TD-SCDMA Forum and GSMA co-operate on 3G development

June 15th of 2004
TD-SCDMA Forum

On June 15th of 2004, TD-SCDMA Forum and GSMA signed an agreement to co-ordinate the development of the two 3G standards. Through closer co-operation, the two organizations will promote interoperability and international roaming between the two technologies and so maximize economies of scale for the benefit of end-users, operators and manufacturers.

TD-SCDMA standard has many key technologies, such as time division duplex smart antenna, joint detection and dynamic channel allocation. Therefore, TD-SCDMA has many technological and operational advantages, such as higher spectrum efficiency, more system capacity and lower equipment cost and especially suit to mobile data services like mobile Internet services.

TD-SCDMA has great market perspective, because more than 60 operators in the world have received TDD spectrum. Through this co-operation, GSMA can introduce TD-SCDMA directly to European operators, which can promote the broad application of TD-SCDMA worldwide.

Both 3GSM and TD-SCDMA can be deployed on GSM core networks and both technologies are now being standardised by 3GPP. Besides, 3GSM and TD-SCDMA can deploy networks standalone. TD-SCDMA can be migrated from GSM network, therefore, the subscribers of current GSM operators are potential TD-SCDMA subscribers in the future.

"3GSM is building on the seamless roaming, interoperability and economies of scale that have created a global market of more than one billion GSM users. Through co-operation with the GSM Association, we aim to extend these world-beating values to TD-SCDMA," said Mr. Ling Haifeng, the Secretary- General of TD-SCDMA forum.

"TD-SCDMA and 3GSM are compatible technologies, a factor recognised in the decision to standardise TD-SCDMA through the 3GPP," said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association and Member of the Board.