3G Tutorial
Introduction into 3G
Mobile telephony allowed us to talk on the move. The internet turned raw data into helpful services that people found easy to use. Now, these two technologies are converging to create third generation mobile services.
In simple terms, third generation (3G) services combine high speed mobile access with Internet Protocol (IP)-based services. But this doesn’t just mean fast mobile connection to the world wide web. Rather, whole new ways to communicate, access information, conduct business, learn and be entertained – liberated from slow, cumbersome equipment and immovable points of access.
What will 3G mean to users?
With access to any service anywhere, anytime, from one terminal, the old boundaries between communication, information, media and entertainment will disappear. Services will truly converge.
“Mobility” will be offered with many services that we currently regard as “fixed” – indeed, Mobile operators believes that mobility will become the norm for many communication services. We’ll be able to make video calls to the office and surf the internet, or play interactive games with friends at home – wherever we may be.
But 3G is not just about applications that require high speed data rates. It’s about convienience and speed of access.
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TECHNOLOGY
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FEATURES
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| 1G | AMPS | Advanced Mobile Phone Service |
-Analog voice service |
| 2G | CDMA | Code Division Multiple Access |
– Digital voice service |
| TDMA | Time Division Multiple Access | ||
| GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications | ||
| PDC | Personal digital cellular |
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| 3G | W-CDMA | Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access |
– Superior voice quality |
| CDMA-2000 | Based on the Interim Standard-95 CDMA standard |
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| TD-SCDMA | Time-division synchronous code-division multiple-access |
The packet based IP (Internet Protocol) technology that will form the core of future services will mean we can be on-line constantly: e-mail messages with file attachments will download to hand-held terminals instantaneously; at the push of a button we’ll be connected to our company network. We’ll have this “anytime access” with charging geared more towards how much information we are sending than to how long we are connected.
There will also be a growing need for mobile users to interact with machines, and for machines to interact with other machines, over radio connections – reporting faults, ordering new stock, or relaying location details whenever required.
Companies outside telecoms today will take advantage of 3G to develop innovative new services.
When will 3G be rolled out?
NTT DoCoMo already launched the world’s first commercialised third-generation “FOMA” mobile communication service on October 1, 2001. “FOMA” is the name used in Japan for NTT DoCoMo’s 3G service.
The question of 3G deployment is not a technical issue, but a regulatory and economic one. Subscriber demand is the key factor: user expectations for mobile services are being raised, and for any successful 3G license bidder time to market will be critical. The way 3G is rolled out in a particular market will depend entirely on the business plans of the mobile operators, and the license requirements imposed by the regulatory authorities.
Today’s mobile network operators can gain the vital business and market experience of providing high-speed mobile data services by introducing packet switching networks such as GPRS (General Packer Radio Service). By the time the new WCDMA, EDGE and cdma2000 wideband radio interfaces are standardized and commercially available, the market will already be attuned to the possibilities of 3G. Japan was the first market to announce specific plans to introduce wideband radio networks based on WCDMA technology. As a result, it is expected that 3G will go into service first in Japan. Currently, WCDMA networks are scheduled to be in operation there in 2001. The 3G licensing process has ompleted in many countries in Europe, and the first wideband radio networks are expected to enter commercial operation in 2002. Before then, GPRS will be introduced into GSM networks, to increase user bandwidth. The first GPRS systems was introduced early in 2000 in France but due to handset shortest and technical problems of the advance overall network architecture, it was not a success.
The Speed
3G enables users to transmit voice, data, and even moving images. In order to realize these services, 3G improves the data transmission speed up to 144Kbps in a high-speed moving environment, 384Kbps in a low-speed moving environment, and 2Mbps in a stationary environment. 3G provides services like Internet connection, transmission of large-scale data and moving contents photographed by digital cameras and videos, and software downloading.
At present, maximum data transmission speed is 64Kbps offered by NTT DoCoMo’s 3G services, and toward early 2001, 384Kbps will be possible. At the early stage of 3G services, an 144Kbps-transmission speed is expected. By around 2005 when 3G is in general use, a maximum speed of 2Mbps will be possible.
3G Resources: Research papers, tutorials, lecture notes
| 3G Newsroom |
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| 3G.co.uk |
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| The 3G Portal | Over 8,000 links to FREE information about mobile internet and 3G-related matters. | ||
| 3Gwhizz | 3Gwhizz.com is a resource for the 3G Mobile Communications community bringing services such as: up-to-date industry news and information, Product reviews covering Handsets, Games, Services, free Midlets for download to try and play on your 3G handset, … | ||
| Cellular News |
3G license listings and daily news. Lists 3G licenses that have been awarded or are pending – along with 3G contacts awarded by license holders. | ||
| eWirelessNews | 3G and mobile news portal. | ||
| GeoPhones.com | Comprehensive source for home users & business professionals,with links to internet telephony, wireless technology, cellular/mobile phone services & products, other telecommunications solutions. | ||
| HandyTEL.com | Information Services For Telecom Industry. | ||
| m-indya 3G | An up-to-date listing of 3G news around the world is captured as it happens. | ||
| MobileHall.com | Mobile DataBase Excel Table is a table in .xls (MS Excel XP) format with all cell phones characteristics used in Mobile DataBase and Mobile DataBase Pro software. Preview for free, download, order online. The table consists of the following information: brand/model name, year, digital camera parameters (megapixels, zoom, video support, flash), accumulator type/capacity/times, display(s) resolution / size / colors, sound capacities (polyphonic voices, MP3 support, etc.), WAP presence / version, browser type, Java MIDP version, connection possibilities (Bluetooth, IR, USB), case type, internal antenna presence, phone weight, changeable panels, dust/water protection, phone size, phone volume, GPRS, HSCSD, MMS, EMS support, T9 support, voice commands, voice recorder, hands-free mode, push to talk, EDGE, OS version, RAM size, memory slot, phonebook size, OMA (DRM / forward lock, separate delivery, etc.) support information, FM, other extra features… |
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| MobileVideoNet | Artist initiative dealing with video, mobile phones and public space. At our VideoAreas we use our Bluetooth Video System to offer 1MB videos to passersby. All videos are made with or fit for mobile phones and are entered by participant artists and our (guest) crew. | ||
| Roseindia.net | Roseindia.net is a complete resource for wireless developers and users! | ||
| Telecoms.com | Information resource for the 3G cellular industry. Contains over 126,000 articles from 245 industry analysts. |
| >3G: Digital Cellular Mobile Phone Systems |
This site provides a cellular tutorial with an overview of how cellular systems work, an explanation of cellular technology, and a guide to GSM as well as 3G/UMTS. It digs into the secrets behind cellular networks, as well as into the technological details making wireless communication in cellular systems efficient and cheap. You will also find book reviews pointing to the best books about cellular phones and specific subjects, an overview of where to buy a cellular phone, a mobile phone accessory, or a mobile phone plan / service.
Cellular Tutorial Cellular Technology The radio interface, Speech signal encoding, Signalling, Architecture, Routing, Who’s Who… |
| 802.11 Planet | 802.11 vs. 3G Once upon a time, you could hardly open a business magazine without finding a feature that praised 3G wireless telephony as the answer to mobile Internet needs. That was venture capital then. This is fiscally strapped now. In theory, 3G wireless networks are capable of throughput up to 384Kbps, which still puts them at the bottom end of 802.11b’s range… |
| Ericsson | MMS success to drive 3G take-off (5/03) The success of MMS sets the stage for a 3G take-off by changing user behavior, moving people away from SMS and creating demand for Mobile Internet services. Once people are regularly using mobile multimedia services, there will be a natural rise in demand for the higher bandwidth offered by WCDMA systems such as video streaming and video telephony. |
| NW Fusion | Which way to wireless data? (12/01) There’s a debate brewing among some wireless service providers on how best to migrate current infrastructures to support data-oriented 3G services. At the heart of the debate are two migration paths that seek to do the same thing: improve data rates from the current 14.4K bit/sec to 2M bit/sec and higher. The migration paths are the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 1XRTT standard, which boosts data rates to 144K bit/sec, and the GSM upgrade called General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). GPRS, which is a time-division multiple access (TDMA) technology, can run at 171.2K bit/sec when all eight of its timeslots are used. |
| TMCnet.com | Decisions Confront Evolution To 3G Wireless (11/99) Third-generation or “3G” wireless systems, based on the global system for mobile communications (GSM) platform, comprise the next iteration of mobile communications services. With first-generation analog and second-generation (2G) digital systems established throughout much of the world, the growing demand for high-speed, data-intensive wireless services — such as Internet access and video conferencing — is now driving the development of 3G systems.
Political And Market Pressures What Does "3g" Really Mean? Politics In Europe, Delays In The States Applications And User-Friendly Handsets |
| vnunet.com | UMTS – Get plugged into a wireless future (7/99) There are now 40 million fixed internet connections in Europe, butandwidth, but there are still some hurdles left to jump. over 200 million mobile phones. Even though both markets will continue to grow, the mobile one is expected to stay more than four times larger. You don’t have to be a genius to realise that, in the future, mobile connections will be much more important than fixed ones. |
| WAP Forum | Where Does WAP fit in? WAP brings Internet content and advanced services to digital cellular phones and other wireless terminals. WAP is a global wireless protocol specification that works across the following wireless network technology types: GSM (900, 1800 & 1900MHz), PDC, CDMA (IS-95 and/or IS-707), US-TDMA (IS-136), iDEN (ESMR), DataTAC, Mobitex, CDPD, DECT, PHS, FLEX, and ReFLEX. Applications using WAP are scaleable across a variety of transport options and device types. A common standard offers potential economies of scale, encouraging cellular phone and other device manufacturers to invest in developing compatible products. With WAP, cellular and other wireless network carriers and content providers are able to develop new differentiated service offerings as a way to attract new subscribers, while consumers benefit from more and varied choices in mobile communications applications, advanced services and Internet access. |
3G-based phone
Wireless communications have changed over the last decade, evolving from the first generation of analog cellular service, to the second generation of digital cellular service. Mobile communication systems have gone through a few generations. The second-generation (2G) system provides circuit-switched voice and data services. The next generation (2.5G) system provides low-rate packet-switched data service of up to 64 Kbps. However, as the demand for wideband wireless data transmission becomes more and more significant, and since cellular operators foresee a great business opportunity in fulfilling the subscribers’ request for the wireless wide-band transmissions, a third generation of cellular networks is under way of being achieved and implemented. The third-generation mobile communication system (3G) provides a higher data rate of up to 2 Mbps, while making more efficient bandwidth use. Third generation wireless communications, such as wideband code division multiple access time division duplex (WCDMA-TDD) systems, will support not only voice service, but also a wide range of broadband services, such as video and Internet traffic. 3G networks comprise a core network including at least one service serving node (or SSN) connected to a radio access network (RAN) including radio network controllers (or RNCs) linked to emission/reception base station, such as Node-B in case of UMTS network, and controlling the radio resources and therefore the cells in which user equipments are localized. Typical 3G systems include packet-based transmission of digitized voice, data and video. 3G networks encompass a range of wireless technologies including Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (“UMTS”) Wide-band CDMA (“WCDMA”) and others. In third generation cellular systems, where UMTS FDD and UMTS-TDD spectra are both allocated, continuous (FDD) and discontinuous (TDD) transmissions are employed. Physical channel data in a 3G system is processed in words having a pre-defined bit size, which is currently specified as 32 bits per word.