Category: Mobile Life

Connecting Back Home

For many years I’ve wished for some technology to allow me to check on things back home, to control devices and to stream content from wherever I am. Some applications have become available over the years such as the GSM module that is connected to my block heater in the car so I can remote control the heating in winter. The Slingbox is another good example which allows media streaming to notebooks and mobile phones outside the home network. But such applications are still the exception rather than the norm.

In the recent Ericsson Review, I found an interesting article that gives an overview of current activities in the industry and standardization bodies concerning this topic. Noteworthy standards, bodies and activities mentioned are the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), UPnP, UPnP Remote Access. Ericsson says while this is a good start, the solution lacks good remote connectivity. While UPnP provides for an encrypted tunnel that can be established between a notebook or mobile devices in general to access resources in the home network from outside, it lacks Quality of Service (QoS) interaction with the outside network and requires devices to be authenticated in the home network of the user once before they can be taken outside.

Ericsson sees a solution for this in using the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) as a secure way to authenticate external clients, to exchange ciphering parameters between the home network and the remote client and to ensure QoS of the transport network for media streams.

A good starting point to dig deeper into the topic!

Being Really Always-On

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Most of the time, I am almost always-on with one device or another, which means the device has an IP address only for the time I use an application. A couple of hours is usually the longest time since once I come home, my Wifi network takes over and my N95 starts using the home network. In the past, I have tried how long I could stay online with the mobile before the connection with the wireless network (the PDP context) is dropped. And there are many reasons for "packet call drops": Mobile resets, application crashes, network resets, network not configured correctly for Inter-SGSN routing area updates, you name it. So there are many causes for the connection to drop at some point and to be reestablished. So beyond a couple of hours to a day was usually the max. These days, things have much improved. In my latest test, I've been always-on with my N95 for almost 5 days. Take a look at the picture on the left. The last screenshot I took shows the packet data connection online counter at 4 days 19 hours and 47 minutes. That's what I call really always online 🙂 BTW: The network under test was that of T-Mobile Germany. Let's see if they can keep up this reliability once they roll in new equipment…

Moving To A 2 SIM Strategy

In the past I have usually used at least one SIM card for voice telephony and a separate one for Internet access. I never liked this approach very much and always looked for ways to combine the two. These days, combined voice and data offers on a single SIM have improved so I've been using my Nokia N95 for voice telephony, Internet access directly form the phone and as a modem for notebook Internet access over the past couple of weeks now. Interestingly enough, it turns out that the combined SIM is not as convenient as I always thought.

There are a number of reasons:

  • When a voice call comes I have the option to remove the cable from the phone or to have my movement restricted by the cable while being on the phone. Both feel uncomfortable as I don't want to loose the Internet connection while I am on the phone but also often don't want to remain in front of the computer.
  • During phone calls, the connection is often handed over from the 3G network to 2G network. This cuts the Internet connection since most GSM networks are still not Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) capable. This can be fixed by locking the phone into 3G only mode. This has the disadvantage, however, that I have to reset the network mode later when I am on the move again as 3G network coverage is still not in all places where 2G coverage can be found.
  • Unlike others, Nokia mobiles still don't charge over the USB cable. Thus, the battery drains very quickly if no power socket is available, which is usually the case at airports and other public places. 

Bluetooth might be an alternative for the USB cable. The power cable would still be required but that can be disconnected easly for a phone call. For now, version 2.x with it's theoretical top speed of around 2-3 MBit/s is still fast enough for most HSPA connections. With HSPA speeds continuously rising, that won't hold for much longer.

Rise and Demise: Wind Italy vs. 3 UK

In my recent travels I have noticed that some wireless network operators have greatly improved their network for Internet access while others have consistently declined. To examples from both ends of the scale:

I haven't used the network of Wind in Italy for notebook access to the Internet a lot in the past anymore since they had no HSPA in their network. Even in the standard 3G mode, connections where slow due high packet loss. Recently, however, they have upgraded their network to HSPA, at least in Rome, and I have since gone back using their prepaid SIM for notebook Internet access. I consistently get around 1 MBit/s in downlink direction (most likely traffic shapped) and 384 kbit/s in uplink direction when sending eMails with file attachments and pictures. Well done Wind!

On the other end of the scale is 3UK. I've bought one of their SIM cards a couple of months ago and during that time, their performance in the UK was ok. These days however, both in the UK and abroad, I consistently get bad throughput and sometimes the connection doesn't work at all. During a week in London last week I got so frustrated with their service that I stopped using it at some point and replaced it with another prepaid SIM. Randomly blocked TCP and UDP ports to keep me from getting eMail and setting up my VPN connection in addition to slow throughput is not acceptable. This week in Rome it's also been pretty much unusable, data rates are just too slow. Well, I guess I will try again in half a year. Not earlier probably, because I don't see a reason to waste 10 pounds to activate the data option just to find out their service is anything but a service…

For alternatives and other countries take a look at the prepaid wireless Internet access Wiki.

Wi-fi Hotspots Are Spreading But Network Management Is Not Keeping Up

It’s rare that I use public Wi-Fi hotspots since for me, mobile Internet access via a cellular 3G network is usually a cheaper and more flexible alternative. But every now and then I just log on to them to see how much users are charged for connectivity. These days, however, more often than not, the Wi-Fi hotspots I log on to are not working as they should. Either I don’t get an IP address (in one instance Wireshark showed that the DHCP server returns failure messages because the IP address pool is exhausted), the portal page fails loading which probably means the backhaul link is broken or the speed is so abysmally slow (for whatever reason) that any meaningful use of the service is not possible. Yes, I am complaining! Or is it just something specific of the countries I travel to? Not that the reliability of 3G wireless networks is beyond complaint but I can still count the instances a network didn’t work on a single hand (and I travel to many countries in Europe).

Why They Should Cover This Office Building?

There is this new office quarter in a Paris suburb to which I go every now and then. 2G and 3G coverage is o.k. while being on the street but as soon as I enter one of the office buildings, signal levels of all networks drop like a stone in the water and in many meeting rooms I have little or now network coverage. Which network I receive depends on the part of the building I am in.

Well, this quarter is not so new anymore, operators had more than two years now to improve the situation. I am really puzzled why they haven’t done so!? There are tens of thousands of people working there and many must feel disappointed by the wireless network coverage they have at their desk. I guess many have in the meantime made the decision for which operator to go on their private phones depending on which network they can receive at their desk. And always living in fear of having to move to a new desk…

A bizzare situation. So listen up, dear network carriers, a lot of potential new clients are just waiting for that new antenna that gives them better coverage in the building they spend the major part of their time. A strong argument you don’t have to work very hard for next time that contract runs out… And if that is not enough, think of all the additional SMS messages, eMails and phone calls these people will use their mobile phones for once they can do so.

Vikuiti: To Be Seen Or Not To Be Seen

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3G networks offering me mobile Internet access at most places I go has definitely changed the way I work and where I work. Yet, there is also one big disadvantage: In some places people next to me can look at the screen of my notebook and see what is sometimes is not really for their eyes. Privacy is definitely an issue sometimes. A couple of weeks go, I thus bought a Vikuiti display filter from 3M that restricts the viewing angle. Since then, nobody is looking anymore and I get questions like “is your notebook turned on”? Very nice 🙂 The picture on the left proves my point. More resources:

  • Here’s a video of how it works on YouTube. Thanks 3M, not cheap, but very usueful.
  • And here’s a link to a recent 3GPP meeting with an interesting picture on the right. You can see who’s using a filter and who is not 🙂

When The Small Screen Becomes Big

Judging by the advantages of printed newspapers and magazines in terms of better readability compared to the small screen Internet, it’s likely that they won’t be going away anytime soon. However, just recently, I noticed just how much I personally prefer reading the news and tech articles on my mobile phone in many situations especially when I am out and about. Some examples:

  • When going to the train station recently to exchange a train ticket (no in France that is mostly still not possible online…) I took along a magazine I wanted to read while waiting in line. On the way there, I noticed that I didn’t like carrying the magazine. Not that it was heavy and bulky but it restricted my movements because one hand was no longer free. I was close to dumping it on the way home.
  • In the metro there is usually no place to unfold a magazine or newspaper and usually also no place to open the backpack to get it in the first place.

In both circumstances reading the same content on the mobile phone is much more convenient. Sure, the screen size is a lot smaller and one has much less overview over the content. However:

  • The mobile can be taken out of the pocket immediately. No extra space is required for this and its possible even in a very crowded metro.
  • I can read even in the most crowded places.
  • When being distracted I can easily resume reading where I was interrupted because the passage is still on the screen.

So in those situations the small screen Internet is definitely the winner. And I am sure the iPhone 3G will help to increase awareness, even though in my opinion downloading full web pages is much inferior to using OperaMini.

What are your experiences?

The Mobilized Internet and the Mainstream

This week, the winning post of ‘krisse’ in the Carnival of the Mobilists has spawned some interesting thoughts over here. In the post, ‘krisse’ reports about entry level phones such as the Nokia 5000, which are around 100 euros without a contract, now come with OperaMini pre-installed. With a screen resolution of 320×240 pixels, the viewing experience is as good as with much more expensive feature phones. He didn’t say anything about how fast the browser runs on the phone but I assume processors have become fast enough even on S40 phones for the purpose.

So while Nseries devices and the iPhone might push the mobilized Internet revolution from the top, they won’t bring the real breakthrough as they are too expensive for a broad audience. But with phones for 100 euros now supporting feature rich mobile web browsers, that’s a different thing entirely. I would say that such phones are used by the majority of people in Europe, North America and many Asian countries.

From a hardware price point of view, mobile Internet access for the masses is now possible. Problem solved. From a software point of view, Opera Mini and other browsers have also reached a level of maturity that make them mass market usable. Hardware and software, however, is not all that it takes. In addition, I think the following things need to be put in place:

  • Prepaid data plans, either ‘fair use’ or a reasonable price per megabyte. Such plans are in place now in many countries now, but one can argue about the many ‘if’s, ‘buts’ and ‘must nots’ though. If marketed well and if they are simple enough to understand without a law and computer science degree, such offers should reduce the fear of only knowing one month later what mobile browsing sessions have cost.
  • Training of sales people: Absolutely essential! The average normob (normal mobile user) doesn’t want to figure it out himself. Currently, most sales people in shops are just clueless. This has to change.
  • Autoconfiguration / Pre-configuration: Devices must work out of the box, normob’s don’t configure anything. Again, a chance for operators to stay valuable in the value chain. 
  • Advertise compelling services: Also, good progress seen here nowadays with Vodafone and others advertising Facebook, Google and eBay on mobile devices.

Any other requirements I have missed for mass market mobilization of the Internet?

Canada’s AWS Spectrum Auction – Will It Encourage Competition?

I recently became aware of the current spectrum auctions in Canada to bring another wireless operator into the domain for what is hoped to create additional competition. I did some quick background research on the auction below there is one important piece of information missing in the article: Which frequency blocks are auctioned and which technology will be used? Looks like the bands auctioned are similar to those of the U.S. AWS auction, i.e. paired spectrum 1700 MHz / 2100 MHz.

O.k., so no WiMAX here since I don’t think there is a profile for such a paring yet. I guess the likeliest technology to use in this band is UMTS and LTE. This band is standardized as band IV in 3GPP. In my opinion it’s going to be difficult to create a lot of competition for incumbent operators with this frequency band mainly because there only seem to be two more operators using this band globally:

•    T-Mobile U.S. for their 3G network
•    A carrier in Japan

Compare that to the hundreds of UMTS networks globally using 2100 MHz band I. I am a bit afraid there won’t be a lot of devices supporting this band, as the market for mobile device vendors such as Nokia is very small.

After many years, Nokia is finally releasing 3G Nseries and Eseries phones for band II and V (AT&T in the U.S., Telus in Canada and Telstra in Australia). I wonder what the chances are that they produce a third version for the AWS band IV of future phones!? Or, what would even better, devices that support all these bands!? Well, at least carriers don’t have to lock devices since they can only be used in their network anyway…

A controversial topic. What do you think?