Mobile players look beyond 3G

Twenty-six of the biggest players in the mobile phone industry have signed an accord that could lead to newer, faster wireless technology. The companies behind the initiative include Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo, NEC, Siemens, Alcatel and about 20 others. The aim of the consortium is to develop a new standard for the transmission of data over mobile networks - a standard that will be up to 10 times faster than 3G (UMTS), which is still in its infancy.

The as-yet-undeveloped standard is to be called "Super 3G", according to early media reports, which also say that development of the technology could conclude by 2007, with commercial launches after 2009. It is thought that the new standard could allow for services not available over 3G, including continuous video broadcasting and full movie downloads.

Read full storry at: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/05/super_3g/

FB: With mobile companies paying billions of pounds for 3G licenses and not getting exactly what they had expected; so I guess this means they would have to join hands to make sure that in order to beat competition they would have to join hands when it comes to standards. We have already seen with 3G especially in the UK market only '3' is getting open acceptance with the consumers, not because of the services or any added facilities but only because of the prices plans on offer, while 3’s main rival in the UK market 'Vodafone' is targeting the high end of the market with the premium content. I cannot comment on Vodafone’s ‘3G live’ since the service was only launched about a month back, lets see what sort of feedback it gets. There are news that 'Orange' and 'T Mobile' are also about to launch there 3G services, will this mean a war of pricing with '3' already offering plans as low as £5 per month. Go consumers!