GSM operators seek global 3G phone

Global GSM operators are looking to kick-start demand for 3G services by jointly promoting a UMTS phone that will target the mass market. Twelve major operators are asking vendors to submit proposals for a universal 3G handset, which they will buy in bulk driving down development and manufacturing costs for the lucky winning vendor.

“We want 3G handsets, offering access to a rich suite of services to become the default choice for people buying a new phone,” GSM Association chairman Craig Ehrlich said in a statement issued at GSM Asia in Singapore. “The size and geographic breadth of the companies steering this campaign demonstrates the importance the global operator community attaches to making 3G a mass-market phenomena.”

In the U.S. both Cingular and T-Mobile—through its German corporate parent—are participating in the consortium. They are joined by global GSM powerhouses Vodafone, Orange and Telefonica, Globe Telecom, Hutchison 3G, KTF, MTN, Smart, Telecom Italia and Telenor.

The carriers said they will select a flagship 3G handset designed with mass-market appeal from the vendor proposals. After selecting a winning design, each of the 12 carriers will then buy the handset, each contracting separately with the manufacturer. The winning phone will be endorsed as the “3G for all” phone by GSMA, and it will be unveiled at the next 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February.

The GSMA announced a separate initiative to get UMTS/High Speed Downlink Packet Access technology embedded as a standard feature in most laptops, much like Wi-Fi is a standard feature today. Cingular and T-Mobile again are participating in the initiative as well as O2, Orange, TeliaSonera, Telecom Italia Mobile and Vodafone. On the PC side are a host of laptop and computer chip makers, including Intel, Qualcomm, Lenovo, Dell as well as handset maker Sony Ericsson, software giant Microsoft and wireless laptop card makers Sierra Wireless and Novatel Wireless.