Europe : The GSM Association (GSMA) announced that a panel comprising of nine operators has selected two mobile phones developed by LG Electronics as the winning products to spearhead its GSMA’s Horizon Phone initiative.

The initiative aims to provide a range of multi-band Mobile Broadband handsets that will support HSPA and meet the needs of customers around the world.

Last year, the GSMA and several operators established an 850 User Group to promote more widespread adoption of the 850MHz spectrum along with other dominant frequencies. This lead to the creation of the Horizon Phone initiative. In the first phase of this initiative, a competition amongst handset vendors was launched to produce a portfolio of 850/1900/2100 MHz tri-band HSPA mobile phones that could be launched into the global market.

“The GSMA’s Horizon Phone initiative will help operators to establish the 850 MHz spectrum as an integral 3G frequency band, which will lead to greater scale economies, more cost effective communications and greater choice of products for users,” said Craig Ehrlich, Chairman of the GSMA. “We congratulate LG as the selected supplier for the Horizon Series of phones.”

To judge the competition, a panel of experts from nine leading operators including Ancel, AT&T, Cable & Wireless International, Entel PCS, Rogers Wireless, Telecom Personal, Telefonica Moviles, Telenor and Telstra worked together on the requirements and specifications needed by their customers to meet the new demand for ubiquitous Mobile Broadband. Handset vendors were then invited to submit proposals for tri-band HSPA handsets operating at 850/1900/2100 MHz, as well as conventional GSM bands.

LG Electronics was chosen as the winner for two of its handsets, the LG-KM560/LG-CM560 and LG-KP330/LG-CP330. Both phones run on high-speed 3G networks (HSPA) at 850/1900/2100 MHz as well as on GSM at 850/900/1800/1900 MHz. The handsets were selected for their style, performance, and competitive pricing to meet operator’s market requirements.

“The selection of LG’s HSPA phones for the GSM Association’s Horizon Phone initiative demonstrates that operators have recognized LG’s strong commitment to advanced technologies and business practices in the 3G sector,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG will continue to provide new and better 3G phones that customers want, based on our cutting-edge technologies and high standard of quality.”

LG’s winning handsets will be endorsed and promoted by the GSMA as part of the GSMA Horizon Series. The GSMA Horizon Series will encompass a range of different handset models at attractive prices supporting the most popular frequencies used around the world.

"With the GSMA we have played a lead role in the Horizon Phone competition. Our experience shows the 850 MHz spectrum can provide superior in-building coverage penetration compared to the conventional higher frequency bands and expansive low-cost 3GSM and wireless broadband coverage to the more lightly populated areas of the world," said Sol Trujillo, Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Corporation Ltd. "We continue to support the creation of an integral 3GSM world standard for the 850 MHz spectrum and welcome the release of the GSMA Horizon Series range as an initial step in a globally unified offering that simplifies the customer experience."

Alex Katouzian, Vice President of Product Management for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, the chipset supplier for LG's selected handsets, said: "Qualcomm is proud to have provided the chipset for LG’s winning handsets and to be supporting the GSMA and the entire 3G community to help evolve wireless technologies in terms of roaming capabilities and ease-of-use. We are very pleased that our partner has been recognized by the GSMA for their outstanding work, and look forward to many more successes that benefit the industry as a whole."

The Horizon Phone competition is one of a number of GSMA led initiatives for 2008 that will stimulate the awareness of mobile broadband. Further announcements concerning additional Horizon Series phones, supported by leading mobile operators, handset vendors and other key stakeholders are anticipated in 2008.