GSMA endorses Integrated Mobile Broadcast standard

Global trade group the GSM Association announced its endorsement of Integrated Mobile Broadcast, a new 3GPP standard that promises to accelerate adoption of mobile data and broadcast services worldwide. According to the GSMA, IMB enables spectrally-efficient delivery of broadcast services based on techniques aligned with existing FDD WCDMA but also allowing deployment in TDD spectrum--operators can use IMB within segments of spectrum already allocated with many 3G licenses, but which have otherwise remained unused because of a lack of appropriate technology. The GSMA adds that IMB also reuses many aspects of existing, deployed technologies such as UMTS and Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service, translating to shorter development cycles and faster time to market for services like mobile TV. 

To promote the IMB standard, the GSMA collaborated with operators including Orange, SingTel, Softbank, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone to create a whitepaper offering deeper insight into spectral requirements for deployment and support on operator networks and upon devices. The whitepaper is available for download here [1].

For more on the IMB standard:
- read this release [2]

Related articles:
GSMA [3] introduces Mobile Money Exchange
GSMA [4] calls for full NFC functionality by mid-2009
GSMA [5], Western Union team for mobile cash transfers