QUALCOMM Enhances Deployment of Location Services for WCDMA

QUALCOMM announced that it has streamlined the deployment process for providing location services on WCDMA (UMTS)/HSDPA/GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks around the world. Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Secure User Plane for Location (SUPL) 1.0 software is now offered broadly across QUALCOMM’s WCDMA (UMTS) portfolio of Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets as part of the gpsOne solution, offering a consistent platform for the rollout of Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) technology and the location services it enables. Support for the OMA SUPL 1.0 protocol, accepted industry-wide, delivers significant cost-efficiency benefits for network operators deploying location services and offers wireless users a seamless experience when roaming onto other WCDMA (UMTS)/HSDPA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks. 

Most of QUALCOMM’s chipset solutions offer A-GPS circuitry integrated into both the MSM baseband and radio frequency (RF) devices.

“The pieces are now in place for the growth of location services for WCDMA (UMTS) network operators worldwide,” said Rob Rovetta, senior director of product management at QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. “Support for the OMA SUPL 1.0 protocol in WCDMA (UMTS) mobile handsets will help to drive the deployment of services based on accurate and ubiquitous A-GPS technology — such as satellite navigation, location-enhanced gaming, personal productivity tools and friend finders — to add a new level of value to the 3G wireless experience.”

QUALCOMM is already shipping select MSM chipsets from its WCDMA (UMTS) portfolio with the OMA SUPL 1.0 capability, enabling handset manufacturers designing mobile handsets based on these gpsOne-enabled chipsets to offer SUPL 1.0 support to network operators. The Company has successfully tested, and continues to test, with major WCDMA (UMTS) and GSM infrastructure providers and service developers in Europe, North America and Asia to enable seamless operation of the SUPL protocol on various networks around the world.

OMA SUPL 1.0’s acceptance across the wireless industry provides network operators a consistent platform to deploy A-GPS and location services. OMA SUPL 1.0 and other user plane architectures do not require any changes to underlying standards in order to deploy location services, and make it possible to easily demonstrate, test, trial and prepare for deployment on live operator networks around the world.