Private Lines
About Private Line

Private Line covers what has occurred, is occurring, and will ocurr in telecommunications. Since communication technology constantly changes, you can expect new content posted regularly.

Consider this site an authoritative resource. Its moderators have successful careers in the telecommunications industry. Utilize the content and send comments. As a site about communicating, conversation is encouraged.

Writers

Thomas Farely

Tom has produced privateline.com since 1995. He is now a freelance technology writer who contributes regularly to the site.

His knowledge of telecommunications has served, most notably, the American Heritage Invention and Technology Magazine and The History Channel.
His interview on Alexander Graham Bell will air on the History Channel the end of 2006.

Ken Schmidt

Ken is a licensed attorney who has worked in the tower industry for seven years. He has managed the development of broadcast towers nationwide and developed and built cell towers.

He has been quoted in newspapers and magazines on issues regarding cell towers and has spoke at industry and non-industry conferences on cell tower related issues.

He is recognized as an expert on cell tower leases and due diligence processes for tower acquisitions.

« Question and answers with Ken Schmidt and Mark van der Hoek | | Communication History »

August 30, 2004

Posted by Tom Farley & Mark van der Hoek at 09:57 PM

3G System Capabilities

Boy, this gets complicated. The path to 3G (internal link) starts with the International Telecommunication Union (external link). They set standards (internal link) they hope the wireless industry will follow. Different technologies have their proponents, based on legitimate technical difference but mostly on avoiding patent infringements or protecting investments already made. Why pay royalty fees for an operating system when you don't have to? And why gut your existing infrastructure just to go along with a committee recommendation? With so much equipment already installed across the world a single, universal cellular radio system has no chance of being. Fortunately, it seems likely only two systems and their variants will emerge, both based on CDMA. Let's start with discussing the Big Picture, then the little details that make up the picture.

1. The Overall Framework

"International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) is the global standard for third generation (3G) wireless communications, defined by a set of interdependent ITU Recommendations. IMT-2000 provides a framework for worldwide wireless access by linking the diverse systems of terrestrial and/or satellite based networks."

2. Within IMT-2000 (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)

a. CDMA 2000

i.) CDMA2000 1xEV-DO

b. WCDMA (UMTS) also known as 3GSM

These technologies were supposed to provide the following features. More on all this Tuesday.

3G System Capabilities
ITU--2000

Capability to support circuit and packet data at high bit rates:

  • 144 kilobits/second or higher in high mobility (vehicular) traffic
  • 384 kilobits/second for pedestrian traffic
  • 2 Megabits/second or higher for indoor traffic
Interoperability and roaming

Common billing/user profiles:

  • Sharing of usage/rate information between service providers
  • Standardized call detail recording
  • Standardized user profiles
Capability to determine geographic position of mobiles and report it to both the network and the mobile terminal 

Support of multimedia services/capabilities:

  • Fixed and variable rate bit traffic
  • Bandwidth on demand
  • Asymmetric data rates in the forward and reverse links
  • Multimedia mail store and forward
  • Broadband access up to 2 Megabits/second

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Human Verification:


Subscribe to Private Line's feed
[What is this?]

Article Index

Recent Posts

Powered by
Movable Type 3.2