3GPP Partnership

3GPP, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, is a collaboration agreement that was established in December 1998. The collaboration agreement brings together a number of telecommunications standards bodies which are known as “Organizational Partners”. The current Organizational Partners are ARIB, CCSA, ETSI, ATIS, TTA, and TTC. The establishment of 3GPP was formalized in December 1998 by the signing of the “The 3rd Generation Partnership Project Agreement”.

The purpose of 3GPP is to prepare, approve and maintain globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for a 3rd Generation Mobile System based on the evolved GSM core networks, and the radio access technologies supported by the Partners (i.e., UTRA both FDD and TDD modes), to be transposed by the Organizational Partners into appropriate deliverables (e.g., standards).

Some of the most well-known 3GPP members:
Apple, AT&T, Ericsson, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, KPN, LG, Lucent, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Philips, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sharp, Siemens, Sun, Toshiba and Vodafone, to name but a few.

Scope and objectives of 3GPP
The 3rd Generation Mobile System and its capabilities shall be developed in a phased approach. Initially, 3GPP shall prepare, approve and maintain the necessary set of Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for a 3rd Generation Mobile System including:
  • UTRAN (including UTRA; in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) modes);
  • 3GPP Core Network (Third Generation networking capabilities evolved from GSM. These capabilities include mobility management, global roaming, and utilisation of relevant Internet Protocols);
  • Terminals for access to the above (including specifications for a UIM); and
  • System and service aspects.
3GPP shall prepare, approve and maintain the necessary set of Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for:
- the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) including GSM evolved radio access technologies (e.g., General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE)).

3GPP shall consider the long term evolution.

The Technical Specifications and Technical Reports shall be developed in view of global roaming and circulation of terminals.

The set of 3GPP Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for the 3GPP core network and the specifications for the GSM core network should be common to the greatest extent possible and should not be unnecessarily different.

Options in the form of a regulatory requirement particular to one or more regions / nations shall be included in 3GPP specifications. TSGs should not debate the inclusion or rejection of such options.

The results of the 3GPP work shall form the basis of member contributions to the ITU in accordance with existing procedures.

3GPP shall take account of emerging ITU recommendations on interworking between IMT-2000 family members.

In the framework of agreed relationships, the 3GPP Technical Specifications and Technical Reports will form the basis of standards, or parts of standards, of the Organizational Partners.

For more information on 3GP, please visit www.3GPP.org, the official 3GPP website.

3GPP: Partners in 3GP

3  (three.co.uk)United Kingdom ETSI 
7 LAYERS AGGermany ETSI 
ACCESS Systems Europe GmbHGermany ETSI 
AePONA LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
AeroflexUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Agere Systems Deutschland GmbHGermany ETSI 
Agilent Technologies Int JapanJapan ARIB 
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Airbiquity IncorporatedUnited States ETSI 
Airgo Networks, Inc.United States ATIS 
ALCATEL S.A.France ETSI 
Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co.China CCSA 
mdocs Software Systems LtdIreland ETSI 
Andrew CorporationUnited States ETSI 
Andrew Wireless Systems GmbHGermany ETSI 
Anite Telecoms Ltd.United Kingdom ETSI 
Anritsu CorporationJapan ARIB 
ANRITSU LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Apple Computer IncUnited States ETSI 
AQSACOM S.A.France ETSI 
ArrayComm, IncUnited States ATIS 
ASPECTS SoftwareUnited Kingdom ETSI 
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.Taiwan, Province of China ETSI 
AT&TUnited States ATIS 
Axalto SAFrance ETSI 
Azaire NetworksUnited States ETSI 
Bamboo MediaCastingIsrael ETSI 
BenQ Mobile GmbHGermany ETSI 
BfVGermany ETSI 
BMWAGermany ETSI 
BOUYGUES TelecomFrance ETSI 
BridgePort NetworksUnited States ETSI 
Broadcom CorporationUnited States ETSI 
BT Group PlcUnited Kingdom ETSI 
CableLabsUnited States ETSI 
Cambridge Silicon RadioUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Camiant, Inc.United States ATIS 
CATTChina CCSA 
CCL/ITRITaiwan, Province of China ETSI 
CEAFrance ETSI 
Celltick Technologies Inc.Israel ETSI 
CETECOM GmbHGermany ETSI 
CETECOM S.A.Spain ETSI 
CGC Inc.Taiwan, Province of China ETSI 
Checkpoint Systems GmbHGermany ETSI 
China Mobile Com. CorporationChina CCSA 
CHTTLTaiwan, Province of China ETSI 
Cingular Wireless LLCUnited States ATIS 
Cisco Systems BelgiumBelgium ETSI 
CNESFrance ETSI 
Coding TechnologiesGermany ETSI 
COMNEON GmbH & CoGermany ETSI 
Comprion GmbHGermany ETSI 
ComSquare AGSwitzerland ETSI 
Comverse Network SystemsNetherlands ETSI 
Convedia CorporationCanada ETSI 
Dai Nippon Printing Co., LtdJapan ARIB 
Digital FountainUnited States ATIS 
Dilithium Networks, Inc.United States ATIS 
DoCoMo Communications Lab.Germany ETSI 
DTIUnited Kingdom ETSI 
eAccess LtdJapan ARIB 
Electronic Technology SystemsGermany ETSI 
Elektrobit Ltd.Finland ETSI 
Elisa CorporationFinland ETSI 
Empower Interactive Group LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Ericsson Inc.United States ATIS 
ERICSSON LMSweden ETSI 
ESTSUnited States ETSI 
ETI A/SDenmark ETSI 
ETRIKorea (Republic of) TTA 
EUSKALTEL S.A.Spain ETSI 
FED. MINISTRY FOR TRANSPORTAustria ETSI 
FICORAFinland ETSI 
Finnet GroupFinland ETSI 
Flarion TechnologiesUnited States ETSI 
FlextronicsFinland ETSI 
Followap Inc.United States ETSI 
France TelecomFrance ETSI 
Fraunhofer GesellschaftGermany ETSI 
Freescale Semiconductor IsraelIsrael ETSI 
Freescale SemiconductorsFrance ETSI 
FUJITSU Laboratories of EuropeUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Fujitsu LimitedJapan TTC 
Fujitsu LimitedJapan ARIB 
GEMPLUS S.A.France ETSI 
GET (Groupe des Ecoles de Tel)France ETSI 
GIESECKE & DEVRIENT GmbHGermany ETSI 
Global Locate Inc.United States ETSI 
GOLDEN BRIDGE TECHNOLOGY INC.United States ETSI 
Hewlett-PackardFrance ETSI 
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES Co. Ltd.China ETSI 
HuaWei Technologies Co., LtdChina CCSA 
IAEIIsrael ETSI 
IBM EUROPEGermany ETSI 
Icera SemiconductorUnited Kingdom ETSI 
IICSGermany ETSI 
Ikivo ABSweden ETSI 
I'M Technologies LtdSingapore ETSI 
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIESGermany ETSI 
InmarsatUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Institut EURECOMFrance ETSI 
Institute for Infocomm ResearcSingapore ETSI 
INTEL CORPORATION SASFrance ETSI 
INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONSUnited States ETSI 
IPWireless Inc.United Kingdom ETSI 
Japan Radio Co., LtdJapan ARIB 
KATHREIN-Werke KGGermany ETSI 
KDDI CorporationJapan ARIB 
Kineto WirelessUnited States ATIS 
KPN N.V.Netherlands ETSI 
KT Freetel Co., Ltd.Korea (Republic of) TTA 
LG Electronics Inc.Korea (Republic of) TTA 
LG Electronics MobilecommFrance ETSI 
LG TeleComKorea (Republic of) TTA 
LogicaCMGIreland ETSI 
Lucent TechnologiesUnited States ATIS 
Lucent Technologies N. S. UKUnited Kingdom ETSI 
MARCONI COMMUNICATIONSUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Matsushita Electric IndustrialJapan ARIB 
MELCO MOBILE COMMUNICATIONSFrance ETSI 
Microelectronica Espanola SASpain ETSI 
MICROSOFT EUROPE SARLFrance ETSI 
MINISTERIO DE INDUSTRIASpain ETSI 
Mitsubishi Electric Co.Japan ARIB 
Mitsubishi Electric CorpJapan TTC 
MOTOROLA A/SDenmark ETSI 
MOTOROLA GmbHGermany ETSI 
MOTOROLA LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
MOTOROLA S.A.SFrance ETSI 
M-Systems Flash Disk PioneersIsrael ETSI 
Nanjing Ericsson Panda Com LtdChina CCSA 
National Communications SystemUnited States ATIS 
NEC CorporationJapan TTC 
NEC CorporationJapan ARIB 
NEC EUROPE LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
NEC Technologies (UK) LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
NemeriX SASwitzerland ETSI 
NeuStar Inc.United States ETSI 
NewStep Networks Inc.Canada ATIS 
Nextreaming Corp.Korea (Republic of) TTA 
Nippon Ericsson K.K.Japan ARIB 
NOKIA CorporationFinland ETSI 
Nokia Japan Co, LtdJapan ARIB 
Nokia Telecommunications Inc.United States ATIS 
NOKIA UK LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Nortel NetworksUnited States ATIS 
NORTEL NETWORKS (EUROPE)United Kingdom ETSI 
Nortel Networks Germany GmbHGermany ETSI 
Northstream ABSweden ETSI 
Norwegian P & T AuthorityNorway ETSI 
NTTJapan ARIB 
NTT DoCoMo Inc.Japan ARIB 
NTT DoCoMo Inc.Japan TTC 
O2 plcUnited Kingdom ETSI 
OBERTHUR CARD SYSTEMS S.A.France ETSI 
OFCOM (CH)Switzerland ETSI 
Ofcom (U.K.)United Kingdom ETSI 
ÖFEGAustria ETSI 
Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd.Japan TTC 
Oksijen TeknolojiTurkey ETSI 
OnAir N.V.Netherlands ETSI 
Openet TelecomIreland ETSI 
Openwave Systems (N.I.) LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
OperaxSweden ETSI 
Oracle CorporationUnited States ETSI 
ORANGE SAFrance ETSI 
ORGA Kartensysteme GmbHGermany ETSI 
Panasonic (PMCDE)United Kingdom ETSI 
Panasonic Mobile Comm.Japan ARIB 
Panasonic Mobile CommunicationJapan TTC 
PANASONIC R&D Center GermanyGermany ETSI 
Pantech Co., LtdKorea (Republic of) TTA 
Pantech&Curitel CommunicationsKorea (Republic of) TTA 
Philips International B.V.Netherlands ETSI 
PIDSNetherlands ETSI 
Polaris WirelessUnited States ATIS 
Polska Telefonia CyfrowaPoland ETSI 
Powerwave TechnologiesUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Powerwave Technologies SwedenSweden ETSI 
PTK CENTERTELPoland ETSI 
QUALCOMM EUROPE S.A.R.L.France ETSI 
Qualcomm Japan IncJapan ARIB 
RealNetworksUnited States ETSI 
Renesas Technology EuropeUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Research in Motion LimitedCanada ETSI 
RFI Global Services LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
RITTChina CCSA 
Rogers Wireless Inc.Canada ATIS 
ROHDE & SCHWARZGermany ETSI 
ROHM Electronics GmbHFrance ETSI 
SAGEM GroupFrance ETSI 
SAMSUNG ElectronicsUnited Kingdom ETSI 
SAMSUNG Electronics Co.Japan ARIB 
Samsung Electronics Co., LtdKorea (Republic of) TTA 
SASKEN COMMUNICATION TECHN.LTDIndia ETSI 
Seiko Epson CorporationJapan ARIB 
setcom wireless products GmbHGermany ETSI 
SFRFrance ETSI 
SGS Taiwan Ltd.Taiwan, Province of China ATIS 
SGS Testing Korea Co., LtdKorea (Republic of) TTA 
Shanghai Research CenterChina CCSA 
SHARP CorporationJapan ARIB 
SHARP Manufacturing France S.AFrance ETSI 
SIEMENS AGGermany ETSI 
Siemens nv/saBelgium ETSI 
SIEMENS S.p.AItaly ETSI 
SiGe Semicondutor (Europe) LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Silicon LaboratoriesUnited States ETSI 
SiRF Technology IncUnited States ETSI 
SK TelecomKorea (Republic of) TTA 
Smart Trust ABSweden ETSI 
SOFTBANK BB CORPJapan TTC 
SONOFON A/SDenmark ETSI 
Sony Ericsson MobileJapan ARIB 
Spirent CommunicationsUnited States ETSI 
Sporton International IncTaiwan, Province of ChinaChina ETSI 
Spreadtrum CommunicationsUnited States ETSI 
SPRINTUnited States ETSI 
ST Incard S.r.l.Italy ETSI 
Starent Networks CorporationUnited States ETSI 
STMicroelectronicsSwitzerland ETSI 
Stoke IncUnited States ETSI 
STREAMEZZOFrance ETSI 
Sun Microsystems LtdUnited Kingdom ETSI 
SWISSCOMSwitzerland ETSI 
Tata Consultancy ServicesIndia ETSI 
TATARA SYSTEMS INC.United States ETSI 
TD Tech LtdChina CCSA 
TDC TELE DANMARK A/SDenmark ETSI 
TEKELEC NetworkUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Telcordia TechnologiesUnited States ATIS 
Telcoware Co., LtdKorea (Republic of) TTA 
TELECOM ITALIA S.p.A.Italy ETSI 
Telecom Modus Ltd.United Kingdom ETSI 
TELECOM. RESEARCH CENTER (FTW)Austria ETSI 
TeleCommunication SystemsUnited States ETSI 
TELEFONICA S.A.Spain ETSI 
Telekom Austria AGAustria ETSI 
TELENOR ASANorway ETSI 
TeliaSonera ABSweden ETSI 
TELKOM SA LIMITEDSouth Africa ETSI 
TELSIS SYSTEMS LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
TEXAS InstrumentsFrance ETSI 
TEXAS Instruments Japan LtdJapan ARIB 
THOMSONGermany ETSI 
Tieto Enator Telecom R&DSweden ETSI 
T-Mobile (UK)United Kingdom ETSI 
T-Mobile AustriaAustria ETSI 
T-MOBILE DEUTSCHLANDGermany ETSI 
T-Mobile International AGGermany ETSI 
T-Mobile USA Inc.United States ATIS 
TNONetherlands ETSI 
Top Optimized Technologies S.LSpain ETSI 
Toshiba CorporationJapan ARIB 
TOSHIBA RESEARCH EUROPE LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
TruePosition Inc.United States ETSI 
TTP Communications plcUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Union Inter. Chemins de FerFrance ETSI 
URTIPPoland ETSI 
UTStarcomUnited States ETSI 
VIA Technologies IncTaiwan, Province of China ETSI 
VIDIATOR TECHNOLOGY (US) INC.United States ETSI 
VIPnet d.o.o.Croatia ETSI 
Vodafone D2 GmbHGermany ETSI 
VODAFONE Group PlcUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Vodafone K.K.Japan ARIB 
VODAFONE LTDUnited Kingdom ETSI 
Vodafone Omnitel N.VItaly ETSI 
VoiceAge CorporationCanada ETSI 
WAVECOMFrance ETSI 
WIND TELECOMUNICAZIONI SPAItaly ETSI 
XPonCardDenmark ETSI 
Yokogawa Electric CorporationJapan ARIB 
ZTE CorporationChina CCSA 






Organizational Partners
CCSA.org.cn
ETSI.org
ATIS.org
TTA.or.kr
TTC.or.jp