3G: High Bandwidth Mobile

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

March 31, 2006 [3075 views]

This session will look at the 3G marketplace. It will look at the technologies involved and the internet access that become possible with increased bandwidths and functionality.

This has been adapted from GPRS and 3G Wireless Applications, Christoffer Anderson, John Wiley, London, 2001

Key concepts

1. Unified standard providing a migration path from the previously incompatible 2G systems around the world
2. 3G supports a range of different technologies in different regions: EDGE, Cdma2000, WCDMA
3. Support for high rates of data (up to 2Mbps in Phase 1)
4. Support for a wide range of terminals and handsets
5. Downgradable in areas where the full service is not available – applications need to be designed to cope with this downgrade
6. Connection speeds and Quality of Service (QoS) are defined by the subscription and different users could be provided with different QoS
7. Data rates degrade as distance from base station increases
8. Choice of 3G technologies for the networks involves availability of spectrum licenses, current systems and cost

Who paid what in the UK auction (started 6th May 2000)?

1. TIW (3), £4,384,700,000
2. Vodafone , £5,964,000,000
3. BT3G (O2), £4,030,100,000
4. One2One (T-mobile), £4,003,600,000
5. Orange, £4,095,000,000

What does a base station do?

1. Supports handover from one base station to another of mobile handsets
2. Provides access control for users dependent on their subscriptions
3. Controls sending of messages to allow multiple calls/data over a single channel simultaneously (shares out channel by time or frequency or phase)
4. Optimises power requirements of network and handset to establish connection by minimise power consumption (and heat)

How is data sent to the terminal?

The network is capable of holding different types of conversations with terminals and these are negotiated according to QoS required (and may have different costs). Very little of this is visible to the customer and indeed some networks appear to price these services according to customer expectations rather than QoS.

1. Conversations: two way, low delay, sequenced packets, suitable for voice and intensive games
2. Streaming: focussed on delivering data, sequenced packets, suitable for streaming media
3. Interaction: Two way requests and response, not time critical, suitable for web browsing
4. Background: Not time critical, data sent when possible, suitable for background downloads

How does the technology affect the development of applications and services?

1. Vital to understand the main characteristics of the networks especially the need to downgrade, QoS and datarates
2. Important to imagine what might be possible
3. Be realistic about what is possible in the terminal, by the user in real situations
4. Remember that most customers and networks will be migrating from 2G systems
5. Be very realistic about the customer’s willingness to pay
6. Design the service to match QoS, customer needs and business model

Delivering an application at the handset

1. Browser based: no installation, distribution, no access to device hardware, low memory requirements, server side intelligence and upgrades
2. Terminal based: distribution and installation needed, access to device hardware, mixes device side and server side intelligence
3. Server side web services (XML, RSS) could allow selection and aggregation of business data re-presented for mobile viewing via browser or application interface.
4. Opera and PocketIE provide full web browsers for many phones. Opera is also experimenting with Opera Platform for improving the experience of the web for mobile phone users.
5. Content and services should still be designed for the mobile user

Opera for Mobile

Killer applications?

1. Video conferencing
2. Video streaming and TV
3. M-commerce
4. Internet browsing
5. Email
6. Messenger
7. Location based services
8. or a mixture of all of these?

Some recent news stories about 3G (March 2006)

Vodafone 3G Mobile TV Handset
3G mobiles 'change social habits'
NTT DoCoMo flirts with mobile WiMax
Calls to cut roaming mobile costs
Obopay: Will let you pay for almost anything with your cell phone. Really.
Sizing Up Mobile Advertising
Mobile downloads hit the charts

 

  

What do you think?

Add your comments