The completion of 3GPP Release 9 was the story from the recent 3GPP Plenary meetings in Korea (TSG#48), but now the focus turns to the next Release schedules as progress towards always-on, always-broadband continues at pace.

In just over 12 months the publication of both Release 8 and Release 9 has given the ICT industry a smooth path towards the launch of Next Generation mobile networks – based on LTE for the future but compatible with legacy networks everywhere.

Stephen Hayes, the 3GPP SA Chairman, observed that TSG#48 was a relatively quiet meeting, noting that TSG#49 will be more intense as 3GPP firm-up the freeze date for Release10, Stage 2 and determine the dates for Release11.

He committed that; “... the focus of Release11 should be on the further maturation of LTE and LTE-Advanced, including Systems Architecture Evolution (SAE). We will receive a significant amount of work as the LTE systems are deployed and we will allow time in TSGs to address any issues that may arise.”

The number of HSPA mobile broadband devices launched in the market has soared to 2,579 according to the latest survey published this week by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), and represents more than 48% expansion since October 2009. The number of suppliers increased from 190 to 235 in the same period.

3GPP networks are set to be a facilitator for the intelligent transport systems of the future.

This year the ETSI conference, the ETSI Business Innovation Summit, will focus on mobility.

Speakers from Members working on 3GPP specifications will demonstrate how HSPA (3G) and LTE - The Next Generation Mobile Standard - are playing a growing part in the transport business.