It will take some time before circuit-based voice networks disappear despite the strong convergence trend toward all-IP based services and networks, according to wireless industry trade association 4G Americas' latest white paper, "Coexistence of GSM, HSPA and LTE". The forward-thinking document was drafted collaboratively by the member companies of 4G Americas, whose board is composed of representatives from Alcatel-Lucent, America Movil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CommScope, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, Openwave, Powerwave, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers, Shaw Communications, T-Mobile USA and Telefonica. This new white paper and reference document addresses the intricate issues and challenging technical solutions required to make the migration successful. The industry group stresses the continued advantage of the economies of scale of the 3GPP family of technologies for years to come. Contents include analyst estimates that by the end of 2015, the 3GPP family of mobile broadband technologies will have 3.3 billion UMTS-HSPA+ subscribers and an additional 325 million LTE subscribers.
