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Standards Wars: Next Generation Mobile Telephony. Theory and Practice. Standards essential to network industries Standards can be Unilateral: Microsoft Windows/Sony Betamax consortium-led: Java/Linux/VHS government-defined: ITU ATM/BSB ’squarial’
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Theory and Practice • Standards essential to network industries • Standards can be • Unilateral: Microsoft Windows/Sony Betamax • consortium-led: Java/Linux/VHS • government-defined: ITU ATM/BSB ’squarial’ • Globalisation drives common standards internationally • Mobile phones classic case study
Wireless broadband • Satellite • Broadband Fixed Wireless: • Tele2; Telewest; NTL; PipingHot Networks • WAN: 3G Mobile Telephony • 64Kb/s • LAN: Wireless Ethernet • 11Mb/s NOW; 22Mb/s 2002;72Mb/s 2003 • Personal Area Networks (PANs) • Bluetooth standard/wireless headsets • Talking fridges/security alarms/wireless homes
Four generations of wireless • 1G: early analogue ‘bricks’ • 1980s ‘yuppie’ sales tool • 2G: dual band handsets, SMS-enabled • GSM handsets – Nokia/Ericsson • 3G: universal standard? • ‘always-on’, ‘broadband’ packet-switched • 4G: broadband to challenge wires • 72Mb/s wireless Ethernet • Laptop/Personal Digital Assistant suited
Wide Area Networks (WANs): Laws of physics • Spectrum • Power • Reception • Processing
Spectrum: How wireless works • Each generation has new standards/handsets • Mobile: new spectrum for each generation • 1G: 450KHz • 2G: 900/1800KHz • 3G: 2200KHz • 4G: 5700KHz (5.7MHz) • Higher frequencies • have shorter ranges • require higher powered devices
Power • Battery life drained by: • complex reception devices • Dual-triple band • multiple programs • Running software programs • SMS; WAP; ringtones • memory requirements • Flash memory • Hard disks • Progress: • From simple ‘bricks’ to FOMA 3G 16-bit colour video phones
Reception • Security and roaming require ‘clever’ devices • 1G handsets resulted in ‘Squidgygate’ • Analogue easily ‘wiretapped’ • European law requires intelligent networks: • caller ID and logging usage • This is NOT Internet: • intelligent devices and dumb networks illegal • Solutions based on ATM not TCP/IP
Processing • Mobile terminals moving from dumb to smart: laptops and PDAs • ‘Crunching’ data in digital radio packets • Needs high powered processing • Moore’s Law permits this • doubling microprocessor power every 18 months
Public wireless solutions • From ‘one size fits all’ national network • To individually tailored packages • Global roaming solutions • 4G may not follow 3G • RIM Blackberry is GPRS email device • 4G ‘WiFi’ installed in millions of laptops • Data more global than phone standards
1G Standards • National analogue solutions • National champion equipment vendors • Selling to monopoly or duopoly network • Sole notable multinational solution: • Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT) • Which became: • Global System for Mobile GSM
2G: Dual Band/Dual Standard • 900/1800KHz • Digital standard: more security/quality • SMS texting/ringtone download • Europe has single standard: • GSM900/1800 • Supported by Commission • Driven by Ericsson and Nokia ousting Euro-heavyweights Siemens/Alcatel/Philips • US has multiple standards: • CDMA/TDMA/GSM • 1900KHz band
3G: IMT-2000 CDMA standard • US-Euro compromise • Accepted by ITU – UN telecoms body • CDMA accepted • Qualcomm-Ericsson patent swap • Brokered by USTR/Commission • Scramble to convince other markets: • Most of Asia GSM 2G • Most of Americas TDMA/CDMA 2G • China/Korea/Japan own standards • Japan far ahead in technology and market • Korea using simple CDMA technology
Deploying 3G • 3G rolled out in UK and Italy • Need more base stations • Shorter range and higher bandwidth • Vodafone has announced 64Kb/s maximum • ITU definition is 144Kb/s (ISDN 128Kb/s) • Handsets melt • High colour/high power/high cost/high faults • Hybrid 2.5G networks effective • GPRS at 28Kb/s • On existing base stations
So 3G has difficulties • Costs: • Spectrum in Europe • Transition in Asia • Standards in US • Handsets everywhere • Benefits: • This is not wireless broadband • Bit rate too low for video/extranet • Will your fridge talk to the store?
4G:Business-Ready Broadband • Difference between Local Area Networks (LANs) and WANs is: • Base stations • Bandwidth • Regulation • Standards
Base stations: • Need more for broadband • Can costs be kept low? • Bandwidth & Regulation: • What does it cost? Nothing • How can it be used? With great caution • Standards: • Use of TCP-IP • Intelligent devices ‘hop’ between frequencies • Global standards set by IEEE in US • Pushed by Microsoft-Intel-Cisco-Compaq
Standards • Spectrum • Power • Reception • Processing
Spectrum • Global free spectrum for private use: • Assumption: usage discrete, localised • WLANs now public, outdoor, networked • Roaming, nomadic use increasing • Airport ‘hotspots’, coffee bar broadband • Industrial Scientific Medical bands • used by microwave ovens, emergency services • 2.4GHz current ‘WiFi’ commercial use • Except in UK: [1] ‘pollution’ [2] equity for 3G • 5.7GHz consultation: better WLAN
Power • Base stations for WiFi are cheap: £50 • Range c.150m, line of sight best • Directional attenae up to 10km • Best for ‘hotspotting’: bursts of data • Rabbit phone in Hong Kong; PCS in Japan • Devices need to be dual-standard • GPRS/WiFi for instance • Corporate extranet/audio/video applications • Japan: FOMA videophone limited battery life
Reception • How to retrofit WLAN into telco networks? • Security, data transfer, roaming • Current standard inadequate • European 4G standard HIPERLan2 • US ‘WiFi5’ now converging on Europe • Microsoft leading 802.1x security • Data compatible – voice applications?
Processing • All corporate laptops are Windows-enabled • NOW all WiFi-enabled as well • MAC layer processor-heavy • IS this a PDA and laptop device? • Multiple-standard chips being developed • WiFi, WiFi5, 802.11g • 2.4, 5.7GHz • Euro and US frequencies • Add GSM/GPRS/CDMA mobile reception • And US, European, Japanese 3G standards…
Who wins? • Global standards driven by cartels • Intel in microprocessors • Microsoft in operating systems • Cisco in routers and switchers • Far bigger players than Nokia-Ericsson • Data market bigger than voice • Totally new challenge for Commission officials
Winners • Microsoft: • security layer built into WindowsXP • Intel/Cisco/3Com: • WiFi chipsets, complements PC/PDA/IP • Data-ready mobile networks • Lobbying for 3G revenues: Vodafone, Orange • Multimedia application developers • video/audio/graphic-rich environment • Corporate networks • mobile employees in sales, logistics
Relative Losers • Voice-dependent networks • Japanese videophone • European manufacturers – Ericsson • Bluetooth as LAN – now PAN • European lead in mobile • ETSI-BRAN and ITU as standard-setters
Standards Conclusions • Might is right • Wintel beats Nordics • The paranoid survive • IP over ATM • Corporates lead governments • IEEE not ETSI/ITU • World is going wireless • Data standards for multinationals