Definition: 3GPP

(3rd Generation Partnership Project) A cooperation of international standards bodies for the development of high-speed cellular services. Established in 1998, 3GPP has been involved with all the cellular standards including 3G, 4G and 5G. See cellular generations, 3G, LTE and 5G.

3GPP - GSM (UMTS Umbrella)
For GSM carriers, the first 3G specification was WCDMA, which was based on the CDMA air interface and a departure from GSM's TDMA. WCDMA was followed by HSPA. For more information, visit www.3gpp.org. See WCDMA, HSPA, GSM, CDMA and TDMA.

3GPP2 - CDMA (IMT-2000 Umbrella)
For CDMA2000 carriers, the first 3G specification was 1X, followed by EV-DO. 3GPP2 supports QCELP speech in addition to 3GPP formats. For more information, visit www.3gpp2.org. See CDMA, CDMA2000, QCELP and IMT-2000.

Convergence into LTE
With support from 3GPP and 3GPP2, GSM and CDMA carriers worldwide are converging their networks into 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution). See LTE and LTE Advanced.

   3GPP LTE CATEGORIES
   USER EQUIPMENT (UE)

  UE       Down  Up    MIMO
  Category  (Mbps)   Antennas

  3GPP Release 8 (2008)
    1       10    5     1
    2       51   26     2
    3      102   51     2
    4      151   51     2
    5      300   75     4


  LTE ADVANCED CATEGORIES

  3GPP Release 10 (2011)
    6      301   51     2/4
    7      301  102     2/4
    8     2999 1498     8

  3GPP Release 11 (2012)
    9      452   51     2/4
   10      452  102     2/4

  3GPP Release 12 (2015)
   11      603   51     2/4
   12      603  102     2/4
   13      392   51     2/4
   14      392  102     2/4
   15     3917 1498     8
   M1        1    1     1

  3GPP Release 13 (2016)
   NB-IoT   .2   .2     1
   See LTE for iOT.