Qualcomm and Teleepoch
Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October
6, 2007
MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband
Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6,
2007
Brazilian government to
publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007
KTF 3G service suffers
from technical problems, October 6, 2007
Argentina’s Personal
lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007
Russia has it's first 3G
network, October 6, 2007
AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent
as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007
Enea Extends License Agreement
with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007
LG to unveil premium handsets
in Brazil, October 2, 2007
KTF 3G subscribers doubled
in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007
3G policy in India will
be non-uniform, October 2, 2007
- previous news
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Life After 3G: New Network Technologies Drive Mobile Growth
November 21, 2003
With 3G set for widespread launch in 2004 across Europe, operators are
already thinking about the post 3G world and what comes next. According
to a new report from mobile industry analysts, ARC Group, the technologies
making the largest immediate impact on the post 3G world will be the upgrades
to 3.5G and integration of WLAN into wide area networks.
3.5G is an upgrade of 3G which uses technologies like High Speed Downlink
Packet Access (HSDPA), Time Division Duplex (TDD) and proprietary technologies
like Flash OFDM. Despite the slower than expected uptake of 3G, operators
are already interested in 3.5G with NTT DoCoMo planning on launching HSDPA
services in 2005 and several Chinese operators looking at using UMTS TDD
in 2007. 3.5G technologies are forecast to reach 9.1 million subscribers
by 2008.
In the run-up to 4G - which is not expected until 2010 at the earliest
- operators will look for ways to enhance network performance through
evolutionary upgrades in the same way EDGE and 1xRTT have been used in
the 2G world. HSDPA is expected to become the most popular of 3.5G technologies
due to its support from major vendors like Nokia. HSDPA uses adaptive
modulation and a new shared downlink transport channel type to achieve
a two-fold increase in air interface capacity and a five-fold increase
in data speeds in the downlink direction.
With the advent of WLAN enabled PDA's and smartphones, there is likely
to be more competition from PWLAN providers for broadband mobile revenues.
However, rather than compete head on, PWLAN will be subsumed into the
network mix, supplementing the 3G/3.5G network for data intensive applications.
Despite this, mobile subscribers using PWLAN services over their mobile
device will only make up around 50 million users by 2008, less than 20%
of total 3G subscribers.
Chris White, Telecoms Consultant at ARC Group comments: "Too much attention
has been paid to how PWLAN will compete with 3G rather than looking at
the benefits of combining both network technologies. Independent PWLAN
operators have found it hard to put a viable business case together but
with the involvement of mobile operators and the widespread availability
of WLAN capable mobile devices, the case looks much stronger."
Further integration of WLAN into the mobile network mix is one of the
vital stepping stones to 4G. The so-called access pyramid model, where
multiple networks coexist allowing users to seamlessly switch between
the most appropriate network for the device and situation, will not substitute
the need for a 4G network. At the heart of everything will be the core
network, be it 3G or 4G, which will be supplemented by PAN and WLAN offerings
and by network upgrades in the medium-term.
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3G Motorola A920
