been allocated 3G spectrum in the 2GHz band selected 3GSM as the best technology to deliver the optimum combination of speed, capacity and capability in a broadband wireless world.

It's important to emphasise that as far as 3G licences are concerned there has been nothing prescriptive about the choice of technology even, contrary to popular myth, in Europe. The majority of the world's operators have chosen the GSM evolution path because it makes good commercial sense. In fact it's difficult to imagine a situation in which major global companies could be persuaded to make such significant long-term investments based on anything other than commercial imperatives.

Of course there are a number of compelling reasons for selecting GSM over competing technologies. A good place to start is the fact that GSM has been significantly more successful than any other wireless technology. In fact GSM has been more successful than pretty much any other technology in history. Just hold on to the thought that there are currently more people using GSM mobile phones than the internet.

The GSM success story

Since 1997, the number of GSM subscribers has increased by a staggering ten-fold. GSM now accounts for more than 73 per cent of the world's digital wireless market and took 80 per cent of global mobile growth in the year to December 2003.

At the time of writing, global GSM subscribers are about to smash through the one billion mark. Let's put this very significant milestone into perspective. At Telecom Geneva back in 1991 GSM systems were demonstrated to the communications fraternity for the very first time. In the course of that event over 11,000 GSM calls were made, but out in the real world there were still no commercial networks up and running.

In fact it was another twelve months before the GSM MoU Association - as the GSMA used to be known - was able to report thirteen networks on air in seven countries and territories. In 1993 GSM operators could claim a subscriber base of 1 million customers and by June 2001 the industry was celebrating the 500 million milestone. This is truly astonishing progress in a single decade.

Just three years on that figure is about to double and the customer base is set to bust through the 1 billion barrier. This means a staggering one in six people worldwide now use GSM services.

So what does this sustained development mean in commercial terms? Well it certainly adds up to very significant economies of scale in terms of network infrastructure, devices and service development. But the proliferation of GSM worldwide also confirms the presence of a strong, versatile and enduring standard that can be relied upon to deliver a diverse range of services anytime, anywhere.

Roaming the world

Anytime, anywhere are the characteristics that set GSM apart from the crowd. Roaming is at the heart of the GSM value proposition and has played a major role driving the global spread of the technology.

Mobile users tend to associate service access and availability with their handset devices rather than their locations or service providers. So as long as they have their device with them customers feel they should be able to use the same services they use at home wherever they are in the world. And over the years GSM operators have developed the network, service, inter-working and billing capabilities to satisfy such expectations.

Roaming is an advantage the GSM community must continue to leverage with the development of enhanced data services and the roll out of next generation networks. It's certainly been at the heart of many of the GSMA's initiatives over the past 12 months and the reason the Association's various task forces have placed so much emphasis on facilitating inter-working and interoperability

GSM customers can now access services in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. No other wireless technology has anything approaching this kind of reach and it's precisely the global strength of GSM that makes its networks, technology and services such a sound investment proposition.

Put another way, roaming means that any one of the billion GSM users worldwide is potentially a customer to be served by any GSM operator. Roaming is one of the reasons the financial community backs GSM over other technologies. The strength and versatility of the GSM platform is another.

A key step forward

GPRS has always been regarded as a key stepping stone on the path to 3GSM - not least because it initiates that vital first step with the introduction of packet switching. Today, given slower than forecast next generation deployment, GPRS has become even more important in its own right.

While 2.5G implies an interim solution, in reality the introduction of GPRS represents a significant transformation of mobile technology, delivering the benefits of IP connectivity and "always on" service access for the user. The adoption of GPRS is a fast and cost-effective strategy that not only supports the real first wave of mobile internet services, but also represents a big step towards 3GSM networks and services

Today there are more than 190 data enabled GPRS networks commercially deployed in 70 countries and territories. A further 33 GPRS networks are currently under construction with another 28 being planned. Customers are already beginning to enjoy advanced, feature rich data services, such as photo messaging on MMS, email on the move and other leading edge wireless applications

The GSM Association believes that, with roaming and IOT issues resolved, the industry has the potential to reap very significant revenues from GPRS networks. In Western Europe alone, an Analysis report forecasts that there will be 110 million GPRS users by 2006, representing 35 per cent of all cellular subscribers and generating $28 billion in revenue.

Worldwide, Pyramid Research predicts that by 2006 GPRS services will generate $49 billion - 32 per cent of overall operator revenue

Moving to the EDGE

Like GPRS, EDGE is another member of the GSM family of technologies that is proving much more important than many initially believed. In the minds of commentators, analysts and vendors EDGE technology has tended to be overshadowed by GPRS and 3GSM. However, the past 12 months have seen many in the industry reassessing technology strategies and EDGE is once again at the heart of the GSM evolution agenda worldwide. EDGE has always had supporters in the US, but now more than 60 operators in Latin America, Asia, Europe as well as the US have committed to the technology EDGE has been designed to increase GPRS on-air data rates 2.5 to 3 times while meeting essentially the same bandwidth occupancy as the original 0.3-GMSK signal.

EDGE technology also enables each base station transceiver to carry more voice and/or data traffic. The advantages are obvious for those with limited spectrum or without 3G licences. But EDGE also provides important options for the cost-effective planning and deployment of 3GSM services.

No GSM operator expects to accomplish ubiquitous 3GSM coverage overnight and many will first concentrate on high-density urban areas - airports, stations and motorways. The introduction of EDGE as a component of a next generation deployment strategy can offer high-speed data coverage in semi-urban or rural areas where the GSM-based infrastructure is already in place and can be enhanced with EDGE technology. Of course, the same kind of technology handover solution can also be accomplished with a GPRS overlay, but there would be a greater disparity between data rates and quality of service in the respective coverage areas than if an operator uses EDGE.

Circuit switched GSM, GPRS and EDGE demonstrate the strength and flexibility of the GSM platform and provide the foundations for 3GSM development. The GSM Association's approach to bringing next generation services to market centres on sustaining the standards that have made GSM the most successful communications technology the world has seen. It's about establishing global platforms and open interfaces that benefit consumers, operators, vendors, applications developers, content providers and the industry at large.

3GSM initiative

GSM is the only wireless technology that can combine global reach, seamless international roaming with such a strong and versatile technology standard. This is why it is so important to differentiate our product and its future from that of our competitors.

Nine out of twelve of the world's leading operator groups have chosen the 3GSM route to next generation deployment. Two - both Chinese - have yet to make formal decisions. Only one has chosen to go in another direction. In addition to the 20 plus 3GSM networks currently live, over the next 12 months the GSMA expects to see at least another 40 to 50 launched - a tangible demonstration of the commitment of our operator community to this evolutionary path.

Because of the importance of differentiating its members' products from those of their competitors, the GSMA's 3GSM Initiative endeavours to correct misunderstandings and misinformation amongst commentators, the financial community and the mainstream media.

A central tenet of the 3GSM Initiative is a campaign that promotes a common approach to the use of terminology. In all public and internal communications the GSMA will adopt the term "3GSM" to describe next generation GSM network and service offerings. The objective will be to distinguish the wideband 3GSM standard from other so-called 3G technologies.

Let's be clear what is meant by the term. 3GSM represents third generation services delivered on an evolved core GSM network. 3GSM services are delivered at a technical level on third generation standards developed by 3GPP, which utilise Wideband-CDMA and, in some markets, EDGE air interfaces

In the course of the year, the GSMA will be continuing to communicate the strengths and differentiating characteristics of the 3GSM proposition for the industry, commentators and the media at large. It should be clear, of course, that this is not simply a question of terminology but a concerted effort to defend present and future investments of our membership and the very real market advantage represented by the GSM brand.

Operators have invested in GSM not just for the technology, but because of the entire ecosystem that is the GSM community. This said, the 3GSM standard is significantly more powerful than any other wireless technology and that competitive advantage needs to be promoted collectively. No other standard offers the flexible combination of voice and data performance and capacity delivered by 3GSM underpinned by Wideband-CDMA. No other standard is as open as 3GSM. No other standard delivers the economies of scale and competitiveness for operators and vendors.

And no other standard can deliver seamless evolution and backward compatibility for a billion GSM customers as quickly as 3GSM

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