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LTE is a great technology but it has one Achilles heel: No built in telephony solution that will work when network are first rolled out. I've blogged before about the different alternatives for voice over LTE before, such as IMS, Voice Call Continuity, CS Fallback and a Study Item how to connect a circuit switched MSC to the LTE radio access network. While the last one is only a study item and not standardized yet, the first three are standardized but either complicated or, in the case of CS fallback, not a long term solution.

Looks like some operators are not very happy with the state of affairs and have looked elsewhere for help. At the recent LTE World Summit in London, Motorola and China Mobile have both said that they are considering GAN over LTE as a further alternative. GAN is used today in some 2G/Wi-Fi phones for Voice over Wifi at home. What it basically does is it establishes an encrypted IP tunnel between the mobile and the GAN controller at the border of the operators core network, and then tunnels both signaling and speech data to the MSC. Furthermore, the mobile and GANC are able to perform handovers between the Wi-Fi connection and GSM for ongoing calls. In effect, GAN hides the access network (Wi-Fi in this case) from the operators circuit switched core network.

The solution proposed by Motorola at the conference, GAN would do the same for LTE. After all, an IP connection is an IP connection, the core functionality of the GANC does not care if the interface to the user is Wi-Fi or LTE.

On his blog, Zahid has a slide of the Motorola presentation that shows how the network setup could look like. The figure shows an interface between the Mobility Management Entitiy (MME) and the GANC which I think is probably for handover co-ordination. When the MME detects that a handover is necessary to UMTS or GSM, it informs the GANC which can then ensure that an ongoing voice call survives the handover.

The advantage of this approach over the evolved MSC approach, which only exists as a 3GPP study item so far, is that the current circuit switched network infrastructure does not have to be changed. Even though the changes required for the eMSC are minor in comparison to IMS and VCC, they still need to be standardized and implemented by the major infrastructure manufacturers. The GAN approach on the other hand requires some modifications in the mobile and the GANC only, which could well be made without waiting for 3GPP.

>From a design point of view I think the eMSC would be a much more elegant and native approach to the issue. But in practice, elegance does not always win if it is more complex, or as in this case, meets reluctance in the standards bodies.

So, let's see if this 'dear 3GPP, we either do it with you or without you' announcement will change the attitude of some players.

Thanks to Zahid Ghadialy for his coverage of the LTE World Summit

Once a year, Nokia hosts a 2 day conference to demo to the world what's in store from Nokia for the next 12 months. This year, Nokia World takes/took place in Barcelona this Tuesday and Wednesday. I haven't been there in person, but Nokia and WomWorld have made sure that those not on site could also watch the keynote speeches and product introductions via the web. Well done, Nokia, not a single glitch, no capacity issues, the live-streams performed flawlessly at 800 kbit/s.

You've probably already heard or seen about the new Nokia N97 introduced there so I'll just link to the keynote video where Anssi Vanjoki introduced it and a link to YouTube with first impressions of the look and feel as well as how the OS looks like and behaves for a general overview. Very insightful and I guess that's going to be my next device, if I can wait until it is released. Forecast 2H09. A long wait…

Here are the bits an pieces of hardware and software enhancements that I think will make a difference:

• Form factor: I like the idea of a small QWERTY keyboard hiding under the screen as well as the 3.5" 16:9 touch sensitive display. Thinner than my current N95 and not as wide as the iPhone makes it perfect from a handling point for both one hand and two hand operation. It's still more of a bar than a PDA shape.

• I expect it will still work with my Bluetooth keyboard for real fast typing which now gives three input methods, i.e. touchscreen, mini keyboard, and full bluetooth keyboard. The right input method for every location.
• 5 megapixel camera and flash. O.k. nothing really new here, the N95 has got that, too for two years now but it's still miles ahead of the 'toy cameras', as Anssi calls them, in competing products.

• A-GPS and electronic compass. While A-GPS gives you the location it can't tell the phone in which direction the user is looking while he stands still. That's an issue for street navigation, especially when you've marked the place you want to go beforehand, leave the metro station for example, your location is shown on the map but you have no idea in which direction to walk at first. It happens to me often enough. The compass should help with that. I'd be interested how that compass works from a practical point of view. Does anyone know?

• Also, the compass will be great to get more information about things you see together with Nokia maps. Though I think not yet in the product, Nokia is thinking in the right direction here, to send the location and orientation to a sever in the network, which then return information about what you are seeing like Wikipedia entries, map overlays, etc. So far I always assumed that such services would require the user to take a picture of what he sees which is uploaded to a server and then analyzed. With A-GPS and compass, things are much simpler, no need to analyze a picture.

• Nokia Maps enhancements: Quite a lot of announcements of what will happen here over the next year. Route overview for navigation will be included, something I am really missing today, terrain mode looks very nice, and 3D representation of sights. Also, Nokia has promised to include user generated content in Nokia maps, something I've been waiting every since I first used GPS and Nokia maps. Also, they are planning to include the location of other users in Nokia Maps so you can see where your friends are, if they wish so. And finally, synchronization between Maps on Ovi and Maps on the phone for planing trips on the PC and then downloading locations etc. you have marked to the phone automatically.

• Active idle screen enhancements: Widgets on the idle screen, customizable by the user to see his latest e-mails, what's going on on facebook, weather forecast, RSS stream, contacts, meetings, etc.

Nothing announced today is a revolution, but, I think these things are a powerful evolution over the current already great N-series devices and will definitely keep the competition going in the smartphone sector. Now, Nokia, let's just get this device and the new software out there as soon as possible. I can hardly wait.

Today, I noticed a report on Teltarif that Vodafone Germany is looking into buying Kable Deutschland, one of the big German cable Internet (and TV) providers. It is speculated that the price would be around 2.5 billion euros. Quite a bit of money and yet another impressive indication that mobile only networks are a thing of the past. Both Vodafone and Telefonica O2 are already offering DSL services in Germany today but I guess those activities would pale against buying a cable operator. In my opinion, having strong fixed and wireless assets is a must to offer an all in one communication solution to private customers for both home and while they are away. And I guess femtocells / home gateways with 3G and Wifi built-in together with local IP access from 3G mobile phones would be an important part of such a strategy.

Sorry for not linking to the original article, I posted this entry from my mobile phone.

Do you know Space Invaders and the artist that puts them on walls in many different cities? If not you might want to have a look here. So what does this have to do with mobile and wireless? Looks like somebody has now started to add another dimension to this with 2D barcodes. If you have a mobile phone with a 2D barcode scanner, take a look at this picture, click on "full screen resolution'" to increase the size of the 2D barcode and point your mobile towards the screen for the application to decode the barcode. Very interesting result… 🙂

Found via the Paris picture stream in Jaiku. Social networking at its best!

Things can be simple when it comes to prepaid SIMs. You walk into a supermarket, get a
SIM and 2 minutes later you are set. Not so with mobile operator '3' in
Italy.

When I wanted to buy a prepaid SIM card from them this week they refused to sell me one. In the first store I went to at Roma Termini station, the shop assistant first doubted that it would work in my non Italian mobile phone. Once we cleared that they refused to accept my German identity card, which by the way is good enough for customs and for boarding airplanes as a valid identity. Hm, but not for buying a SIM card!? Ridiculous.

So in the afternoon, I went to another store in downtown Rome which was on my way, this time equipped with my passport. Just to make sure. Here, the same story again but I made it up to the Italian tax number, which they say is also required. I have one so I gave it to them. However, they insisted that they would only accept it on an official document. Again, no SIM card from me.  Ridiculous.

I have to say I am baffled. I could have understood one shop assistant being a bit difficult, but two in two different stores!? Note that this is a only a '3 Italy' attitude. Some days ago I got a SIM card from mobile operator WIND, my id card was good enough and no Italian tax number was required. Same with Vodafone Italia just three months ago just around the corner from the 3 store and I was not the only foreigner buying a prepaid SIM card while being there. As a matter of fact, I had to take a number and stand in line. Guess where the money is going.

Anybody in '3 Italy' reading this blog? Hello! Wake-up! How many millions of visitors are coming to your country each year who could be your customers!? Hm, but maybe that's one of the reasons why your market share is below 10%…

Scott over at the Mippin blog is hosting the Carnival of the Mobilists this week. As always, lots of interesting posts from various blogs from all over the world on wireless topics. Scott has selected Andrew Grill's "Ask, don't tell: The golden rule for mobile advertising 2.0" as best post of the week. Good choice, I can't wait to be asked 🙂 For this and more, head over and enjoy.

A friend of mine pointed me to this document which gives an overview of which portions of frequencies have been allocated to which mobile operators in Europe. I've been looking for such a document for quite a while now as it can give interesting insights into which options mobile operators in Europe have when it comes to frequency bands in Europe. Here's what I think:

The 900 MHz band

In total, there are 35 MHz available in this band, which are typically shared for GSM today by two to four operators. Even if only two operators use this band, each operator has typically less than 10 MHz of consecutive bandwidth available here. For LTE that means that the best that an operator can do in this band is to deploy a 5 MHz LTE carrier. For most operators, that's unlikely though as the remaining 900 MHz chunks they already own are probably not enough to ensure GSM in-house coverage with enough capacity. So, most operators could only deploy a 1.25 MHz LTE carrier in this band. I wonder if that's attractive as the achievable bandwidth is severely limited. But maybe for deep in-house coverage, it's better than nothing!? Also, there's no possibility to buy additional chunks in this "prime" band, it's all allocated.

The 1800 MHz band

This game is a bit different as in total, 75 MHz were assigned to GSM here and many "second wave" GSM operators in Europe got assigned chunks of more than 10 MHz. Also, in many countries, not all of the 75 MHz have been sold so some operators might be thinking of acquiring some of the so far unused chunks to start with a 5 MHz or 10 MHz LTE carrier here.

The 2100 MHz band

This is the 3G UMTS band in Europe with a total of 60 MHz. In most countries, each operator has a 10 MHz chunk and probably only uses 5 MHz of that for a single 3G carrier. Also, there is some of that bandwidth still available, e.g. due to alternative 3G carriers having given up after they paid a bit too much for the licenses back in the year 2000. So scenarios for this band could be that some operators will start with a 5 MHz carrier in this band or try to by additional spectrum to be able to operate a 10 MHz carrier. Since there is not enough bandwidth left for all, let's see if a price fight breaks out again like in the early 3G days. Doubtful but I see more interested parties then available chunks.

The 2600 MHz band

In most countries, this part of the spectrum is still up for grabs. The issue here is that in-house coverage would be even more difficult to achieve than with the 2100 MHz band. Lots of space for 10 MHz+ carriers.

Do 5 MHz carriers make sense?

This is the big question. With MIMO, the performance of LTE with a 5 MHz carrier is similar as HSPA+ with MIMO. Even if operators do not choose to upgrade their HSPA networks to MIMO, I wonder if the speed difference is big enough to justify the expense to go to LTE compared to upgrading their already existing HSPA base station with a second carrier.

Multiband Devices

So there are four frequency options for LTE in Europe: 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600, each with benefits and drawbacks. Different operators will surely have different strategies, including using several bands at once, so it's likely that single band LTE devices are likely not to be a winner. Supporting all four frequency bands with MIMO, which requires at least two antennas per band in a single device, however, is going to be difficult to achieve. And on top of that we haven't even talked yet about the 700, 850, 1900 MHz band in the US.

I guess both first movers and followers in this space will have difficult choices to make when it comes to frequency bands. As always, comments are welcome.

Despite having been quite a skeptic a couple of years ago when it came to Instant Messaging (IM), I have realized these days that I have fully integrated IM into my working and private life and today I wouldn't want back. In fact, if somebody calls me on Skype these days without sending an IM first to ask if I am available or to let me know what it is about, it feels a bit strange, almost like an intrusion.

Communicating with IM people

I usually don't call people on the phone that regularly use IM. In most cases the questions I have can be answered in a few words. No need to call and 'hard interrupt' the other person or myself. To me, IM seems more like a 'soft interrupt' with the option to ignore for a little while to finish something else first. I can even continue my work and once I have the answer I can quickly go back and fill in the gaps, if the task at hand permits.

While the amount of incoming and outgoing messages remain reasonable, I can get answers and answer questions myself pretty much on the fly without fully interrupting the main task I am doing at the moment. Much more efficient than making a phone call for both parties involved.

I can also see right away when somebody is busy or not available. So instead of calling and leaving a voice mail, I can set a 'notification event' in my messenger so I don't have to guess when the other person might come back or waste time in trying to call.

Communicating with Non-IM people

Seeing people being present gives me a sense of connectedness and the reassurance that I can quickly get help or advice when necessary. With people that are not connected, however, my business practice is quite different. Here, the only way to contact them is by phone or e-mail. While e-mail is definitely less intrusive than IM, you never know when the other person reads it or when he will answer it. And making a phone call will definitely interrupt whatever the other person is doing or I might not be able to reach him at all. It feels a bit like walking in the dark or playing the lottery.

No mobile-IM yet

What I haven't come around to using yet is IM on my mobile phone. Not that it's a technical issue, there are enough mobile IM clients available. Maybe that's because I also don't read my business e-mails on a mobile device since my questions and answers I get/send by e-mails are usually longer than what small keyboards, screens and not being able to look up things in documents, support. Or maybe I just don't want to be bothered while in transition!?

Interesting though how many of my friends, co-workers and customers are using mobile-IM these days, even those that generally questioned the usefulness of Internet access from mobile devices a couple of years ago.

So my question to you is: How do you feel about / use IM today?

P.S.: Have you noticed that almost everyone now uses an avatar (picture) in their IM program. I wonder how that happened!?

While ATM is used as a transport technology in backhaul and core networks for UMTS and ADSL today it looks like the technology is pretty much on the way out in next generation networks. In LTE for example, ATM no longer plays a role, everything is specified only down to the IP layer. The technology used below is up to the network operator. In many cases this will be Ethernet over copper (e.g. VDSL), fiber or Ethernet microwave.

Another example is the VDSL deployment of Deutsche Telekom (DT) in Germany. According to heise magazine 22/08, DT uses Ethernet over a Gigabit fibre (802.3ah) to their outdoor VDSL DSLAMs. Ethernet is also used over the last few meters of copper cable to the customer instead of ATM. While the VDSL modems can still do ATM, DT has decided to use Ethernet in combination with VLAN (Virtual LAN) encapsulation (802.1q). At the moment, only VLAN-ID 7 is used for all kinds of data, but there are rumors that DT plans to use several VLAN-IDs to separate IPTV from normal Internet access in the future with their IADs (Integrated Access Devices) that support Internet access, IPTV and (SIP) telephony.

Recently, while in the dentist’s waiting room I had a bit of time to read another article from the always very interesting Ericsson Review Magazine. In the 2/2008 issue there are lots of articles on IMS. In the article on delivering the optimal end-user experience, the authors describe that their IMS application environment allows to share with other users which IMS applications one is using. This way, one can not only see if it is possible to use a specific application to communicate with someone but it’s also possible to see which applications others are using and thus to discover new services. Kind of a viral marketing approach.

I haven’t read about this in any IMS articles so far and it strikes me as a good idea, not only for the IMS domain. From the article, it’s not quite clear if this is something proprietary of the Ericsson IMS client environment or something that was standardized in 3GPP or OMA. If this is part of an IMS standard and you know where to find it, please leave a note in the comment section.