Evolutionary trends in mobile communications - introducing 3G technology

Voice services currently account for more than 90 percent of income, but by the year 2005 it has been forecasted that data and other non-voice services will generate 50 percent of operator
income.

Meanwhile, the mobile telecommunications revolution continues and the coming boom is driving significant advances in the race to third-generation service capabilities.

The 'wireless literate generation' of today (aged 12 - 35) provides a snapshot of tomorrow's society and its drivers. The new generation is creating new usage patterns in favour of messaging and visual content. For them, messaging - e.g SMS text messaging is the most natural way of personal communication. Instant communication is about being able to create and consume content (greetings, notes, snapshots/ postcards, moving pictures, instant voicemail) on the fly, and about filling transit moments with meaningful experiences. The mobile phone has become a personal trusted device that is capable of life management and enrichment, thanks to higher data rates and evolutionary user interfaces that have increased the simplicity and usability of terminals. Traditionally the major service has been voice but there has been an evolutionary step in 3G from Short Messaging Service (SMS) to 3GPP - defined Multimedia Messaging, incorporating digital images and video clips with text or voice annotations.

The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) 3G recommendations confirm the growing importance of mobile multimedia services. The ITU has approved five distinct air interfaces for IMT-2000, and of those five WCDMA, EDGE and to some extent cdma2000 have gained measurable backing from equipment vendors and wireless operators. Global 3G consortiums and partnerships are now being formed to leverage the 3G licenses already granted and the hundreds more now under review.

Industry analysts estimate that vendors are currently allocating from $200 billion in research and development resources to specify, design and manufacture infrastructure for evolving 3G networks. Of the 3G licenses currently awarded, more than 90 percent of those operators have specified WCDMA as their core 3G technology. Observers point out that, given this expected dominance of WCDMA as the 3G standard, this technology will undoubtedly receive the majority of R&D funding and will yield the earliest, most extensive and most reliable product availability.

Informed industry observers recognize that third-generation wireless communications will be driven by subscriber-oriented services and not by provider-driven technologies. In the mobile telecom landscape of tomorrow, subscribers will expect and demand seamless anytime/anywhere access to voice, data, Internet and a growing universe of exciting new multimedia services.

Current applications will evolve to 3G, and the success of those new applications will depend heavily on a network to deliver capacity, bit rates and services. This growing reliance on data for revenue will drive the migration of current infrastructures to the faster, high-capacity packet-switched networks of the future. To meet those requirements, operators are searching for the clearest possible pathways to the third-generation.

A new pathway
Now wireless operators have a promising new pathway to the 3G future - a solution employing GSM and GPRS with evolution to EDGE and WCDMA that allows operators to maximize both market share and 3G margins.

GSM and TDMA offer a path of 3G migration employing Enhanced Data-rates for Global Evolution (EDGE). By deploying GPRS and EDGE technology, wireless competitors can lay down a clear, logical evolutionary pathway to WCDMA, which is rapidly gaining acceptance as the de facto 3G standard. Given the changing dynamics of the wireless marketplace, we now expect
that GSM and TDMA operators will implement EDGE to meet the growing demand for network capacity and data and multimedia services.

To fully appreciate the potential of this GSM/GPRS and migration to EDGE/WCDMA pathway, it may be worthwhile to examine in more detail the nature and performance of these technologies.

WCDMA
Wideband Code Division Multiplex Access (WCDMA) is the radio frequency technology indicated for all UMTS networks, and WCDMA is widely expected to be the dominant technology for 3G networks worldwide. WCDMA supports high capacity, multiple simultaneous services and bit-rate performance of up to 2Mbit/s. But as a wideband (5 MHz channels) technology, WCDMA presents deployment challenges when implemented on narrow frequency allocations.

When evaluating WCDMA infrastructure, operators should consider system solutions that provide well-established Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)-compatibility and that the resource allocation capabilities follow UMTS traffic class guidelines and Quality of Service attributes, allowing operators to optimize service differentiation.

Modular designs allow these solutions to scale quickly to meet escalating network traffic demands. These same design advantages will allow these WCDMA solutions to be adapted to meet the demand for location-based services, personalized messaging and packet data traffic volumes that will define the coming wireless IP networks. These advanced WCDMA systems will also support seamless integration with GSM networks.

GPRS
For many wireless operators, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) can be a crucial transitional phase on the evolutionary pathway to 3G and the all-IP future. GPRS brings IP-based services to the mobile marketplace and supports the convergence of data networking and mobile telecommunications. As non-voice services begin to predominate the wireless environment, the GPRS core represents a secure carrier investment, a basis for 3G services, and an optimized transition step to 3G.

A fully featured GPRS solution should also comply with ETSI and ANSI standards and provides full roaming support and vendor interoperability. GPRS functions as an ideal bearer platform for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) services. Well-integrated GPRS billing solutions provide optimized control of revenues generated by the introduction of WAP services. These systems support access- and content-based billing, prepaid billing, and the smooth migration to transactional-based micro-payment models. Carriers should consider any GPRS solution's ability to integrate into their current service and billing architecture.

EDGE
Enhanced Data-rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) is a narrowband (200 kHz channels) radio technology that allows operators to offer 3G services without the necessity of purchasing a 3G license. EDGE is suitable for narrower frequency allocations, and can be deployed in just 2.4 MHz of spectrum with 4/12 reuse. EDGE can support 800/900/ 1800/1900 MHz frequency bands. By enhancing the capabilities of an existing TDMA or GSM network, EDGE creates a smooth, cost-efficient migration pathway towards an all-IP network. EDGE allows operators to leverage the considerable advantages of GPRS, including fast-connect set-ups, data rates to 473 kbps, and measurably higher bandwidth. Early adoption of EDGE technology allowed carriers to offer multimedia services, and to position themselves to serve the estimated 60 percent of global mobile subscribers who will be EDGE/WCDMA customers by the year 2006. EDGE provides enhancements to GSM and supports the use of existing sites and frequency bands for 3G services. EDGE capabilities improve coverage and capacity and streamline migration to a full-service 3G network.

IPv6
The limited size and structure of the Internet address space provided by Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) proved to be incapable of coping with the explosive increase in the number of Internet users. Neither network address leasing nor translation was ideal for the evolving 3G technology. To deal with these problems, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) has been adopted and standardised by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). The 3GPP has specified IPv6 as a mandatory IP protocol in Release 2000 IM CN (IP Multimedia Core Network) subsystems, as there were not enough public IPv4 addresses available for all of the mobile terminals connected to the Internet. The two most important benefits of IPv6 are: the huge address base, meaning that all nodes can have their own globally unique IP address and also; IP Security (IPSec) provides the ability to encrypt / authenticate all traffic at IP level therefore all applications running over IP can be secured.

3G Solutions

3G will be primarily driven by services and applications, not technology, although technologies such as Java, WAP, Bluetooth, SynchML and IPv6 have enabled third party application developments to meet users' end-to-end service needs and expectations. The Mobile Internet will bring an explosion in the number of new applications - a 3G hypermarket of services - creating new marketing and revenue channels. Here are some of the examples of 3G solutions:

Multimedia Messaging
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a messaging service for the mobile environment standardized by the WAP Forum and 3GPP. For consumers, MMS is very similar to Short Message Service (SMS): it provides automatic, immediate delivery of user-created content sent primarily from phone to phone.

MMS also provides support for email addressing, so messages can be sent to email. In addition to text, an MMS message sent to or from the Nokia 6650 phone can contain still images, voice or audio clips, and video. An MMS message is a multimedia presentation in one entity; it is not a text file with attachments. MMS delivers a location - independent, total communication experience and is a simple, logical extension of SMS, also providing a similarly solid and reliable platform on which the operator can build additional services and increase service differentiation.

Rich Call
Rich call is an audio conversation supported by concurrent access to an image or data and allows users to not only 'listen to what I say' but also 'see what I mean.' Multiple simultaneous media types such as messaging, voice and video games can be started and ended independently but without the need to obtain the information first and then call back.

Mobile Internet
Mobile Internet is not just today's internet accessed from a mobile device (although it will of course still be possible,) but instead applications will provide users with personalised, context - dependent and interworking applications. The scope of these services will cover areas such as information, entertainment, travel and personal information management. Many will be wholly or partly sponsored by advertisers, be location - aware and have mCommerce integration.

- Multimedia streaming and downloading
In 3G, enhanced bandwidth capabilities and advanced terminals enable video and audio, either real - time or near real time or download. Eg, two way video conferencing with audio, video streaming.

- Streaming Media Services
Audio streaming (eg MP3) is seen as the first widespread mainstream service to generate revenue through increased data traffic, attracting 'well off, music consuming and impatient twenty to thirty - something generation' consumers to subscribe to higher Quality of Service access. Although these services are available, to some extent, through 2.5G terminals and networks, the bandwidth vs capacity evolution suggests that the real enabler for mass market service is EDGE or WCDMA radio access.

Streaming alleviates the need for a large memory resource in the terminal since only a small sample of the video or music data resides there at any one time. Copyright is also less of an issue because at no time is the entire data stored in the device.

Entertainment
There are two types of entertainment - passive and interactive (games and media ie TV.) Users will be able to connect to online multi platform gaming experiences or download, try out and purchase games. Handsets will allow inter operability though WAP, GPRS, Java and Symbian OS, making play possible across handset manufacturers.

Mobile eBusiness
Mobile eBusiness will not only be an extension of eBusiness but will also add consumer value through personalisation, mobility, availability and ease of use due to its ability to be instantly implemented. Ease of use, trustworthiness and consistency have been the main reasons for establishing the Mobile Electronic Transaction (MeT) initiative, which has created a framework for handling secure mobile electronic transactions via a mobile device whilst ensuring a consistent user experience independent of device, service and network. The object of the MeT initiative is to combat the challenges of keeping these facilities convenient and easy to use, a solution developed through evolving WAP with WAP Identity Module(WIM), Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) and Wireless Public Key Infrastructure (W-PKI).

Summary
Competitive advantage in 3G will come from the ability to recognize that mobility and location-based information are critical for success. There will be millions of users making billions of transactions every day, from real time video to checking horoscopes and weather information.

The mobile phone is already part of everyday life with penetration rates rising to 70 per cent and more in many countries, and their appeal will grow, driven by the way consumers construct their own identity. 3G products and services will facilitate and support existing lifestyles and routines, with diversity, personal choice, a balanced efficiency and enjoyment. Nokia sees the largest initial demand for 3G as a highly integrated dual-mode terminal capable of supporting the Mobile Internet, new and existing applications, advanced IP-based services, Multimedia Messaging, Multi-mode radio and open standards and is at the forefront of developing 3G technology.