The 3GPP standards group has approved a specification update that will see 3G support added to the UMA/GAN standard. This move should help developers of UMA-based 3G dual-mode handsets and femtocell products [1] with their delivery plans to mobile operators considering the commercial deployment of FMC services.
According to Stéphane Téral, an industry analyst with the market research firm Infonetics, the addition of 3G support is an important step in supporting in-home 3G service delivery. "Operators and vendors alike have recognized the need for standardization to drive mass-market femtocell network deployments."
Qualcomm and NXP have both made recent announcements about their involvement in the dual-mode UMA [2] handset market, while Motorola, Ubiquisys and Netgear are already working with operators (e.g. O2 and Telia) on testing femtocells.
For more about the 3GPP's specification:
- read this article [3] from TMCnet
- take a look at this report [4] from 3G.co.uk
Related articles:
UMA out of favor at Telecom Italia Report [1]
T-Mobile USA introduces nationwide UMA services Report [5]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/uma-out-favour-telecom-italia/2007-12-10
[2] http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/innovation-week-uma-gets-connected/2007-10-30
[3] http://internetcommunications.tmcnet.com/topics/broadband-mobile/articles/21530-uma-support-3g-dual-mode-handset-femtocell-deployments.htm
[4] http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Feb2008/5828.htm
[5] http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/t-mobile-usa-introduces-nationwide-uma-service/2007-07-02