Interesting to see which 3GPP Release 8 work items around the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) are bearing fruit these days. While in Release 7, the hot application specifications for IMS services were Multi Media Telephony (MMTel) and device centric Voice Call Continuity (VCC), work in Release 8 seems to have to have shifted towards IMS … Continue reading IMS Centralized Services (ICS)
In the fixed line world, the basic Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) has become quite popular for offering voice telephony service. Lots of companies such as Vonage, Siptel and DSL providers are making use of it today. So why are we not using SIP in 3.5G and 4G networks as well? I guess there are both … Continue reading How To Extend SIP For Mobile Networks
News from the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) on 4G, aka IMT-Advanced: In a recent meeting it was decided that technology has now moved sufficiently beyond enhanced 3G systems (such as UMTS HSPA, WiMAX, CDMA1xEvDo also called ‘enhanced IMT-2000 systems’ in ITU terms) that the selection process of suitable technologies for 4G can now begin. In … Continue reading IMT-Advanced (4G) Submission and Evaluation Process
Recently I spoke to a sales engineer of Kathrein, a prominent German antenna maker that develops and produces all sorts of antenna equipment from TV antennas to sophisticated cellular network antennas. I can still remember how simple antennas were 10 years ago when GSM was first deployed: In many places simple dipol antennas were used … Continue reading Antenna Stuff
I just saw Nokia’s announcement of the 6300i and had to take a closer look. While I am more of a fan of their Nseries devices, the announcement nevertheless caught my eye since the 6300i includes WLAN for browsing and VoIP. While Nokia’s website doesn’t (yet) confirm that VoIP equals a SIP client (and not … Continue reading Nokia 6300i: WLAN and VoIP move to Mid-Range Phones
After having had the pleasure of hosting the Carnival of the Mobilists last week, it has moved on this week to Tarek Ghazali in Egypt and his Symbiano-Tek blog. As always great insight and many entries which require some more contemplation. Here’s the link so go and check it out!
In my previous IMS post I’ve taken a look at the difference between SIP telephony networks and the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). With that list it is quite obvious that the IMS is a centralized session management system that gives lots of control to the network operator and makes it quite difficult for third parties … Continue reading IMS Applications
While work is ongoing on 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) and SAE (System Architecture Evolution), current 3G networks continue to be enhanced as well. Since the 3G air interface is in the process continues to evolve with HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) it was felt in the standards groups that the 3G core network should … Continue reading Direct Tunnel – GPRS Core Network Streamlining
After some basic tests to see how HSDPA performs in a number of different networks I’ve now moved to a number of somewhat more complicated scenarios. The last article in this technical series on HSDPA focused on network and terminal HSDPA behavior for an incoming call. This article shows how the network behaves when several … Continue reading Network Behavior For Several Simultaneous Users In An HSDPA cell
HSDPA, EVDO, WIMAX, LTE, you name them, they all go advertising these days with "mobile can now do broadband, too". I think this is true to a certain extent, if one keeps in mind that overall capacity that can be delivered by a mobile system in a densely populated area can not match capacity of … Continue reading Broadband Was Yesteray – Wideband’s The Future