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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/10/2000 12:14:04 AM
From: bafan_57	of 16299

Stepping Into The 5-GHz Spectrum (10/09/00, 9:34 a.m. ET) OPINION By Jeffrey R. Harrow, TechWeb News Something exciting is happening with wireless LANs. By the middle of next year, they're going to get faster -- a lot faster, according to the Sept. 18 InfoWorld.com and TechWeb News. Radiata Inc. and Atheros Communications have each announced plans to produce $35 chipsets for IEEE 802.11a, the new LAN wireless standard -- chipsets that will raise the data rate ante from 11-Mbit/s to 54-Mbit/s. Atheros says the rate could even go as high as 72-Mbit/s when the chip is in "turbo mode." Other good news about the 802.11a LAN: It will operate in the 5-GHz spectrum instead of the crowded 2.4-GHz spectrum. Good news to anyone who would like to use Bluetooth and a wireless LAN at the same time. (Currently, Bluetooth and 802.11b LANs don't work well together because they have to share the 2.4-GHz spectrum.) Before we know it, multimedia and new high-bandwidth applications will become as much of a second thought as viewing Web pages is now. And I can easily foresee a day when there won't be a single device that can't reach out and touch its neighbors and the wider world.

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/10/2000 2:46:04 AM
From: axial	of 16299

Rise Demonstrates the First AA Battery Powered X86 Microprocessor Core SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- In the Microprocessor Forum (MPF), Rise Technology Company (Rise) today demonstrated the ultra low power feature of Rise's iDragon mP6 processor core. As the industry's lowest power consuming and best multimedia performing X86 processor core, Rise iDragon mP6 processor can playback VCD movie titles with only a single off-the-shelf AA battery. This demonstration showed the potential of the Rise iDragon mP6 processor core for future multimedia-enriched handheld appliances. Powered by a single AA battery, the iDragon mP6 processor with its superior three-scalar multimedia architecture played back entire VCD movies or MP3 music for many hours. In the demonstration, the voltage of the battery started from 1.5V and was down to 1.1V at the end. This shows that mP6 can dynamically operate effectively in a wide range of voltages. "Traditionally the battery-powered handheld appliances, like PDAs and mobile phones, are based on RISC microprocessors, which normally consume only a few hundred mini-watts while the traditional X86 microprocessors consume more than ten times of that figure." said Mr. David T. Lin, CEO of Rise Technology Company. "However, Rise iDragon processor core has deployed the smart power saving features embedded inside its super-scalar architecture. These power saving features will enable the Rise iDragon mP6 processor core to reach a power consumption level, not only lower than traditional X86 microprocessors but also comparable to RISC microprocessors. With the combination of low power consumption, superior multimedia performance, and vastly available x86-based multimedia software, Rise iDragon mP6 processor core is the best choice for the future multimedia-enriched handheld appliances." In the coming third-generation (3G) mobile communication era, with the high bandwidth network infrastructure established, multimedia applications, like videophone, multimedia streaming, video-on-demand and others, will vastly permeate all handheld information appliances. In order to run such multimedia applications and to process the complex 3G mobile communication protocol stack, the baseband module of 3G smart phones would require a much more powerful processing architecture while maintaining low power consumption. Rise iDragon mP6 processor core embodies the super-scalar, super-pipeline, and single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) multimedia architecture, which can meet the demanding performance requirement for 3G mobile phones at a much lower clock rate than single-scalar RISC microprocessors. This performance efficiency at lower clock rate further reduces the power consumption for iDragon mP6 processor core. Because of its three-scalar architecture, iDragon mP6 processor core can efficiently process the Viterbi and Turbo algorithms for mobile phones comparable to the Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Rise is developing the new-generation iDragon mP6 processor cores with even more advanced power management features, which will consume only a fraction of the power consumption of the current-generation. Based on these new processor cores, a series of highly integrated System-on-Chip (SOC) will be developed and targeted for the multimedia-enriched handheld appliances like PDA, 3G smart phones and others. About Rise Technology Rise Technology Company delivers extremely low power, sixth-generation x86-based SOC solutions ideal for Information Appliances, which are driven by the demands of emerging customers in the rapidly converging Consumer, Communication, and Computing markets. Customer demands are comprised of various applications such as Consumer Internet Appliances, Set-top Boxes, Routers, Network Disk Servers, Thin Clients, PDAs, and Internet Cellular Phones. For mobile applications, Rise's smart on-chip power management feature meets the critical need for longer battery life. Rise's proven CPU technology utilized in its SOC product family provides the low power consumption, high performance, and full x86 compatibility essential for Information Appliance solutions. The Rise x86 CPU supports multiple Operating System platforms such as Linux, Windows CE, Windows, Windows NT, QNX, BeOS and others. Rise is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with offices located in Taipei and Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. The company can be reached at (408) 330-8800, or visit their corporate web site at rise.com. Rise and mP6 are trademarks of Rise Technology Company. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands and products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. prnewswire.com

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/10/2000 2:09:52 PM
From: Howard Wong	of 16299

Wi-LAN And AIR2LAN Partner To Complete U.S. Wireless Network CALGARY, Alberta AND JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2000-- Wi-LAN Inc.(TSE:WIN. - news) Strategic Relationship Facilitates AIR2LAN's National Rollout Wi-LAN Inc. (TSE:WIN. - news), an innovator of high-speed wireless data/Internet communications, today announced a three-year supply agreement with AIR2LAN Inc., a high-speed broadband Internet Service Provider. Under the terms of the agreement, Wi-LAN will supply the foundation for a nationwide broadband network. The total value is projected to be $13.5 million U.S. over three years. ``Having Wi-LAN as a products and solutions provider for AIR2LAN gives us a critical stepping stone on the path toward a successful national rollout,'' said Jai Bhagat, chairman and CEO of AIR2LAN. ``After we evaluated many wireless broadband access solutions, we decided to ramp up with Wi-LAN's advanced technology. Combined with AIR2LAN's services, vision and expertise, this will enable us to quickly build a reliable nationwide network.'' Under the terms of the agreement, Wi-LAN will provide AIR2LAN with products, technology and training. The relationship also includes market trial support and engineering and network design. In May, AIR2LAN launched its high-speed Internet access service in Jackson, Miss., using Wi-LAN's Hopper Plus(TM) 45-24 wireless Ethernet bridges. In August, AIR2LAN agreed to purchase approximately $1 million U.S. of Wi-LAN products to the end of this calendar year for further network expansion and subscriber equipment. AIR2LAN is now directing its efforts in 60 markets nationwide beginning with the cities of Houston, San Antonio and Austin. This agreement is the cornerstone for AIR2LAN's implementation plans to build a high-speed wireless network across the United States. ``This agreement highlights the fit of Wi-LAN's strategy with AIR2LAN's aggressive network plans,'' said Bill Hews, president and COO of Wi-LAN. ``We are now able to work with AIR2LAN's seasoned and visionary management team as one of our lead strategic partners in the US market to implement a cost-effective, wireless broadband solution with quick rollout capability. AIR2LAN's national rollout will further advance Wi-LAN's technology in the U.S. marketplace.'' About Wi-LAN Inc. Wi-LAN, based in Calgary, Alberta, is an innovator in the field of high-speed wireless data communications, specializing in high-speed Internet access, LAN/WAN extension and broadband wireless access. Wi-LAN is the Chair Company of the OFDM Forum (www.ofdm-forum.com). Wi-LAN's W-OFDM patent is necessary for the implementation of devices using the IEEE 802.11a or ETSI BRAN HiperLAN/2 standards. Wi-LAN's products have been sold in more than 50 countries on six continents. Wi-LAN's common shares trade on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ``WIN.'' Detailed information on Wi-LAN can be found at wi-lan.com. About AIR2LAN AIR2LAN is a high-speed wireless broadband access provider. The company offers services for end-users to maximize the capabilities of the Internet through an array of fixed-wireless and mobility options. AIR2LAN provides high-speed wireless broadband access by deploying an efficient wireless network to serve businesses, residential communities, apartment complexes, office plazas/buildings, and campus environments. AIR2LAN provides connections up to 50 times faster than standard dial-up modems. This translates into lightening-fast service - up to two Mbps. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.air2lan.com. The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained in this news release. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: GPC International for Wi-LAN Shauna MacDonald, Media Relations, 403/266-4710 ext. 233 smacdonald@gpcinternational.com or Wi-LAN Inc. Ken Wetherell, Investor Relations, 403/207-6329 kenw@wi-lan.com or AIR2LAN Jef Judin, 601/713-8309 jefjudin@air2lan.com or Edelman Public Relations Worldwide for AIR2LAN Chandra Hosek, 512/347-1007 chosek@gttcom.com sec.yahoo.com

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/10/2000 8:17:19 PM
From: axial	of 16299

Microsoft sees fruit from Ericsson pact in 2 years 09/26/00 10:34 CDT STOCKHOLM, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Microsoft said on Tuesday its mobile Internet alliance with telecoms group Ericsson may not yield results as early as first hoped but would have a big impact on the wireless Web in two years time. The alliance between software giant Microsoft and Sweden's Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson sealed with much ado last December has so far not yielded any products to the market. ``Huge expectations were created of something that was just a first step in what both companies are focusing on. The expectations at start were too big,'' Microsoft Mobile Internet General Manager Hjalmar Winbladh told Reuters in an interview. ``Things may not have developed as quickly as we had hoped.'' The fruits of the deal -- centered on offering Web browsers and e-mail over phones -- would not show any ``earth-shattering'' results for at least 12 to 18 months, Winbladh said. ``But don't expect to see any big impact from this on the mobile Internet until 24 months time,'' he told Reuters on the sidelines of a two-day global wireless conference in Stockholm. The initial deal was seen as a major strategic plus for U.S. Microsoft Corp, which had been seen as laggards in developing software for mobile Internet devices -- a market expected to surge in coming years, with Ericsson predicting one billion mobile Internet users by 2005. The deal involved marketing and delivering e-mail software for network operators which will give users access to information, personal files and e-mail from any wireless device. ADOPT MICROSOFT BROWSER As part of the deal Ericsson, the world's third biggest mobile phone maker after Nokia Oyj Abp and Motorola, would adopt Microsoft Mobile Explorer browser for mobile phones. While Ericsson is not expected to have any of its products available with the mobile browser until early 2001, Sony already has the browser installed in its latest cellular phone. The first results of the Microsoft/Ericsson alliance was presented last month when the two groups launched a mobile e-mail service joint venture, but no products have yet appeared. Ericsson's Mobile Phones marketing head Jan Ahrenbring said the alliance had also taken time to push through because of legal aspects that needed to be sorted out. Winbladh stressed that the relationship between the companies were still very positive and Microsoft saw the Swedish group as the ideal partner to work with on mobile Internet. ``This is because it can be a long-term partnership because the two companies don't clash on what they're doing,'' he said. ``Ericsson wants the mobile Internet to explode so it can sell more infrastructure and Microsoft wants the mobile Internet to explode so it can sell more software.'' Ericsson is also the world's leading maker of mobile networks, such the widely-used GSM (Global System of Mobile Communication) networks. MICROSOFT BROWSER NOT ``THE MOST IMPORTANT'' Winbladh said that while Ericsson and Microsoft had put a lot of attention on the Explorer browser, an internet browser, when they launched the deal last year the focus should rather be on adapting Microsoft's Outlook and Organiser, email and diary, software for cellular phones. ``Today, almost one year later maybe the Microsoft browser isn't the most important aspect, focus should rather be on taking the mobile Internet to the next stage,'' he said. This means continuous Internet access via mobile phones, wireless connections to other electronic devices by using Bluetooth, and better graphics displays. He said this would take place once mobile phones use General Packet Radio System (GPRS) technology were available. GPRS is expected to be launched early 2001 in Europe, but phones and services not fully up and running until end-2001, finally offering Europeans similar services as Japan is now getting through the country's top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo hugely successful i-mode wireless Internet service. Microsoft and Ericsson are not the only companies forging alliances to ensure they are in a strong position when European, American and Asian mobile Internet markets really take off. On Monday U.S. Palm Inc., the No. 1 maker of hand-held electronic organisers, said it would team up with Motorola to develop mobile phones. Earlier Nokia said it had taken licences on Palm operating software, alongside Symbian's operating and appliances software in which it has a stake. Motorola and Ericsson also own part of Britain-based Symbian. Speaking about potential conflicts between rivals Microsoft and Symbian, Ericsson says it holds all options open, but remains committed to Symbian and its operating system. wirelessclick.com

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/10/2000 9:26:39 PM
From: rr_burns	of 16299

OT Nortel moving routing info to the "leaf" devices To me this has a synergistic feel with the msft / symbian /ericy activities Really it is a form of decentralization, if you believe that web connectivity is to be like "dial tone", then decentralization of the router "logic" is probably inevitable. Particularly as most of ones personal communications are with people in your city / neighborhood / building, and of them only a small subset are relevant. Router connectivity information belongs in the hands of those that need to find each other, and a few portals ( search engines) to find the 'new' contacts / neighbours. dailynews.yahoo.com >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Monday October 09 07:00 AM EDT Nortel takes new road against rival in router market By Wylie Wong, CNET News.com Nortel Networks is hoping to chip away at Cisco Systems' dominance in networking with the help of Intel, Microsoft, Motorola and hundreds of other technology companies. While young companies like Juniper Networks (Nasdaq:JNPR - news) are gunning after Cisco directly and making some headway in the high-end router market, Nortel has taken a different--and as yet unproven-- tack by attacking Cisco on the low end of the market. Routers are devices that allow telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers and corporations to send Net traffic from point to point along a network at fast speeds. Cisco owns the lion's share of the router market, with about 75 percent. To combat Cisco, Nortel wants to move the routing of information away from the back-end infrastructure, where high-end routers reside, and closer to consumers by embedding software in computers, cell phones, Palm handhelds and any electronic device that connects to the Net. While Cisco keeps the routing software used in its networking devices in-house, Nortel for the past year has licensed its routing software code to 200 technology companies, including Microsoft, which built the routing features into the Windows 2000 operating system, and Intel and Motorola, which build chips for communications devices. Analysts say Nortel's strategy is smart, but it may take years to determine its success or failure. "It's a terrific strategy, but Nortel really didn't have much choice," said analyst Dave Passmore of The Burton Group. "They're not under any illusions that this will displace (Cisco's routing software code), but it allows them to more effectively compete." Nortel's attempts to compete head-to-head against Cisco in the router market have failed, despite gaining some routing technology from its acquisition of Bay Networks. Nortel recently had to strike a deal with Juniper to sell the emerging company's high-end router for service providers after suffering delays in building its own product. Cisco captured 75 percent of the $505 million high-end router market in the second quarter of 2000, followed by Juniper with 22 percent, according to market research firm Dell'Oro Group. Nortel had 0.3 percent. In the rest of the router market, which totaled $1.79 billion in the second quarter of 2000, Cisco also led the pack with 91 percent, followed by Nortel with 3 percent, according to Dell'Oro Group. So far, Nortel's 11-month-old routing software licensing effort has yet to make a dent in Cisco's overall router market share, said Dataquest analyst Tim Smith. "Cisco's router market continues to grow, so it has not made any meaningful differences in how routed networks are put together." Bill Conner, Nortel's president of enterprise solutions, said the company is making more than $100 million in revenue from licensing its routing software to 200 companies. But the goal is to change the way networks are built, not to create a huge revenue generator for the company, he said. With routers becoming a commodity under Nortel's vision, the company can try to capture revenue from selling other networking equipment, including high-speed optical gear, he said. "Nortel will hopefully get the lion's share of the network themselves," he said. Conner said having routing features in a cell phone, for example, will speed up networks by reducing bandwidth use. For a feature such as caller ID to work, cell phones check phone numbers in a database at the phone company's computer system. In Nortel's vision of the world, that routing can be done in the cell phone's processor, he said. "It wouldn't have to go all the way back carrying data over a wireless network, chewing up bandwidth," Conner said. "You don't have to go through a network to look up this or that. You do it on the device, and therefore you have cheaper bandwidth costs and applications work much faster." Conner--who a year ago declared the router market "dead"--believes Nortel's strategy will show momentum in the next few years, especially as more Web-enabled products with Nortel's routing software begin shipping. Dataquest's Smith said Nortel's vision still has potential, but he doesn't believe that will displace the current use of routers. "The idea of routing functions finding its way into more and more handheld devices is a trend that will come true, but that does not necessarily have a predatory effect on the existing router market. It's an 'add to' kind of market." Nortel executives say they hope to eventually license the routing software to 1,000 companies.

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/11/2000 12:47:16 AM
From: axial	of 16299

Some interesting comments on 4G ... TT Forum ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ totaltele.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Forum What is 4G mobile? Initiated by Ray Le Maistre ray.lemaistre@total.emap.com, Total Telecom U.K. 12:24:11GMT, 14 September 2000 How will 4G differ from 3G? And will it be upwards compatible? Add your comment Go to full list of live debates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11:40:22GMT, 28 September 2000 I'm one of those who have a secret dream of a wireless world wide open system offering at least a data rate of 20 Mbps. I think that the wireless internet (WWWW) must have its own radio system based on the same philosophy as internet. So, according to me , the need of 4G systems will quickly come in the wireless telecom market, and this for 4 main reasons : - the fisrt lunch of WAP is not a success - 3G offers in vehicles data rates less than 384 kbps - in the next years, the main applications using wireless systems will be real-time interactive ( video-phone services and real-time multi-media services,games... ). But 3G's data rates are not enough to support such services - the components market will have some extra performing products ( ASICs, DSPs... - remember the evolution of this market from the beginning of the 1G's development to now ) Pierre NGOUAT Pierre NGOUAT, Pierre.Ngouat@alcatel.fr Senior Consultant - Wireless systems, SIVAN Consulting, FRANCE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 06:19:21GMT, 28 September 2000 Wi-Lan's (www.wi-lan.com) Wideband OFDM (W-OFDM)is the most spectrally efficient technology available today. With all due respect to the professional comments made above, Wi-Lan's W-OFDM's and MC-DSSS patented technology is the technology that will revolutionize 4G networks and competitors would be wise to join the OFDM forum (www.ofdm-forum.com) to standardize the technology! Colin Bhowmik, cbhowmik@home.com Research Editor, INEEDAPICK.COM, Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:45:10GMT, 27 September 2000 4G will eventually happen and it might happen sooner rather than later. ATT and the other TDMA/EDGE carriers are in a real bind and will need to look at 4G quicker than they previously thought if ATT does not gain additional spectrum for W-CDMA. The problem with the role out of 4G is the payback for 3G technology and the new spectrum which will be required. Does anyone know where 4G spectrum will come from? Mark HughSam, mhughsam@dundeesecurities.com Research Analyst, Dundee Securities Corp, Canada -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 08:01:49GMT, 27 September 2000 From technical view the 4G network (worldwide network) will be more stable then ever before and more intelligent of course. All words related to 3G will be true in 4G. And for customers the main advantage is the independence from geographic location. Bolatkhan Jaidarinov, bolatkhan.jaidarinov@rkz.ericsson.se Project Assistant, Ericsson International, Kazakstan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10:43:22GMT, 25 September 2000 Broadband services via 4G will be very expensive. R.Rindzevicius, ramrin@tef.ktu.lt assoc.prof., Kaunas University of technology, Lithuania -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 09:06:49GMT, 25 September 2000 If 4G ever happens, the idea will be to deliver the vision that has been proposed for 3G. The problem with 3G is that when you actually read the specs (e.g. Tdoc SMG2 435/97), the data rates talked about are nowhere near the 2Mb/s sometimes spoken of, but are nearer 144kb/s maximum. Even that may be more than can really be delivered. To be a significant advance on 3G, 4G will need to use something like a HAPS system (high altitude balloon above a town) so that a relatively high power transmitter can be used in one direction. The other issue is a global standard which was part of the idea of 3G, but I think political issues will preclude this. Ed Long, ed.long@matsushita-europe.com Manager, EMD, Matsushita Europe, UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23:54:57GMT, 23 September 2000 4G mobile should certainly strive for a common radio platform across the globe (no more CDMA2000, UMTS). For the first time all mobiles across the globe should be completely compatible with each other and worldwide roaming without the use of inter-working function (IWF) boxes should become a reality. IP over the air is still not a good idea, bandwidth must be better used by optimizing, standardizing the vocoder and data packet format. K.Raghunandan, raghunandan@lucent.com Senior Manager, Network Architecture, Lucent Technologies, USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15:26:50GMT, 23 September 2000 4G mobile must fill the holes in its previous generations; must provide secured transaction delivery; must be scalable and robust; need to have self-healing loops and nodes to provide continued service; provide built in customer care/ support hooks to support service quality and customer experience; will provide application frameworks so that 3rd party apps can be launched as services over the network; must also enable a framework to enable brokering of these services. Existing generations lack most of these. Most importantly it must be bootstrappable i.e. the transition to 4G should be transparent to consumers and businesses [unlike the pain consumers went through while switching from Analog to Digital and within confusing standards]. There is no point to move to 4G if there is no universality adopted without providing transparency. Nani Narayanan Srinivasan, nanin@nexgenix.com Head of e-Relationship Solutions, Nexgenix, USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10:39:56GMT, 21 September 2000 It seems to me that using wireless technologies such as 3G/4G as a last mile connectivity solution able to deliver broadband services into the home/workplace will become commonplace in the next few years. Its a superior technology to that afforded through our aging copper/aluminium local loop and apart from licensing / infrastructure costs has no other barriers to entry to would be operators / incumbents. Cable/fibre being prohibitively expensive to lay as a last mile connectivity solution will be restricted to the main backbone and metropolitan network infrastructure. This is the beauty of technology. It shifts the goal posts and creates new markets and opportunities therein. Jonathan Lishawa, jonathan@bibliotech.net Director of Strategic Development, BiblioTech Plc, United Kingdom -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:28:12GMT, 20 September 2000 Nothing to disagree with. Have heard one def as mobile at T3 speeds = 45Mbit/s or so but the speed isn't an issue and the 54 quoted above is the same ballpark agree OFDM - Unique Broadband Systems (UBS) on the canadian venture exchange--Wi-LAN, GM's purchase of Hughes Network Systems (or their satellite division all bear on the OFDM space one guesses. Nice to see this conversation developing--since my colleagues and I only began thinking about 4G within the last fortnight--is this some sort of Jungian synchrony??? carlie Carl Edgar, telecomms@aol.com writer/editor/publisher, WAPweek among others, Ireland -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13:54:54GMT, 20 September 2000 To be fair, there is no single worldwide standard for 3G, either. It seems though that developers have finally latched onto the fact that 3G is going to be such an expensive rider for all of us, it has to be usable worldwide in order to squeeze out the maximum drops of revenue ! Might be interesting to see how we know whn we've got there. OFDM is one of the main technologies being touted as 4G. I have seen claims that you will be able to get up to 54Mb/s in vehicles, although that sounds like a recipe for crispy fried brain to me. Anyone else ? Sara Harris, sharris@strategyanalytics.com Senior Industry Analyst, Strategy Analytics, UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14:06:30GMT, 14 September 2000 4G is currently a buzzword used to denote anything beyond 3G in the same way as "3G" signified the next step after GSM. There is no system or architecture settled in any way. Currently its just concepts and ideas but with a common theme being the World Wide Wireless Web (WWWW). It is not probable that there will be a single worldwide 4G standard inluding air interfaces like 3G was. For a start I doubt if anyone could afford it!!! Mobile wireless internet will be seamless and offer tailored services - more of a 3G+ in my view. The opportunites are in the linking up of all other wireless services such as broadband etc. As the 3G upper limit of 2Mbps in 2 years time is rather dated when broadband systems can already deliver 25Kps, and the 2Mkps reduces if there are too many users!! It's worth looking at other carrier technologies such as OFDM, where 20Mbps can be distributed and also wireless ISP providers. I think 4G or WWWW will just sort of happen, there is no date to set. It will be to the wireless world what the internet was to the computing world.

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To: Nav Toor who started this subject	10/11/2000 1:03:09 AM
From: axial	of 16299

PROTOCOLS SPLIT ENDS By David Crowe, Contributing Editor Despite best efforts, 3G parties still aren't united The 3GPP is a coalition of standards associated with developing a suite of 2.5G to 3G wireless systems derived from GSM and ANSI-136. There once was a mad fisherman who blamed starfish for his poor catches. So he caught every starfish he could and cut them into little pieces and threw them back into the sea. Little did he know that any piece of a starfish that contains a piece of the center could grow into a whole new starfish. Gradually, the sea around him filled with tiny, but growing starfish. In despair, the fisherman threw himself into the sea. Standards organizations are often like starfish. Although they claim to be interested in unity, their penchant and capacity for reproduction seems limitless. Not many years ago, AMPS from EIA and TIA standards organizations was seen as a shining beacon of compatibility and ubiquity, compared to the multiple flickering candles of analog in Europe. But then the Europeans decided that the major flaw of AMPS was that it wasn’t digital, and ETSI invented GSM, the new powerhouse of wireless. Not to be outdone, U.S. providers invented the TDMA digital technology D-AMPS (IS-54 and ANSI-136). However, almost immediately after that decision, a breakaway group decided that CDMA was a better system. After CDMA started to develop a loyal following in the United States and Asia, Europeans started to lust after that technology and began talking about W-CDMA, which is distinguished largely by its incompatibility with U.S. (IS-95) CDMA. Although the development of 3G technologies is causing major realignments, similar patterns of partial compatibility and even complete incompatibility are being retained. There are two groups developing standards for 3G systems, confusingly named 3GPP (3G partnership project) and 3GPP2. The 3GPP is home to those weaned on GSM and D-AMPS systems and sees W-CDMA as the ultimate future system. The 3GPP2 is for those fans of cdmaOne (TIA/EIA-95) and cdma2000 (IS-2000). From a network perspective, 3GPP is based on the GSM MAP (Mobile Application Part — the network protocol that binds GSM systems together) with bridges to ANSI-41 to provide compatibility with D-AMPS/ANSI-136 systems. The 3GPP, for example, just became the new global home for GSM standardization, from its previous regional home at ETSI. The 3GPP2, on the other hand, is most focused on ANSI-41 networks, but is interested in compatibility with GSM systems for roaming. The relationship with U.S. standards is tightly wound between its organization and the TIA TR-45 standards committee (with the notable exception of TR-45.3, which standardizes ANSI-136). GSM Grows Up The 3GPP is a coalition of standards associated with developing a suite of 2.5G to 3G wireless systems derived from GSM and ANSI-136. The major partners are Europe’s ETSI, North America’s ATIS T1, China’s CWTS, Korea’s TTA and Japan’s TTC and ARIB. The group is organized into several technical specification groups (TSGs): • TSG-CN for the Core Network will be based on GSM MAP. It’ll have some compatibility with ANSI-41 to accommodate the ANSI-136 TDMA community. • TSG-GERAN has taken over the maintenance of GSM standards from ETSI. This includes GPRS and EDGE. TR-45.3, the ANSI-136 standardization group, also is migrating to support GPRS and EDGE. • TSG-RAN is developing the true 3G radio-access-networks, known as UTRAN and W-CDMA. • TSG-T is responsible for 3G-terminal standards, including both the mobile equipment and the UIM (smart card). • TSG-SA is titled “Services and System Aspects” and is responsible for the definition of services and capabilities as well as coordination with and between other TSGs. 3GPP2: Little Brother Soon Follows IS-95 CDMA proponents realized that if their favorite technology were labeled as 2.5G, the world would swing quickly toward W-CDMA as a sole standard. This would leave companies (largely in the Americas and Asia) that had made major investments in IS-95 systems stranded with networks incompatible with the rest of the world. Although ETSI invited them to join 3GPP, they instead decided to create 3GPP2 as a place where their standardization could occur, hoping that a new multinational organization would avoid the “Made in the USA” label of TIA standards such as IS-95. Confusingly enough, not only does 3GPP2 have a similar name, but it has almost the same group of partners — ARIB and TTC from Japan, TTA from Korea and CWTS from China. The major difference is that ETSI, the initiator of 3GPP, is replaced by the TIA in 3GPP2. This seems strange, but in China, Japan and Korea, there’s an internal split between companies allied with 3GPP (such as NTT) and those allied with 3GPP2 (such as the recently merged IDO/KDD/DDI). To add to the confusion, 3GPP2 also has divided its standardization responsibilities into TSGs. Most of these have a sibling relationship with a TIA TR-45 subcommittee and usually meet during the same week and in the same location: • TSG-A defines the “A” interface between the base stations and MSCs and is aligned with TIA TR-45.4 that initiated this work several years ago. • TSG-C defines the cdma2000 radio interface and is closely allied with TR-45.5, which is responsible for cdmaOne (IS-95 and ANSI-95). This is parallel to the work being done by TSG-RAN in 3GPP. • TSG-P is responsible for the definition of packet-data standards and is closely associated with TR-45.6, which got its start converting CDPD from an industry-consortium document to a standard. • TSG-S is responsible for the definition of features and capabilities, and plays a parallel coordination role to 3GPP’s TSG-SA and the TIA’s TR-45. • TSG-N is responsible for the development of network standards, including the WIN and the ANSI-41 backbone network protocol. It meets with TR-45.2 and also is associated with TR-45.2’s Working Group V, which meets separately and has TIA responsibility for WIN standards. • TSG-R was given the responsibility to develop interfaces to 3GPP radio-access technologies, but currently has no meeting plans, indicating that a merger between 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards is not likely anytime soon. • “All IP” is not formally a TSG, but a group that is trying to define a future 3G system based totally on IP protocols from the radio interface, down to the transmission of voice, signaling and data through the network. Is the Starfish Population Increasing? It was perhaps too much to ask for the world to give up its regional interests entirely and settle on a single 3G wireless standard. Optimistically, the presence of only two 3G-standardization groups is a positive sign, compared to the many groups creating formal or de facto standards for first- and second-generation systems. And, with both groups working cooperatively on the same 3G security standards, and with both groups having an interest in GSM MAP/ANSI-41 interoperability, it may be possible to significantly enhance the level of services provided to international roamers who do dare to cross the 3GPP/3GPP2 boundary. If only we can stop the mad fisherman from slicing and dicing, the world may be only one step — well maybe two steps — away from a truly universal and ubiquitous wireless world. Crowe (crowed@cnp-wireless.com) is a wireless-standards consultant and editor of Cellular Networking Perspectives, a wireless-standards and -technology bulletin. wirelessreview.com

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