Sep. 15, 2006

Seven of the wireless industry’s major carriers have joined forces to develop a common vision for the future of mobile networks technology.

Members of the Next Generation Mobile Networks initiative include China Mobile, KPN, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Orange, Sprint Nextel Corp., T-Mobile and Vodafone.

The group said it has created a set of requirements “for a future wide area mobile broadband network designed to offer enhanced customer benefits by delivering competitive broadband performance alongside high levels of interoperability.”

In plainer terms, the NGMN appears to be devising a roadmap for interoperable 4G networks.

The group said it plans to work alongside existing standards bodies and wants to shape the development and standardization of the next generation of mobile technologies.

Sprint Nextel’s membership in the group is especially notable, since the carrier currently operates a CDMA network.

Sprint Nextel’s participation in the NGMN seems to indicate the carrier’s desire to migrate to an as-yet-undetermined 4G standard, rather than follow the CDMA evolution path as set out by CDMA pioneer Qualcomm Inc.

For practicality’s sake, the NGMN team specified that the 4G evolutionary path should focus on existing infrastructure and spectrum allocation as new platforms are developed.

The NGMN initiative outlined the following features as its guiding principles:

* High levels of data throughput alongside low levels of latency
* Low operation and maintenance costs
* Compatibility with legacy networks
* Support of high levels of authentication and security
* Improved terminal certification schemes

Thomas Geitner, head of NGMN, commented, “As major players within the industry and heavy consumers of mobile broadband infrastructure, we believe that the future of mobile networks should be determined by a mix of technical and performance standards.

“We are convinced that by drawing on our combined experience and commercial insight as operators, we will be able to bring a whole new perspective to the debate and continue to ensure that we give our customers exactly what they want.”

Source: RCR News