Low-cost route to 3G services carries appeal

date: 14th January 2001, source: scmp.com

A number of network operators in Hong Kong and the mainland are looking at taking a low-cost route to third-generation (3G) wireless communications services.

It can be done through TDMA-Edge (Time Division Multiple Access - Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution) technology, according to officials from the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC).

"TDMA-Edge has a future in Asia, particularly in China," says UWCC's regional director for the Asia-Pacific region, Clive Woodlock. "The technology meets China's objective of maximising the use of available spectrum to offer 3G services.

"Based on our recent discussions with a number of operators, TDMA-Edge provides an affordable means to introduce 3G high-speed wireless data and Internet access technology in future because operators can use their existing spectrum."

United States-based, the UWCC is a non-profit industry group representing more than 100 companies which support TDMA-Edge technology standards.

TDMA-Edge is supposed to be the most widely used wireless communications technology in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

There are more than 58 million subscribers using it worldwide. Although Asian operators are mostly based on the European Global System for Mobile (GSM) wireless standard, there are cellular networks in the region which were built on US-developed TDMA technology, said Mr Woodlock.

In Hong Kong, for example, Pacific Century CyberWorks ran a TDMA network which it had acquired from Pacific Link.

"We are sure it would like to fully leverage its existing spectrum," he said.

Operations of the mainland's TDMA networks had been in the hands of the military for years.

"Based on our discussions with Ministry of Information Industry officials, they are looking at ways to commercialise those TDMA networks.

"Edge is a technology allowing both GSM and TDMA carriers to offer 3G services using existing spectrum.

"Deployment of Edge presents China, the world's largest GSM operator, with a graceful means to introduce 3G services in the near future, and at an affordable cost."

The inter-operability between GSM and TDMA using Edge is also supposed to give Chinese operators the opportunity to generate revenue from the increasing number of TDMA subscribers travelling to China and seamless roaming services for the mainland's 60 million-plus GSM subscribers travelling in TDMA service areas.

According to UWCC member Ericsson, Edge represents an enhanced radio modulation technique for TDMA and GSM systems.

It is supposed to be specifically designed to be incorporated into existing spectrums of 800 Mhz, 900Mhz, 1800Mhz and 1900Mhz bands.

UWCC sees major economy of scale advantages from the convergence of TDMA and GSM technologies with Edge, since its shares the same core and radio access technology.

Operators can also capitalise on many of their previous investments and re-use portions of their infrastructure.

In June Ericsson, in Singapore, demonstrated wireless multimedia applications for GSM and TDMA systems over an Edge network for the first time in Asia.

Through an Edge system, simultaneous wireless Internet browsing, live video-conferencing, music and news services were sent over a wireless network at speeds of 384 Kbps.

"The changes required to introduce Edge into networks are relatively small and can be started by operators already in 2001," said Per Lindberg, Edge marketing manager at Ericsson.

Edge enabled the full advantages of packet-switched mobile core networks using General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) to be explored.

GPRS technology, also known as 2.5G, enables users to get speeds up to 115 Kbps.

With the Edge-enhanced air interface, that data rate is expected to evolve to 3G speeds of up to 2 megabits per second.

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