3GPP

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners. The initial scope of 3GPP was to make a globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone system specification based on evolved Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) specifications within the scope of the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 project of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The scope was later enlarged to include the development and maintenance of:

• the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) including GSM evolved radio access technologies (e.g. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE))
• an evolved third Generation and beyond Mobile System based on the evolved 3GPP core networks, and the radio access technologies supported by the Partners (i.e., UTRA both FDD and TDD modes).
• an evolved IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) developed in an access independent manner

3GPP standardization encompasses Radio, Core Network and Service architecture. The project was established in December 1998 and should not be confused with 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), which specifies standards for another 3G technology based on IS-95 (CDMA), commonly known as CDMA2000 . The 3GPP support team (also known as the "Mobile Competence Centre") is located at the ETSI headquarters in Sophia-Antipolis (France).