OMA license granted to 3GPP

March 30, 2015

A copyright agreement is now in place that will allow the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Push-to-Communicate for Public Safety (PCPS) specifications - based on OMA Push-to-talk over Cellular (PoC) - to be used in 3GPP specifications for mission-critical Push To Talk (MCPTT).

The agreement, approved by the OMA Board and now out for signature among the 3GPP SDOs, is a vital aid to the progress of the work of 3GPP’s new SA6 working group, allowing them to use PCPS 1.0 texts where needed to complete 3GPP MCPTT without having to ‘re-invent the wheel’.

3GPP related testing

Building on IMTC liaisons with 3GPP RAN5, on IMS Voice and video over LTE testing, IMTC is inviting 3GPP companies to participate in the next SuperOp! in Porto, Portugal from the 15th to 23rd May.

Several 3GPP features relating to WebRTC, H.264 (AVC and SVC), SIP over IPv6, Telepresence Interoperability Protocol, Packet Switched Streaming (HTTP & MPEG-DASH), IMS voice and video over LTE and Rich Communications Suite services – will be tested at the event.

LTE completes a full 360 in 2014

January 7, 2015

The latest update of the Evolution to LTE report from the GSA announces that 360 operators have now commercially launched LTE networks and services - with 107 of them deploying or trialling LTE-Advanced technologies.

As usual the report is packed with statistical data that uncovers some of the major trends in the LTE market;

• FDD mode is dominant - with 312 of the operators deploying FDD mode only (31 TDD only, 17 deployed both)
• Most used spectrum is 1800 MHz with 158 LTE1800 networks in 76 countries
• Next comes 2.6 GHz - in over 25% of networks.
• 80 operators are investing in VoLTE deployments, studies or trials
• LTE roaming is a market reality and increasingly commonplace 

TSDSI - The new 3GPP OP

From the 1st of January 2015, the Telecommunications Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI) is a full Organizational Partner in 3GPP, joining six other national and regional SDOs to develop standards for telecom products and services that meet regional needs as well as promoting international interoperability.

The seven 3GPP Organizational Partners - from Asia, Europe and North America - jointly determine the general policy and strategy of 3GPP and take decisions on the creation or cessation of Technical Specification Groups, via a top level Project Coordination Group (3GPP PCG). 

The approval of the TSDSI as an 'OP' further ensures that member companies have a stable environment to produce the Standards that define 3GPP technologies, by bringing Indian expertise and invention in to the project.

In Case of Emergency

Sophia Antipolis, November 20, 2014

Several presentations at the ETSI “In Case of Emergency…” Summit last week touched on the role of 3GPP systems in keeping the lines of communication open under extreme conditions. Policy makers, manufacturers, operators and public safety professionals all contributed to the success of the event.

Here are some highlights:

LTE for Critical Communications

The LTE session heard a variety of viewpoints on how far LTE can go as the solution that ensures the public’s safety.