3G to affirm its growing status in 2005

2005 will be the year that 3G affirms its position as a serious communication technology, delegates at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes heard this week.

3G adoption is now growing faster than 2 and 2.5G networks did at the same point of evolution, according to Rob Conway, chief executive of trade body the GSM Association (GSMA).

Global 3G users are approaching the 20 million mark, compared with 16 million subscribers at the same point of growth in the existing GSM networks.

And this increased adoption has been achieved even though only 31 countries are served by 3G networks at present. 'This is the year we will clearly dispel any questions about the spread of 3G,' said Conway.

He says the GSMA will work with the industry to 'essentially drive 3G adoption' by establishing new levels of messaging interoperability and standardisation, providing a rich choice of multimedia offerings, and by targeting emerging markets.

It is already working with operators to establish common interoperability standards between networks using an integration 'hub' to provide seamless messaging capabilities.