advances and trends in wireless technologies

Transcription

ADVANCES AND TRENDS
IN
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
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ADVANCES AND TRENDS
IN
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
D267
Advances and Trends in Wireless Technologies
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Economic and Business Climate, Scope and Methodology................................................ 1
Technology Options in Bleak Economic Climate.................................................................... 1
Scope and Methodology.......................................................................................................... 2
Highlights and Key Findings ............................................................................................. 3
Wireless Communication--Technology Advances Lead to Productivity and Efficiency.......... 3
Highlights and Key Findings .................................................................................................. 4
Assessment of Mobile Technologies
Description ........................................................................................................................ 7
Technology Evolution--From Analog to Digital ..................................................................... 7
The Real Cellular Services - 2G Technologies............................................................................ 8
A Burden of Many Technologies and Standards ..................................................................... 9
Devices.......................................................................................................................................... 9
Networks and Standards ............................................................................................................. 9
Existing Technology--What New Innovations are Up Against ........................................ 11
2G Technology ..................................................................................................................... 11
AMPS ......................................................................................................................................... 11
TDMA......................................................................................................................................... 11
CDMA ........................................................................................................................................ 12
GSM............................................................................................................................................ 13
2.5G Technology .................................................................................................................. 13
HSCSD ....................................................................................................................................... 13
GPRS .......................................................................................................................................... 14
EDGE ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Drivers and Challenges ......................................................................................................... 15
Emerging Technology - 3G ............................................................................................. 16
Analysis of the Technology and its Applications .................................................................. 16
Characteristics and Applications of 3G ................................................................................. 19
3G or not 3G: Characteristics of the Technology .................................................................... 19
UMTS/WCDMA ........................................................................................................................ 20
CDMA - 2000 ............................................................................................................................. 21
1XEV-DO ................................................................................................................................... 21
1xEV-DV .................................................................................................................................... 22
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Technology Challenges--3G Must Overcome Security Concerns and Competing
Technologies......................................................................................................................... 22
Drivers and Restraints........................................................................................................... 23
4G.................................................................................................................................... 25
A Promise of Mobile Virtual Reality and Advanced Application Integration ....................... 25
Spectrum and Service Capabilities........................................................................................ 26
Drivers for 4G....................................................................................................................... 28
Noteworthy Emerging R&D Developments..................................................................... 29
Create Spintronics Material by Mixing Zinc Dioxide and Manganese--Sweden ................... 29
Low-Energy Mobile Communications--Sweden ................................................................... 30
RF Systems May Get Embedded High-Q Inductors--North America .................................... 30
Sun Cycles and Antennae Position Affect Cell Phones--North America ............................... 31
Improve Contrast and Brightness in Portables--North America ............................................ 31
Wireless Applications to Benefit from Si-Based Tunnel Diode--North America .................. 32
Assessment of IEEE Wireless Standards
802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks ............................................................................ 35
Standards Assessment and Background/Network Requirements/Security ............................. 35
Characteristics ........................................................................................................................... 36
Channels..................................................................................................................................... 37
Range and Performance ............................................................................................................ 37
Network Requirements.............................................................................................................. 38
Different Wireless LAN Standards ........................................................................................... 38
Different Wireless LAN Standards ........................................................................................... 39
Security Issues............................................................................................................................ 41
Wi-Fi--A Shared Medium ..................................................................................................... 42
Distance from the Base Station ............................................................................................. 43
What The Technology Means to Other Players ..................................................................... 44
Market Dynamics--Benefits/Restraints/Increasing the Wi-Fi Customer Base ....................... 45
Benefits ....................................................................................................................................... 45
Restraints ................................................................................................................................... 45
Increasing the Wi-Fi Customer Base ........................................................................................ 45
Wireless Personal Area Networks.................................................................................... 46
Standards Projects in Development....................................................................................... 46
Bluetooth--Revision and Expansion Driven by Technological and Market Needs ................ 47
Ultrawideband--Delivering Multimedia Capability Over the Short Range ............................ 49
WiMedia ............................................................................................................................... 52
Zigbee--It's Good for Low-Cost Control Signaling ............................................................... 54
802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Standards ............................................................... 56
WiMAX--Long Distance Option Doesn't Need Line-of-Sight............................................... 56
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WiMAX-802.16a ........................................................................................................................ 57
LMDS--A High-Throughput Fixed Wire Solution ................................................................ 59
LMDS - Local Multipoint Distribution Service........................................................................ 59
MMDS--A Long Distance Option for Small Businesses and Homes..................................... 61
MMDS Architecture .................................................................................................................. 61
Access Systems ........................................................................................................................... 62
Issues .......................................................................................................................................... 62
Recent Developments................................................................................................................. 62
Comparison of Competing Technologies......................................................................... 63
5GHz VS 2.4Ghz .................................................................................................................. 63
Wi-Fi VS UWB..................................................................................................................... 64
Wi-Fi VS 802.16a ................................................................................................................. 65
Wi-Fi Vs Bluetooth............................................................................................................... 66
Wi-Fi VS HomeRF ............................................................................................................... 66
Nanotube to Serve as an Antennae for Wireless Devices--North America ............................ 67
Magnets to Damp Out Electromagnetic Noise--North America ............................................ 68
On-Chip Wireless Communication--North America ............................................................. 69
Remote Monitoring of Home Appliances--Singapore ........................................................... 69
802.20 to Give Competition to 802.16 .................................................................................. 70
Drivers & Restrains ......................................................................................................... 71
Drivers .................................................................................................................................. 71
Restraints .............................................................................................................................. 72
Assessment of Radio Frequency and Optical Communication
Technologies
RF Technologies.............................................................................................................. 75
Technology Assessment--Intense Innovation Drives Applications........................................ 75
Wireless Broadcast Across Chip--North America ................................................................. 76
Optical Communication Technologies............................................................................. 77
High Data Rates and Long Haul Spans ................................................................................. 77
Lawrence Livermore Completes Laser Communication Link--North America ..................... 78
A New Family of Optical Materials--North America ............................................................ 79
Carbon Nanotubes for RF Signal Processing - North America............................................. 80
Colloidal Quantum Dot Laser for Communication Devices - North America ....................... 80
Ruby Slows Light - North America...................................................................................... 81
Addressing the Last Mile Problem in Communication - North America .............................. 82
Use Gold Nanocrystal as RFID Inks - North America........................................................... 83
This Tag Will Self Destruct in 30 Seconds - The Netherlands ............................................. 84
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RFID Tags on the Rise - The Netherlands............................................................................ 84
FDA Approves Chip Implant - North America .................................................................... 85
Integrate RFID with Other Applications - North America ................................................... 86
Detect Biological and Chemical Agents Using RF-Based Biosensor - North America......... 87
Assessment of Wireless Sensors
Wireless Sensor Systems ................................................................................................. 89
Smart Devices and Sensors ................................................................................................... 89
Smart Devices and Smart Sensors ............................................................................................ 90
Standards .............................................................................................................................. 91
Applications.......................................................................................................................... 91
Leading Manufacturers and Key Players............................................................................... 92
Key Players ................................................................................................................................ 93
Low-Power CMOS Image Sensors - North America ............................................................ 94
Wireless Sensor Networks to Detect Forest Fires - Australia ............................................... 94
Self-Powered Wireless Sensors - North America .................................................................. 95
Watch Your Home Remotely With Affordable New Tools - North America ....................... 96
Wirelessly Linked Sensors and Machine Controllers - North America ................................ 97
An Application of Wireless Smart Sensors ........................................................................... 97
Sensor Detects Forces in Human Knee Joints - North America............................................ 98
Benefits and Challenges .................................................................................................. 99
Benefits................................................................................................................................. 99
Low Power Usage....................................................................................................................... 99
Power Harvesting....................................................................................................................... 99
Embedded Intelligence .............................................................................................................. 99
Process Gain............................................................................................................................. 100
Low-Power Design ................................................................................................................... 101
Diversity ................................................................................................................................... 102
Battery Technology.................................................................................................................. 102
Extensibility--Standards and Technology .............................................................................. 102
Throughput--More is More ..................................................................................................... 103
Challenges .......................................................................................................................... 105
Wireless Security Brief
Security ......................................................................................................................... 107
Sensitive Data ..................................................................................................................... 107
Security Measures............................................................................................................... 108
Enhanced Security: VPN Overlay........................................................................................... 109
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Restraints ............................................................................................................................ 109
Noteworthy Emerging R&D Developments................................................................... 111
An Optical Antenna for Improved Wireless Security--United Kingdom ............................. 111
WPA Plugs Holes in WEP .................................................................................................. 112
Market Impact Analysis
Market Analysis............................................................................................................. 115
Market Dynamics................................................................................................................ 115
International Comparisons--North America/Western Europe/Asia-Pacific ......................... 116
Market Environment ............................................................................................................... 116
Hurdles to Wireless Deployment ........................................................................................ 117
Devices...................................................................................................................................... 118
Networks and Standards ......................................................................................................... 118
Network Service Plans ............................................................................................................. 118
VC Spending....................................................................................................................... 119
Applications................................................................................................................... 122
Electronic Business............................................................................................................. 122
Mobile Multimedia ............................................................................................................. 122
Various End Applications of Wireless Technologies .......................................................... 123
Devices...................................................................................................................................... 123
Classification............................................................................................................................ 126
The Benefits of Mobile and Wireless Computing ............................................................... 127
Patents, Glossary, Company listing, Contact Details
Patents and Glossary...................................................................................................... 129
Patents ................................................................................................................................ 129
Glossary of Terms............................................................................................................... 142
Wireless Security Glossary ................................................................................................. 161
Participating Companies ................................................................................................ 162
Company Listing................................................................................................................. 162
Contact Details ................................................................................................................... 171
Frost & Sullivan 2004 Science and Technology Awards
Excellence In Technology ............................................................................................. 175
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 175
Award Description................................................................................................................... 175
Research Methodology ............................................................................................................ 175
Measurement Criteria ............................................................................................................. 176
Award Recipient ................................................................................................................. 176
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Technology Leadership ................................................................................................. 177
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 177
Award Description................................................................................................................... 177
Research Methodology ............................................................................................................ 178
Measurement Criteria ............................................................................................................. 178
Award Recipient ................................................................................................................. 179
Decision Support Database Tables
Telecom Investments ..................................................................................................... 181
Telecom Spending ......................................................................................................... 184
Mobile Workforce ......................................................................................................... 186
Mobile Handset ............................................................................................................. 189
Radio Frequency Identification Equipment/Application................................................ 192
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Executive Summary
Economic and Business Climate, Scope and Methodology
Technology Options in Bleak Economic Climate
Confronting the bleakest market in the history of the industry, telecom service providers face the daunting task
of balancing short-term earnings expectations with building a longer-term growth platform. However, legacy
infrastructures and business practices present formidable hurdles, severely limiting the abilities of carriers to
capture new revenues and cut costs. The challenge is further compounded by the inability of carriers to access
the new capital required to address these problems effectively. Negative cash flows, rising operating expenses,
crushing debt burdens and battered financial markets have created a capital drought that severely limit carriers’
options.
Although carriers have worked aggressively to remedy the acute symptoms of the crisis, they have often failed
to address the fundamental problems that precipitated it: Customer disaffection, market uncertainty, bandwidth
commoditization, legacy technology constraints and limited capital. Careful consideration of each can guide
strategic priorities. The future of the global telecom market is unsettled for several reasons. Most pressing is
that carriers have yet to discover a likely source for the next wave of revenue growth. Furthermore, no one can
currently foretell how deregulation, competition, bankruptcy and consolidation will affect the overall industry
structure and dynamics.
Adding to the uncertainty, basic telecom services (fixed and wireless voice) have reached saturation levels and
are now competing aggressively with each other. In the past, carriers relied on increasing their customer bases
to grow revenues. Now, they need to make more money from the assets used to provide core services; for
example, offering a digital subscriber line over the same access line or network as fixed-line voice. Further,
anticipated growth markets for data (such as, hosting, application services, wireless Internet) failed to emerge
as predicted. Telecoms are not earning the revenues (nor are investors willing to provide the capital) to invest
in new growth opportunities.
The market is becoming very difficult to read and what's really driving most of the investments is anybody's
guess. It has been a difficult couple of years to make decisions about what direction wireless infrastructure is
going to take - 2.5G vs 3G, CDMA vs W-CDMA, or Voice Vs Data.
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Scope and Methodology
Scope
This research service reviews advances in the wireless telecommunication industry that have applications in the
electronics industry. The research service has an array of information on organizations, companies,
universities, research institutions, and government agencies involved in the R&D of electronic materials.
Contact details have also been provided for most of these organizations. A summary of key patents will give
one an insight into notable activities, technology trends, and important players in this arena.
The research service first covers research work related to 2G and 2.5G technologies, then delves on the
position of 3G technology and takes up from there to focus on 4G technology. The report also focuses on the
various wireless standards and technologies prevalent today in local area networks(LAN), personal area
networks(PAN) and broad band wireless wide area networks(WAN).
The research service distinguishes itself by focusing on user concerns by examining the practical and
pragmatic applications of wireless technologies that address real-world issues and problems, with tangible
results. First, there is the depth of its research, which goes far beyond merely exploring and forecasting overall
technology markets, but also focuses on examining the telecommunication industry and applications that drive
the larger markets. Second, Frost & Sullivan provides a dual focus on discovering trends of the vendor and the
needs of the user communities.
The research service will not only examine best practices and other qualitative aspects of organizations in this
industry, but will also provide relevant drivers and restraints within the major technology sectors.
In a gist, this research service:
1) Provides a synopsis of the emerging technologies and applications for wireless telecommunication
technologies.
2) Analyzes technological trends that might affect market size and growth.
3) Enlists recent developments in the field of wireless technologies.
4) Identifies potential commercial applications.
5) Provides a summary of key patents that will give an insight into notable activity and important players.
6) Reports technology drivers as well as challenges in the way of commercial success.
7) Provides a detailed list of key contacts in the field, including names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail
ids, and URLs.
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Executive Summary
Methodology
The information presented in this research service is based on an analysis and review of academic research
papers and corporate product literature, as well as information found in the scientific and trade press. This
information has been verified and expanded upon through primary research, by way of interviews with
corporations, researchers, developers, and other market participants. In addition to the interviews and primary
research, some secondary sources are used to develop a more complete mosaic of the market landscape.
Highlights and Key Findings
Wireless Communication--Technology Advances Lead to Productivity and Efficiency
Wireless communications has entered an extraordinary new era, one that provides new opportunities for
organizations to increase productivity and efficiency, create strategic differentiation in highly competitive
markets, and enable richer communications with customers, vendors, and key staff. This new wireless era is
occurring against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, compressed decision-making time frames, increased
competition on almost every front, and concerns about crisis preparedness and response that are new to many
in both business and government. Think of the power and efficiencies of being away from the office and
having a conversation with a key customer while reading and responding to e-mail from another customer, all
with a single wireless handheld device. Imagine the competitive implications of instantly alerting field
personnel to a major development and having mobile field staff update central databases in real time. Envision
the ability to rely on a wireless voice and data network in a crisis or maintain continuous wireless voice and
data communications channels with key vendors and customers. These capabilities are here today and are
already being successfully deployed by some of the most innovative and competitive organizations.
There are two different perspectives on wireless networks. One is based on the traditional telecommunication
and carriers and this is the world that produced the major cellular standards such as GSM, CDMA and
bluetooth. These are very vertical in nature in that they seem to specify not only how the radio protocol works,
but also user applications such as how you send an SMS message, how authentication happens, how the voice
traffic is encoded and so on.
In contrast, WLANs use a computer networking that is a very different world and tend to be a lot more
horizontal in nature. A WLAN standard lets one know how you videoconference, or how you download data or
communicate. All it prescribes is how you transport Ethernet packets and anything you can do with Ethernet
packets, you can do with WLANs. You implement one to two layers of the protocol stack, and then place
anything on top of that you want.
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People around the globe are beginning to recognize the great potential of the wireless Web and m-Commerce.
The skyrocketing growth in cell phone use throughout the world is evidence of the popularity and swift take-up
of mobile technologies. Once the mobile communications network is fully developed, more sophisticated
devices are made available and services improve, the wireless Web will expand radically. These changes
combined with killer applications which allow users to access the information and products they want at
anytime, from any place will drive m-commerce.
Device limitations such as screen quality and unreliable service also play a part in consumers’ current
reluctance. With the rapid development of voice recognition software and its integration into wireless devices,
screen size and readability will cease to be drawbacks. Consumers will soon be able to speak their questions or
requests into their wireless devices and receive verbal responses.
Addressing the consumer’s wish list is key to growth in wireless Web connectivity and commerce. Consumers
want high-speed access, better user interfaces and lower connection costs before they will pursue their personal
wireless visions. However, only a small percentage of the mobile community uses its devices to access the
Internet, while an even smaller percentage of people shop through the devices.
Enterprises today are seeing real benefits from the use of mobile devices and applications. From sales
representatives taking orders at customer sites, to field service personnel remotely accessing account history, to
executives checking e-mail, mobile devices are becoming as ubiquitous as they are versatile.
Industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and distribution are already recognizing
the benefits of wireless and mobile computing.
Highlights and Key Findings
Presently, it is very evident that there are distinct geographical groupings that are pushing a particular
technology- Europe pushing GSM, the United States pushing TDMA and CDMA, and Asia using almost all the
technologies. The result is a wide variety of technology developments taking place in each continent and yet
not fully compatible with each other. Users switching from one carrier to another using a different technology
have to use a different hand set or a dual mode handset. Also, the features supported by one carrier may not
support another.
The four main digital technologies used in the United States are code division multiple access (CDMA), global
system for mobile communications (GSM), integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN), and time division
multiple access (TDMA). These four technologies are commonly referred to as second generation, or 2G,
because they succeeded the first generation of analog cellular technology, advanced mobile phone systems
(AMPS).
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Executive Summary
Beyond the 2G digital technologies, mobile telephone carriers have been deploying next-generation network
technologies that allow them to offer mobile data services at higher data transfer speeds and, in some cases,
increased voice capacity. TDMA/GSM carriers are deploying general packet radio service (GPRS or
GSM/GPRS), a packet-based data-only network upgrade that allows for faster data rates by aggregating up to
eight 14.4 kbps channels. GPRS's maximum data throughput rate is 115 kbps, but customers typically
experience download speeds ranging from 30 kbps to 60 kbps. After rolling out GPRS, most US TDMA/GSM
carriers plan to deploy enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) and eventually wideband CDMA
(WCDMA), also known as the universal mobile telecommunications system, or (UMTS). EDGE and WCDMA
are expected to raise peak network speeds from 384 kbps to 473 kbps and 2 Mbps to 2.4 Mbps, respectively.
Many CDMA carriers have been upgrading their networks to CDMA2000 1xRTT (also referred to as
CDMA2000 1X or 1xRTT), a technology that doubles voice capacity and allows maximum data throughput
rates of 144 kbps. Actual download speeds range from 30 kbps to 70 kbps. The next step in the CDMA
migration beyond 1xRTT is CDMA2000 1X EV-DO (evolution-data only, EV-DO) or 1X EV-DV (evolution
data and voice, EV-DV), which allow maximum data throughput speeds of 2.4 Mbps and 3.09 Mbps,
respectively, and speeds ranging from 300 kbps to 700 kbps.
3G will offer multimedia capabilities and even location-enabled features. For instance, a user will be able to
carry on a voice conversation while surfing the Internet, or participate in a video conference while sending a
fax. What's more, 3G will offer a true global wireless system, permitting users to roam all over the world and
make connections with anyone, anywhere.
Moreover, it is the totality of the circumstances, including prices, the number of competitors, investment levels,
and churn rates, as well as the other metrics, that indicates the extent of competition in the growing wireless
industry. Continued downward price trends, the continued expansion of mobile networks into new and existing
markets, high rates of investment, and churn rates of about 30%, when considered together with the other
metrics, demonstrate a high level of competition for mobile telephone consumers.
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Description
Technology Evolution--From Analog to Digital
Wireless services started with a blueprint that relied on cellular technology. The word 'cellular' connotes that
each geographic region of coverage is broken up into cells. Within each of these cells is a radio transmitter as
well as control equipment. The first cellular services, which operated at 800 MHz, used analog signals. Analog
sends signals using a continuous stream or wave. When a cellular phone customer turns on his phone, a signal
is sent that identifies him as a customer, makes sure he is a paying customer, then searches out a free channel
to fit his call.
PCS, or personal communications services which operated at 1850 MHz, followed years later. New entrants
into the wireless market chose digital technology instead of analog. These companies saw the promise in
building up PCS (personal communications services) systems based on digital, and hoped to benefit from
continued growth.
Some cellular operators saw this evolution coming, too. They, too, looked to benefit from digital technology by
backing a technique that combined both mediums: digital-analog, known as D-AMPS 136, the next upgrade
from cellular. This was intended to improve on an analog-only network. The upgrade was done to protect their
investment in the cellular network while still being able to provide some of tomorrow's services that their
customers will demand. While digital upgrades are growing and more and more operators are switching over to
digital, by some estimates half the world's wireless users still use the basic analog system.
Unlike analog which sends signals using a continuous stream, digital technology works by sampling pieces of
the wave, chopping it up and then sending it in bursts of data. Digital technology encodes the voice into bit
streams. It is this delivery that makes digital more suitable to carry data, not to mention more secure. It
provides faster data speeds, which will come in handy when the Internet meets the airwaves. Other benefits of
digital include better usage of bandwidth, or the power of the frequency, and less chance of a corrupted call.
These features and others, including security, have been touted by the new PCS systems around the country.
One of digital's drawbacks, however, is that its different technologies result in lackluster coverage area. There
are three digital wireless technologies: CDMA (code-division multiple access), TDMA (time-division multiple
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access), and GSM (global system for mobile communication), so phones that work with one technology may
not necessarily work on another network that supports a different technology.
Drawbacks aside, digital is shaping up to be the technology of the future. When customers switch their landline
phones for wireless phone, the new system will most likely be based on digital technology. This phenomenon,
called wireless local loop--or using wireless as one would use a fixed phone--is especially taking off globally
in countries where telephone infrastructure is scarce and expensive to install. Wireless phones are the quick
and easy way for a wireless operator to get phones and phone services out to customers. And with the tidal
wave of new data applications being designed and implemented for digital networks, digital looks like the
'next-generation technology' winner.
Use of airwaves to send information is not new; it has been mainly used by intelligence to send sensitive
information. However, it soon began to be used for civilian applications, too, starting off with car phones
around 1947 in the United States. In the initial stages (first generation services) , one central tower sent radio
frequency signals on air which was picked up by mobile units. As the geographical area expanded, the power
required to transmit also increased, leading to higher interference, larger, clumsy equipment and inability to
handle larger numbers of subscribers.
The Real Cellular Services - 2G Technologies
The need to accommodate larger numbers of subscribers brought in the concept of 'cell' (2nd generation
services), breaking up a larger geographical area into smaller cells, each of which will have a low-powered
transmission tower. Keeping the power low enables the frequencies to be reused in other cells far away from
each other, thus making better use of the available spectrum. In addition to the introduction of cells, the
modulation/multiplexing techniques also underwent change. Instead of sending one voice per channel,
multiplexing allowed many voice conversations to be simultaneously sent over the same channel. Prominent
among the multiplexing techniques were TDMA and CDMA.
In TDMA, if there were eight calls to be sent over the same channel, each of the calls would be given 1/8th of
the time in rotation. In CDMA, the eight calls are encoded and sent at the same time. Apart from these two,
there is also the less popular FDMA, where frequency division was the basis for multiple access. TDMA and
CDMA form the core of most of the cellular networks world over. GSM, the dominant standard in Europe, is
based on a version of TDMA.
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Table 2-1. Technology Analysis: The frequency band and classification of each type of technology
Technology
Classification
Frequency Band
AMPS (analog or FDMA)
Analog Cellular
800 MHz
CDMA (IS-95)
Digital Cellular or PCS
800 MHz or 1900 MHz
TDMA)
Digital Cellular or PCs
800 MHz or 1900 MHz
GSM 1900 (PCS-1900 or DCS-1900)
PCS
1900 MHz only
TDMA (IS-136, Digital-AMPS, D-AMPS or NA-
Source: Frost & Sullivan
A Burden of Many Technologies and Standards
Today’s mobile and wireless technologies, PC/LAN and even WAN environment comprise a patchwork of
different technologies, standards and works-in-progress. This complexity is most evident in the following
areas.
Devices
While enterprise desktop systems are relatively standardized, wireless devices come in many forms, are
manufactured by multiple vendors and run on many different operating systems. Pocket PC, Windows CE,
Palm OS, RIM and RIM/J2ME often must be supported in some combination of standards and operating
systems. Vendors of wireless-capable devices include HP, Palm, Sony, Kyocera, Samsung, Handspring and
Research in Motion, just to name a few. In addition, while some of these combinations are similar, no two
configurations have identical management interfaces. Further complicating the situation, each operating system
and hardware vendor continues to release new versions of hardware, software, device drivers and applications.
Networks and Standards
Unlike the PC environment, which has standardized on Ethernet and TCP/IP connectivity throughout the LAN
and WAN, wireless networks are more diverse and require relationships with multiple service providers to
achieve nationwide coverage. Wireless network technologies encompass multiple connection standards (eg.
CDMA, GPRS, 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g) and evolving security standards (WEP, LEAP, TLS, TTLS,
802.1x, 802.11I, etc.), all made more difficult by vendor-to-vendor hardware and software incompatibilities.
For wireless LANs, 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g are in place or coming soon. Wireless WAN coverage
entails a patchwork of network types and carrier coverage maps. Even if a single primary carrier is selected,
roaming agreements will increase cost and will require some knowledge of other carriers to troubleshoot and
resolve problems.
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Globally, Frost & Sullivan sees the market for the next five years as flat. Although there are signs of increasing
volumes in W-CDMA and CDMA 2000 networks, there is extreme pressure on system prices. Despite
relatively flat top line growth, there are clear regional differences. For instance, the amount of money that was
spent on 3G systems really crushed the balance sheets of many organizations, but 3G networks are being
deployed by Hutchinson, UK and Australia. The United States also has made heavy investments in the last year
and has migrated from legacy networks on to global standards, from TDMA-based networks to GSM and
CDMA networks .
3G deployments--WCDMA or CDMA 2000--are several years away . In Asia Pacific, Japan has been the
forerunner in deploying WCDMA. DoCoMo has captured the market, with about 30% of its revenue coming
from data services. The company has also achieved critical mass on its wide-band CDMA .
Emerging markets--China, India, and the former Soviet Union--have a different story. Deployment in these
countries are driven by voice and by competitive prices compared to America or Europe. So there is immense
pressure on equipment manufacturing companies to reduce system costs. Migrations are seen from pure ATMbased networks to multi-service networks .
Within the base stations some of the new technologies are adaptable antenna, and multi user detection, which
improves capacity and removes the cost factor. Multi-standard and multi-platform are single base systems that
can support GSM, GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA , from one perspective.
RF companies developing adaptable RF and antenna still face problems. It is difficult to design a device that
operates over different bands and is efficient. So there are companies still trying to build multi-band, multibandwidth products with multi reconfigurable standards.
The challenge for telecommunication technology companies is to bring the multi-standard to the market place,
include developing antenna technology to support multi-bands, and developing chips that are flexible, consume
less power and are available at an affordable price.
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Existing Technology--What New Innovations are Up Against
2G Technology
AMPS
AMPS (advanced mobile phone service) is a standard system for analog signal cellular telephone service in the
United States and is also used in other countries. It is based on the initial electromagnetic radiation spectrum
allocation for cellular service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1970. Introduced by
AT&T in 1983, AMPS became and currently still is the most widely deployed cellular system in the United
States.
AMPS allocates frequency ranges within the 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum to cellular telephones. Each
service provider can use half of the 824 MHz to 849 MHz range for receiving signals from cellular phones and
half the 869 MHz to 894 MHz range for transmitting to cellular phones. The bands are divided into 30 kHz
sub-bands, called channels. The receiving channels are called reverse channels and the sending channels are
called forward channels. The division of the spectrum into sub-band channels is achieved using frequency
division multiple access (FDMA).
As a user moves out of the cell's area into an adjacent cell, the user begins to pick up the new cell's signals
without any noticeable transition. The signals in the adjacent cell are sent and received on different channels
than the previous cell's signals, so that the signals don't interfere with each other.
The analog service of AMPS has been updated with digital cellular service by adding to FDMA a further
subdivision of each channel using TDMA. This service is known as digital AMPS. Although AMPS and DAMPS originated for the North American cellular telephone market, they are now used worldwide with over 74
million subscribers, according to Ericsson, one of the major cellular phone manufacturers.
TDMA
TDMA (time division multiple access) is a technology for digital transmission of radio signals. Time division
multiplexing is one of the most popular cellular technologies in use in the world today, powering nearly 60% to
70% of the worldwide networks and cellular subscribers. As mentioned earlier, TDMA combines three calls in
a single frequency band by rotating access to the calls, every millisecond. The technology is also known as DAMPS (digital advanced mobile phone service). TDMA is based on the popular IS-136 standard, which was
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previously known as D-AMPS IS-136. It is a digital, wireless standard that is feature rich, flexible, efficient
and widely implemented. The IS-136 standard was first specified in 1994, and builds on the previous digital
standard called IS-54B. In TDMA, the frequency band is split into several channels, which are stacked into
short time units. This means several calls can share a single channel without interfering with one another.
TDMA is the basis for digital advanced mobile phone system, digital enhanced cordless technology, personal
communication system (PCS, again mainly in use in United States), personal digital communication (PDC) and
the most popular of them all, global system for mobile communication (GSM, mainly in use in Europe and
parts of Asia). Each of these use a variant of the TDMA schema.
TDMA is a growing technology, and is one of the world’s most widely deployed digital wireless systems.
TDMA network operators provide mobile services to more than 80 million subscribers in over 100 countries.
The technology is represented across all regions of the world and its escalating growth rate is set to continue
for years to come. TDMA operators have the choice of following the GSM or CDMA technology evolution
path to 3G. It also has a natural evolution path for analog AMPS networks and has also attracted many new
network operators. It offers efficient coverage and is well suited to emerging applications such as wireless
virtual private networks.
CDMA
CDMA (code division multiple access) refers to any of several protocols used in 2G and 3G wireless
communications. CDMA allows numerous signals to occupy a single transmission channel, optimizing the use
of available bandwidth. CDMA is an IS-95 based digital technology for delivering mobile telephone services.
CDMA systems have been in commercial operation since 1995, and these systems now support over 95 million
subscribers worldwide. CDMA networks operate in the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands with primary
markets in the Americas and Asia. IS-95 CDMA technology provides for both voice and data services up to
speeds of 64 Kbits/sec, as well as integrated voice mail and SMS services.
The technology is used in ultra-high-frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz
bands.
CDMA employs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in combination with spread spectrum technology. Audio
input is first digitized into binary elements. The frequency of the transmitted signal is then made to vary
according to a defined pattern (code), so it can be intercepted only by a receiver whose frequency response is
programmed with the same code, so it follows exactly along with the transmitter frequency. There are trillions
of possible frequency-sequencing codes; this enhances privacy and makes cloning difficult.
The CDMA channel is nominally 1.23 MHz-wide. CDMA networks use a scheme called soft handoff, which
minimizes signal breakup as a handset passes from one cell to another. The combination of digital and spread-
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spectrum modes support several times as many signals per unit bandwidth as analog modes. CDMA is
compatible with other cellular technologies; this allows for nationwide roaming. The original CDMA standard,
also known as CDMA One (standards specified in ITU IS-95 first specified in 1993) and still common in
cellular telephones in the United States, offers a transmission speed of only up to 14.4 Kbps in its single
channel form (IS-95A) and up to 115 Kbps (IS-95B) in an eight-channel form. CDMA2000 and wideband
CDMA (3 G technologies) deliver data many times faster.
GSM
GSM (global system for mobile communications) is the most widely adopted mobile standard in the world.
GSM uses a variation of the TDMA scheme and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephone
technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA). GSM digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down a channel
with two other streams of user data, each in its own time slot. It operates at the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz or 1900
MHz frequency band. GSM family comprises GSM900, GSM1800 and GSM1900 standards. GSM800 is
typically used in urban areas with high user concentration while GSM 1800 (also known as DCS 1800 or PCN)
is used in rural areas with dispersed user base. GSM 1900 is typically limited to United States and is called the
PCS. More than 835 million subscribers in 400 networks in 195 countries today use GSM to increase business
efficiency and to keep contacts with family and friends. In this market, Ericsson is the number one supplier of
GSM networks in all regions. In fact, half of all GSM calls made anywhere in the world are connected by an
Ericsson system. Because GSM is the most widely used mobile system in the world, for most operators GPRS
is the easiest and most logical way of offering users mobile messaging and multimedia services.
The developing world will account for a large proportion of the next billion users. With many unable to afford
today's subscription and service rates, operators must find ways to give people with limited resources access to
communication.
2.5G Technology
HSCSD
High-speed circuit switched data (HSCSD) is an enhanced data service (circuit switched data - CSD) of current
GSM networks. It allows transmission at 38.4 kbps (4 times of that achieved in GSM) by using 4 voice
channels and allows you to access non-voice services, 3 times faster. Like in GSM, the channels are blocked
for the time of use. It allows you to access your company LAN, send and receive e-mails, and access the
Internet while on the move. The technology can be easily implemented using just software upgrades, making
quick upgrade a possibility for the operators. HSCSD is currently available to 90 millions subscribers across 25
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countries around the world and with the implementation of international roaming agreements between all
HSCSD operators, the move just got easier.
HSCSD is offered to subscribers using either voice terminals that support the feature, or a special PCMCIA
portable computer card, with a built-in GSM phone that turns notebook computers and other portable devices
into a complete high-speed mobile office with the ability to make voice calls hands free, as well as data
transfer. This service is useful to customers who wish access their office Intranet or their mails or files stored
outside their primary storage areas. If a customer is traveling out of his country it allows him to connect to a
local ISP, or directly to his office using the cellular device rather than a fixed line, and benefit from significant
improvements in rates of transfer. For the end users, it means higher throughput at slightly higher prices. This
throughput allows irritation-free Internet browsing and even video conferencing.
GPRS
General packet radio service, (GPRS) a key wireless data technology, is expected to be implemented widely in
the next few years. GPRS is a packet-linked technology that enables high-speed wireless Internet and other
data communications.
It provides more than four times greater speed that conventional GSM systems and can transmit data at higher
rates of up to 100 kbps (GSM can at 9.6 kbps), supports both IP as well as X.25 (ensures compatibility with
majority of the worldwide data networks) and allows for simultaneous voice/data transmission. Using a packet
data service, subscribers are always connected and always on line so services will be easy and quick to access.
The higher speed/bandwidth will allow the operators to offer content-rich services like multimedia and gaming
applications on-line. GPRS allows the operator to become the ISP, making the process much simpler for the
end-user. GPRS achieves the higher throughput of 100 kbps by combining 8 voice channels (14.4kbps
achievable on one voice channels). Since it is packetized, the channels are used only as long as necessary,
making multiple transmissions possible.
GPRS is a new non-voice value-added service that allows information to be sent and received across a mobile
telephone network. It supplements today's circuit switched data and short message service. GPRS is not related
to GPS (the global positioning system), a similar acronym that is often used in mobile contexts. Theoretical
maximum speeds of up to 171.2 kilobits per second (kbps) are achievable with GPRS using all eight timeslots
at the same time. This is about ten times as fast as current circuit switched data services on GSM networks.
However, it should be noted that it is unlikely that a network operator will allow all timeslots to be used by a
single GPRS user. Additionally, the initial GPRS terminals (phones or modems) are supporting only one to
four timeslots. The bandwidth available to a GPRS user will therefore be limited.
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GPRS facilitates instant connections whereby information can be sent or received immediately, subject to radio
coverage. No dial-up modem connection is necessary. This is why GPRS users are sometimes referred to be as
being 'always connected'.
EDGE
EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) is an evolution over GPRS and uses the same physical
infrastructure. EDGE provides three times the data capacity of GPRS. Using EDGE, operators can handle three
times more subscribers than GPRS, triple their data rate per subscriber, or add extra capacity to their voice
communications. This technology gives GSM the capacity to handle services for 3G mobile telephony. EDGE
uses the same TDMA frame structure, logic channel and 200 kHz carrier bandwidth as today's GSM networks,
which allows existing cell plans to remain intact. It introduces new methods at the physical layer including a
new form of modulation (8 PSK) which enhances error correction, leading to throughput as high as 500 kbps.
However, the gateways such as GGSN and SGSN are retained, enabling EDGE to be deployed over GPRS
networks. Further, since TDMA/IS-136 networks will also be using the same gateways (GGSN and SGSN),
roaming between GSM and TDMA networks will become possible with EDGE.
Drivers and Challenges
Drivers
At present, the uptake of wireless technology is primarily based on voice calls. However, local businesses can
harness the value-add of mobility beyond voice by using data applications, which have become crucial for
competitive advantage.
The launch of GPRS has made business mobility come into its own by providing a quicker return on
investment (ROI) through time-saving benefits, less margin for errors, cheaper costs, less paperwork, more
sales revenue and an added more flexible, portable and quantifiable means of exchanging information or data.
New devices will be expected to run advanced computing functions such as streaming audio, video and data.
The growth of wireless mobile Internet devices--personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, web tablets
and Internet appliances--will fuel the growth of wireless Internet which, in turn, was fueled by new
technologies such as 2.5G technologies, such as GPRS EDGE and other worldwide broadband standards.
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Challenges
To deliver the present 2G and 2.5G technologies to the world's next billion users, operators must focus on both
their own and their subscribers' costs. The challenge is to maintain profit while addressing new subscriber
segments that generate lower average revenue per user (ARPU) than today's subscribers. This must be done
while maintaining the existing premium segment. Some potential new subscribers live in areas that do not yet
have coverage, but most live in areas already covered by GSM networks. They cannot afford the phones or the
services.
The telecom industry must now provide solutions that lower operators' capital and operating expenditures. This
will let them address both segments without compromising their bottom lines. GSM is an established
technology with a global footprint that allows economies of scale.
Emerging Technology - 3G
Analysis of the Technology and its Applications
The wireless world is evolving rapidly and the demand for untethered access is becoming increasingly more
important. People today want the ability to communicate on their own terms, to get connected and stay
connected in order to send and receive information in any form - voice, text, image, or video. In short, they
want the ability to rely on a wireless device to liberate them from the traditional ways they work and play by
connecting them to the mobile services they want and need in order to enrich their lives..
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the arm of the United Nations that oversees global
telecommunications systems, is overseeing worldwide efforts to define 3G wireless standards. These standards,
known as International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), will provide universal coverage and
enable seamless roaming across multiple networks. The original vision of IMT-2000 was to create a single
system, common to all global regions. However, most of the world's wireless service providers invested
heavily in their 2G wireless systems. Many of these carriers have demanded that 3G networks evolve
gracefully from their existing digital systems, in order to protect their investments in 2G technology. As a
result, in 1997, the IMT-2000 vision evolved into the idea of creating a family of systems. The goal now is to
upgrade all the world's 2G systems - including CDMA, TDMA and GSM, to comply with a common set of 3G
requirements.
3G refers to a type of mobile-phone infrastructure with a higher data capacity than previous networks (such as
2G and 2.5G). The main benefit of 3G should be easier use of the mobile Internet. Activities such as video
broadcasting via mobile phone should also become possible. 3G technology will also allow subscribers to
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access several services at once. For instance, a user will be able to carry on a voice conversation while surfing
the Internet, or participate in a videoconference while sending a fax. What's more, the 3G will offer a true
global wireless system, permitting users to roam all over the world and connect with anyone, anywhere.
How big is the market for it? Major telecoms operators thought it was huge and in early 2000, they dug
themselves deep into debt by bidding wildly for 3G licenses. However, investors disagreed, and the operators'
share prices and credit ratings sank. Whether consumers want it is unclear: As of now users seem to be content
with text messaging and simple data communication. Moreover, competitive technologies such as WLANs are
emerging that could render 3G irrelevant.
Japan became the first country to roll out 3G, in October 2001, after a five-month delay due to technical
problems. South Korea, using a slightly different network, also claims to be the world's leader in the adoption
of 3G technology. Even America with a variant of the CDMA technology has surpassed Europe, whose 3G
roll-out, led by mobile videophones in spring 2003, has gone technologically awry.
Besides creating a true global roaming capability, 3G will substantially improve users' ability to access data. It
features circuit-switched capabilities for voice communication and packet-switched capabilities for high-speed
data services. While current wireless systems are limited to a relatively slow 14.4 Kbps, third generation
networks will initially boost data speeds up to 384 Kbps. Later, data speeds are expected to reach up to 2
Mbps, particularly for indoor, fixed wireless users. What's more, 3G systems use only as much bandwidth as
necessary for each particular application. When a user makes a voice call, the system automatically allocates 8
Kbps. When the user wants to video conference or surf the Internet, the system automatically allocates more
bandwidth.
The Japanese have been the most aggressive in their push toward developing this technology because they have
the most pressing need. Their demand for cellular service has exploded in recent years, and spectrum shortages
in Japan are beginning to limit wireless growth. In addition, the Japanese government's Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications has stated that it will only allocate new spectrum for systems that are 3G compliant. As a
result, Japanese wireless operators have been setting the pace for international standardization efforts.
Japanese telecommunications operators such as NTT DoCoMo, the largest telecommunications company in the
world, and Japan Telecom are focusing on wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) as their preferred technology for 3G
services. DDI and IDO, currently cmdaOne (a type of CDMA, also known as IS-95) operators, are promoting
wideband-cmdaOne technology, which provides a better evolution path for IS-95.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is developing a European set of 3G standards,
called the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). The current UMTS proposal, now called
UMTS terrestrial radio access (UTRA), focuses on ways that GSM technology can evolve into 3G by taking
advantage of wideband CDMA technology.
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In North America, major efforts are under way by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), a
group responsible for public, mobile and personal communications systems standards, to determine the
evolution path of cmdaOne and TDMA (IS-136) technology into 3G. On the CDMA side, with the support of
the CDMA development group an international consortium of CDMA operators, wideband CMDAOne is the
technology of choice. It offers higher capacity and more advanced multimedia services than current 2G CDMA
systems. In contrast to W-CDMA, wideband cmdaOne permits cost-effective operation within 5 MHz wide
spectrum bands in each direction, an important consideration for PCS carriers in the smaller, narrower D, E,
and F spectrum blocks. wideband cmdaOne is being designed to build upon the existing capabilities of
cmdaOne, and there is even a proposal that will permit coexistence of 2G and 3G cmdaOne within the same 5
MHz spectrum band.
The universal wireless communications consortium (UWCC), a trade association of TDMA carriers, is
evaluating how TDMA can evolve into 3G. At this time, the air interface preferred by the UWCC is called
UWC-136, a hybrid system which incorporates IS-136+ for voice and EDGE. The EDGE air interface is
targeted to provide a high-speed data solution that can be deployed in limited spectrum blocks of 1 MHz in
each direction. The 3G revolution is taking place in three fronts: Japan, Europe and North America.
Table 2-2. 3G System capabilities
Capability to support circuit and packet data at high bit rates:
· 144 kbps or higher in high mobility (vehicular) traffic
· 384 kbps for pedestrian traffic
· 2 Mbps or higher for indoor traffic
Interoperability and roaming
Common billing/user profiles:
· Sharing of usage/rate information between service providers
· Standardized call detail recording
· Standardized user profiles
Capability to determine geographic position of mobiles and report it to
both the network and the mobile terminal
Support of multimedia services/capabilities:
· Fixed and variable rate bit traffic
· Bandwidth on demand
· Asymmetric data rates in the forward and reverse links
· Multimedia mail store and forward
· Broadband access up to 2 Mbps
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Characteristics and Applications of 3G
Presently, there is increasing conjecture as to type of applications which will attract users to adopt the
technology. While most agree that the transmission of voice traffic will remain the primary business of mobile
networks, much of the discourse being used to promote 3G centers on more advanced applications, such as the
ability to send and receive e-mail while mobile, or conduct Web searches from a handheld terminal.
At present, 3G is a manufacturer-led technology, with most of the world’s major mobile phone manufacturers
heavily involved in promoting its potential services. However, despite multi-billion dollar investments by
various carriers, the fact remains that the technology is still yet to be fully proven, and many questions still
exist about its technical and economic viability.
3G or not 3G: Characteristics of the Technology
As is the case with many forms of technology, advances in mobile communications networks are often
discussed in terms of ‘generations’ with the shift between eras defined by a significant increase in
technological sophistication. . While analogue transmission was usually adequate for voice traffic, it was
generally unsuitable for data, and like all forms of analogue transmission, was relatively susceptible to
interference from a range of sources.
Table 2-3 Characteristics and Capabilities
Generation
Technology
Capabilities
1G
AMPS - Advanced Mobile Phone Service
Analog voice service. No data service
2G
TDMA -Time Division Multiple Access
CDMA, TDMA and PDC offer one-way data
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
transmissions only Enhanced calling features
CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access
like caller ID. No always-on data connection
Digital voice service 9.6K to 14.4K bit/sec.
Superior voice quality Up to 2M bit/sec.
3G
W-CDMA - Wide-band Code Division Multiple
always-on data Broadband data services like
Access
video and multimedia Enhanced roaming
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The transition to 2G of services was defined by a switch to digital transmission, which opened the way for a
variety of services to be added to existing mobile networks. In addition to improving the quality of voice
transmission, 2G networks allowed carriers to provide services like caller identification. More importantly, the
digital nature of transmission allowed users to engage in one-way data transmission at speeds up to 14.4 Kbps.
Although painfully slow compared to fixed line transmission speed, these digital networks allowed mobile
users to send and receive small amounts of data, with applications such as short message service (SMS) being
the most obvious example here.
3G networks employ similar technologies to that used in by 2G carriers. However, the capacity of the newer
infrastructures is greatly enhanced. With transmission rates of up to 2 Mbps, 3G networks have the capacity to
provide users with broadband services like video transmission and Internet searching, thus providing wireless
connectivity at levels previously only possible through fixed-line terminals.
UMTS/WCDMA
A new generation of fast, data-rich, multimedia services accessed instantly over mobile handsets is emerging
worldwide. The technology which makes this possible is named 3G telecommunications. Every telecom
operator, developer and vendor in the world is going to be affected by this technology as telecommunication
evolves toward 3G networks, services and applications.
The WCDMA standard provides seamless global evolution from today’s GSM with support of the worlds’
largest mobile operators. This global choice on the part of so many operators is the result of WCDMA
technology’s robust capabilities, being built on open standards, wide ranging mobile multimedia possibility,
and vast potential economies of scale.
The good news is that the transition toward this exciting new technology will be safe, manageable and gradual.
3G is an evolution within the telecommunications industry and not a revolution. On the one hand, the
evolutionary path to 3G will be carefully managed and profitable for operators while on the other, smooth and
seamless for users.
Operators will have maximum reuse of their original investments while moving toward full 3G services at their
own speed, according to their own needs. Because WCDMA technology is evolved from existing GSM
technology, operators do not have to transform their networks when they move from 2G to 3G, or throw
infrastructure away and start from scratch. The move to 3G optimizes operators’ existing 2G infrastructure,
enabling it to co-exist profitably with the new WCDMA system. The operators’ GSM equipment-incrementally enhanced by GPRS and EDGE--can continue to offer services and generate revenue within the
WCDMA 3G network. The old and the new technology complement each other, forming a highly flexible,
seamless network system.
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As of now WCDMA is poised to dominate 3G and is fully compatible with GSM, but GSM operators can also
choose to deploy EDGE in their existing GSM spectrum, alone or together with their WCDMA networks.
EDGE is defined as a 3G technology, according to IMT-2000.
CDMA - 2000
The world's first CDMA2000 networks were launched in S. Korea in October 2000, providing 144 kbps data
rates to subscribing customers and delivering nearly twice the voice capacity that operators experience with
their cdmaOne(IS-95) systems. The success of the CDMA2000 1X systems in Korea has encouraged many
operators in the Amercias and Asia to follow through with their plans to launch CDMA 2000.
Since the spring of 2000, the evolution of 3G CDMA systems has changed dramatically. Previously the
industry was focused on a wider band approach to high data rates, commonly referred to as CDMA2000 3X or
3XRTT. The 3X standard has now been superseded by a two phase strategy called CDMA 2000 1xEV, where
1xEV stands for 1X revolution, or evolution using 1.25MHZ. Today's CDMA2000 1X systems are based on a
standard 1.25 MHz carrier for delivering high data rates and increased voice capacity.
Advances in the industry and engineering prowess contributed to new proposals for higher data throughput and
more capacity while maintaining the 1.25 MHz bandwidth. Operators and manufactures soon realized that there
were inherent cost, backward compatibility and timing advantages in keeping with the 1.25 Mhz bandwidth for
evolution. Thus, CDMA200 3X has now been put on the backburner until market demands make it necessary to
migrate to a wider band carrier (3.75MHz)
1XEV-DO
The two phases of 1xEV are labeled 1xEV-DO and 1xEV-DV. DO stands for data only, DV stands for data and
voice. CDMA20001xEV-DO was standardized by the telecommunications industry association (TIA) in
October 2000. 1xEV-DO can provide customers with peak data rates of 2.4 Mbps. To implement 1xEV-DO,
operators will have to install a separate carrier that is dedicated to data only use at each cell location where
high speed data services are demanded. However customers will be able to migrate seamlessly from a 1X to a
1xEV-DO carrier. The first 1xEV-DO systems was launched in 2002, approximately 18 months after the
launch of the first CDMA2000 1X system.
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1xEV-DV
The second phase of the 1xEV standardization was complete by 2002. Several proposals were on the table for
this phase of 3G CDMA. Operators put in high speed data and choice-of-ones carrier thereby eliminating the
need for a separate carrier as their main requirements.
•
Real-time packet data services
•
Better mechanisms for guaranteeing a given quality of service
It is too early to confirm what the final standard for 1xEV-DV will offer CDMA operators and customers, but
continued evolution with 1.25 MHz will speed rollout, lower costs and guaranteed easily maintained backward
compatibility with previous systems. 1xEV-DV systems are anticipated to be available by the end of 2004.
As core networks evolve, synergies between CDMA2000 and WCDMA networks will be beneficial to global
operators and to the industry as a whole. Interoperability in the network between carriers air interfaces and
other access media will become more and more important as wireless service providers expand the scope of
their telecommunications businesses through partnerships and increase service offerings.
Technology Challenges--3G Must Overcome Security Concerns and Competing Technologies
When looked at in this context, it becomes apparent that several major telecommunications carriers have been
willing to make multi-billion dollar investments in a technology which is yet to be successfully proven
anywhere in the world. While it is true that this is to some extent mitigated by the sheer size of the existing
user-base for mobile telephone technology, the fact remains that it still very difficult to predict the adoption
rate for 3G-based services, especially when pricing models are yet to be defined.
At the same time as industry players are selling the hype of 3G, most analysts are calling for a more cautious
approach. While agreeing that 3G technology does have the potential to radically alter current business
techniques, many writers point out that just because a technology can do something, it does not necessarily
mean that users will want that particular service. More importantly, even if the technology can deliver on all
promises, the era of high-quality video transmitted to mobile devices is still a few years off, an eternity in the
field of information technology.
Most of the analysts agree that security is an issue facing potential 3G providers. While consumers are
becoming more comfortable with carrying out transactions online, the same cannot be said for wireless
transactions. Also security remains a big issue with all consumers beginning to use 3G. If manufacturers or
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license holders hope to receive any profits from their investments, they are first going to have to convince
consumers that wireless transactions are at least as secure as landline-based operations, if not more so.
Perhaps even more worrying for potential operators is the fact that many consumers have yet to fully utilize the
capacity of current generation mobile devices.
As noted above, for many countries the reality of 3G is still some years away, but this is not to say that many
of the services commonly associated with 3G networks cannot already be obtained, albeit in a somewhat
limited form. Recent advances in transmission technologies mean that many advanced information services can
already be provided over existing mobile networks, thereby circumventing the need for massive infrastructure
development. These services, commonly referred to as 2.5G, allow for a significant increase in the amount of
data which can be transmitted to mobile devices, and allow previously limited services like WAP to be more
fully utilized. For example, general packet radio service (GPRS) allows for data transmission at a rate of up to
171.2 kbps, compared to the 9.6 KBps of the current GSM networks. More importantly, GPRS offers ‘always
on’ connectivity, with users being charged according to data transmission rather than time.
Other technologies are also offering 3G-like services, but without the associated high infrastructure costs.
Already WLAN connections are eliminating the need for 3G at all locations. For a technology which is yet to
be fully implemented anywhere in the world, the amount of hype surrounding 3G is indeed remarkable.
Hardware manufacturers in particular have been eager to extol the virtues of high-bandwidth mobility, with
most mobile phone manufacturers launching 3G specific campaigns long before any actual hardware has gone
into production.
Drivers and Restraints
Drivers
Mobility allows broader availability of connectivity and faster access to information on demand.
•
It avoids physical constraints of cables and other hardware issues
•
It is easy to deploy additional units. These networks are scalable once
The 3G market will be dominated by high-end subscribers, as an increasing number of customers connect to
corporate networks and usage levels continue to approach levels seen in the mobile office paradigm.
The availability of next-generation networks such as cdma2000, WCDMA, and TD-SCDMA will give
operators improved network efficiency, higher capacity, and the ability to begin offering high-speed wireless
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data services. At the high end of the market, these data services will provide operators with the opportunity to
diversify revenue streams from corporate customers. At the low end of the market, improved network
efficiency and capacity will drive operators to continue to target and grab the all-important first-time
subscribers. The result will be massive growth in the number of mobile subscribers.
Restraints
Some of the restraints for 3G technologies are as follows:
•
More susceptible to environmental factors such as weather and terrain.
•
Packet loss and other latency issues
•
Slower than 28.8 modem
•
Quality is usually too poor to support most client-server applications until 3G networks is completely
adopted by corporates
•
Many competing, incompatible technologies currently available, with even more technologies in
development
•
Pricey. Approx. $50/month for carrier fees.
•
3G mobile technology looks set for an uphill battle in Asia, after a rocky start in Japan, because of
high prices and sometimes poor quality of service.
While some telecoms operators are cautious about the technology, which delivers high-speed transmission of
data and video to mobile phones, analysts said operators would take a gamble on it in the hope of generating
higher returns per user.
They also need the additional spectrum for data services to ease pressure on existing voice networks.
3G handsets are expensive costing more than $500 each, and the new technology is unstable.
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4G
A Promise of Mobile Virtual Reality and Advanced Application Integration
The enthusiasm for 4G isn’t due to accelerated progress, but to the failure of 3G to meet expectations. 4G picks
up where 3G left off. According to the industry, 4G will provide for high data rates (2 Mbps to 16 Mbps) and
advanced concepts such as mobile virtual reality.
There are reasons that some aspects of 4G can be successful. 4G systems will have a physical layer based on
orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is a technology designed to resist interference
from a radio signal’s multiple paths. Since 4G systems will use the spectrum in the range of 2.4 GHz and
above, the companies that provide them will not need to buy licenses for spectrums, as these are free spectrum
bands. This will enable operators and service providers to offer high-speed data service at reasonable rates,
thereby increasing their average revenue per unit.
Unlike cellular systems, 4G systems will have a huge data pipe that can be used to cater to any kind of
application, be it voice, video-on-demand, music, data or a combination of them. The fastest way to access data
is still through 802.11b (WiFi standards) WLAN, which offers data rates between 6 Mbps and 11 Mbps. Two
technologies, 802.11a and its European counterpart HiperLAN2, will push data rates even higher, up to 72
Mbps. The difference is that HiperLAN2 is designed for WAN as well as LAN and includes more advanced
QoS and roaming features. Whichever standard gets adopted, it will lead to something similar to 4G.
The main obstacle to wireless LAN service providers is that each access point needs its own expensive T1
connection to the Internet. In a 4G system, these leased lines will be replaced by fixed or mobile wireless links,
using the same unlicensed spectrum as the wireless LANs. With the introduction of the pure packet protocol
layer (IPv6), the concept of Mobile IP becomes even more realistic. Present-day mobile IP relies on tunneling.
All packets are sent via a user's home network, which forwards them across the Internet to wherever the user
is. However, this adds extra routing hops, increasing latency and consuming bandwidth.
In 4G, mobile IP will be similar to roaming in cellular networks. Each cell phone is assigned a permanent
'home' IP address, along with a 'care-of' address that represents its actual location. When a computer
somewhere on the Internet wants to communicate with the cell phone, it first sends a packet to the phone's
home address. A directory server on the home network forwards this to the care-of address via a tunnel, as in
regular mobile IP. However, the directory server also sends a message to the computer informing it of the
correct care-of address, so future packets can be sent directly. This should enable TCP sessions and HTTP
downloads to be maintained as users move between different types of networks. Because of the many addresses
and the multiple layers of subnetting, IPv6 is needed for this type of mobility. With wireless LANs gaining in
popularity, they could very well provide the shortcut to 4G.
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In general 4G can be defined as a pure IP network architecture that operates at data rates higher than 10 Mbps.
Currently, the IEEE and ITU (working group 8F) are working to define the architecture characteristics for 4G.
Several issues need to be investigated surrounding the characteristics of 4G networks, include platform
architecture (both network protocol and air interface technology), spectrum issues, and service features.
Table 2-4. Planned characteristics of 4G mobile networks
Air interface and MAC protocol is optimized for IP traffic (IPv6, QoS).
Improvements in spectral efficiency will lower cost per bit.
Higher data rates will require additional spectrum bands; for coverage
and mobility bands below 5GHz would be most suitable - e.g. MMDS,
802.11, 802.16.
Air interface technology: looking at OFMD and MC-CDMA but the BTS
will support multiple air interface standards (GSM, IS-95, cdma2000,
3GPP WCDMA, HDR, and proprietary standards).
Packetized voice, broadband data (between 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps in
mobile mode), integrated with wireless LAN (WiFi, Bluetooth) and
WAN (WiMax) networks - will allow services such as mobile
telepresence, high-definition video.
Over-the-network programmable - will be remotely configurable.
Deployment of some form of 4G could be as early as 2006.
Spectrum and Service Capabilities
Spectrum Issues
4G will allow higher data rates but will require larger slices of spectrum than previous generations of
technology. The RF channel bandwidth could be between 20 MHz and 100 MHz compared to 1 MHz and 5
MHz for today’s 2.5G and 3G networks. The most ideal spectrum bands in the United States are the unlicensed
5 GHz band, the MMDS band (2.1 GHz) and the unlicensed 802.11b/g band (2.4 GHz). The unlicensed bands,
particularly the 2.4 GHz band, are quickly becoming crowded and interference issues could become a problem.
A carrier choosing to operate in the MMDS band would require regulatory action by the FCC to reclassify the
band as two-way mobile.
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Service Capabilities/Characteristics
As listed earlier, 4G technology will enable a wide array of new services. Because of its pure packet protocol
layer (IPv6), any enhanced voice services developed in landline VoIP solutions will be directly available in the
mobile environment. With the true mobility functionality, mobile telepresence and broadband data services,
such as high definition video, will be possible. Services will rely on end-user technology to deliver these
services, including mobile handsets with adequate battery life, and mobile units capable of displaying highdefinition video.
A wide variety of companies pushing wireless technologies will use the term 4G. At this time, ‘4G’ is strictly a
marketing term. However, the following technology developments will impact the development and adoption
of the next generation of mobile wireless networks:
•
IPv6: The mobility and QoS features of IPv6 will be a key enabler for 4G networks, allowing the
greatest leap from the circuit-switched/packet-switched hybrid mobile networks that are deployed
today to pure packet data networks.
•
VoIP: Wireline VoIP enables enhanced voice services and a first generation of telepresence.
Widespread use of VoIP enhanced features will drive demand for mobile telepresence. Deployment of
VoIP over wireline networks will serve as a barometer for the demand for shifting those services into a
mobile environment.
•
Fixed wireless (MMDS, 802.11, 802.16): By adding a mobile component to the existing wireless
WAN/LAN standards, carriers will have access to the additional spectrum that 4G data rates will
require.
•
Smart antenna technology: Flexible, multi-standard compatibility, scalability, and power efficiency
will depend on the development of smart antennas. Currently, smart antenna technology enables fixed
wireless connections without a direct line-of-site view, which previously was not possible. Further
improvements in antenna technology will assist in providing a mobile component to formerly ‘fixed’
wireless solutions.
However 4G is eventually defined, mobile 4G will be the ultimate bridge between the mobile wireless
networks and existing wireline networks.
With a stunning lack of corporate enthusiasm for wide area wireless, carriers are looking at the next generation
to spur adoption. Although the carriers will never admit that current 3G and 2.5G data services are anything
less than spectacular, they are still prepping their networks for the next generation. And wireless providers
hope 4G technologies will light a fire under the moribund market for data services on cell phones.
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Whether the technology is 1xRT (1x radio transmission) from CDMA or GPRS, coverage is still hit or miss,
performance is worse than a land-line modem, and the possibility of connecting wide area wireless to the
corporate network remains a major challenge.
Drivers for 4G
2G communication systems were earlier used purely for voice applications. The Internet turned raw data into
useful services that customers found easy to use. 3G communication technologies would combine the two to
give the user high-speed data access (144 kbps to 2 Mbps) along with better voice services. Though the
expectations for 3G services were quite high, they have failed to meet customer expectations worldwide.
Operators who were once eager to invest in 3G networks are now playing a wait and watch game. Some even
hope to write off their 3G plans and start focusing on 4G options. There are a number of reasons, including the
following:
•
The technologies implemented in 3G, namely EDGE, CDMA 2000 and W-CDMA were not as robust
as they were thought to be.
•
3G certainly gives improved data rates, but perhaps not high enough to meet return-on-investment for
the networks and services deployed.
•
From a technical perspective 3G services required comprehensive retooling of the existing network,
which resulted in high costs for the operator.
•
Also operators needed to purchase extra licenses for spectrums to deploy their services.
•
Operators also under-estimated the complexities involved in deploying 3G networks. This led to
delayed services and more money being poured down the drain.
•
Earlier 3G systems were part circuit-switched and part packet-switched networks. This led to
deploying expensive mediation equipment which also meant delays due to frequent switching.
However, this hurdle has now been removed with the 3GPP consortium coming up with
recommendations for complete packet switched systems.
•
Though 3G networks promised data rates from 144 Kbps to 2 Mbps, they achieved data rates closer to
dial-up than DSL.
•
Components used in 3G systems such as DSP processors are sophisticated as well as expensive.
What's more, they now require co-processing elements integrated into them which can be preprogrammed to meet changing customer needs.
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•
Advanced power management systems and increased battery capacities were also needed to provide
power for the inherent background switching that takes place in 3G systems.
•
The OS’s used in 2G systems were used to handle only voice. 3G systems require robust OS’s to
handle voice and data traffic.
•
Making smaller and cost effective handsets is also a challenge.
•
Finally, the challenge to develop innovative, need-based and market-oriented applications still
continues.
Noteworthy Emerging R&D Developments
Create Spintronics Material by Mixing Zinc Dioxide and Manganese--Sweden
Spintronics is a relatively new field, in which the electron's spin, not just its charge, can be exploited in devices
and circuits. The ultimate spintronics degree of control would come from controlling a circuit at the level of a
single spin. Spintronic transistors have the potential to be much faster and dissipate much less power than
conventional designs because they set and test the spins of electrons--the fundamental component of
magnetism--without needing an electric current.
The prospect of a new generation of devices that harness the spin of electrons has moved closer to reality,
following a recent experiment by Venkat Rao. His team from Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, has
successfully developed a mixture of zinc oxide and manganese at room temperature. The new ferromagnetic
material is not only a semiconductor but also exhibits exploitable magnetic properties at temperatures as high
as 177 degrees C.
Zinc oxide is a common electronic material used in mobile phones and high-speed networks. Scientists around
the world have been working to exploit zinc oxide in spintronics, but could only implement it in laboratory
conditions at extremely cold temperatures of -100 degrees C.
This breakthrough enables the technology to be applied commercially to a variety of applications, and has
opened the doors to its eventual mass production. Circuits made with the new material have the potential to run
hundreds of times faster or store thousands of times more information than current electronic designs. The
most obvious beneficiary could be the 3G or 4G telephony industry.
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Low-Energy Mobile Communications--Sweden
Flavius Gruian of the Department of Computer Science for Lund University is working on mobile platforms
containing dynamic voltage supply processors (such as Transmeta Crusoe and Intel XScale), especially those
with real-time requirements having a limited energy budget.
Gruian says he feels that his scheduling methods will benefit cellular phones and PDAs, complex medical
implants, deep-space probes, satellites, and wireless sensors. He is currently focusing on energy management
in wireless networks such as low-energy communication, especially for wireless sensor networks. Gruian says,
"With the exponential growth of PDAs, cell phones, and all types of smart embedded devices, energy
management in ad-hoc wireless networks becomes a matter of both efficient computation and communication."
In future, the main focus will be on modeling resources (energy) and activities (communication, computation)
at the network level and defining some centralized and distributed strategies for borrowing energy via task
migration between nodes.
It is his conviction that in the future, 99% of the processors will have dynamic voltage scheduling (DVS)
capability. Therefore, his work will definitely lead to commercial applications, but the extent is not yet known.
RF Systems May Get Embedded High-Q Inductors--North America
The need for integration of passive components, such as capacitors, resistors, and inductors, with electronic
circuitry increases as the complexity and operation frequency of microelectronic systems increase. Scientists at
Georgia Institute of technology are working on today's complex radio frequency (RF) devices as there is a
pressing need for high-Q inductors that can be integrated directly into silicon-based chips. Earlier attempts to
embed inductors with devices that are often too delicate for cost-effective packaging processes have delivered
less than desirable inductor performance.
Mark Allen and his team have developed surface-micromachined, epoxy-embedded high-Q electroplated
inductors. These durable and high-performance devices can be manufactured onto a silicon substrate through a
simple process that is consistent with today’s standard commercial fabrication techniques.
Allen opines that these integrated high-Q inductors can find applications in many high-frequency
microelectronic systems, especially RF systems, such as wireless phones, pagers, GPS receivers, and mobile
computers, where inductors and other passive components are critical components.
There are several advantages that the new method of embedding inductors on silicon chips carry over other
approaches to integrating passive components. The inductors are mechanically stable and durable enough to be
packaged using single injection-molding processes, as they are embedded in the epoxy molds. The
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manufacturing process is also simpler, as epoxy mold used to form the inductors need not be removed using a
lengthy etch step. The inductors can also be fabricated using low temperature processes, which make them
more compatible with standard circuit processes such as the standard complementary metal oxide
semiconductor (CMOS) process. Supported by electroplated posts and a thick dielectric layer, the inductors are
adequately separated from the silicon substrate and achieve a high-Q factor.
Sun Cycles and Antennae Position Affect Cell Phones--North America
Sunspots and solar cycles are often blamed for many things, ranging from crime reports, to weather, to
people’s behavior. More rigorous scientists have known that the emissions produced by the sun’s behavior can
produce effects on earth, including disrupted satellite reception, or bursts of noise on radar sites. Researchers at
Bell Labs and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) say in a report that cell phone reception problems
are also related to solar cycles.
In the study, the team looked at historical data covering solar activity over the past four decades. By sifting
through the data, looking for bursts of energy, the team discovered that emissions from the sun can create
enough noise in the microwave spectrum to disrupt wireless cell communications, several times each year. In
addition, during times of heavy solar activity, more cell disruptions can be expected. The sun is currently going
through a period of heavy activity. It is part of a regular solar cycle, which peaks every 11 years. The most
recent maximum point was passed in the year 2000. During these periods of high activity, the magnetic fields
on the sun shift, there can be more sunspots noted, and more flares are produced. Bursts of radio wave energy
from the sun become more prominent, and more frequent as well.
The research team noted that the impact of solar disruptions is dependent on the orientation of cell phone basestation antennae. Antennae oriented from east to west are more vulnerable to solar disruptions during mornings
and evenings, than at noon, said the researchers. In addition, they pointed out that as different portions of the
radio spectrum become more heavily used for communications, similar disruptions may be seen in these
communications bands, including those used by future generations of cell phone equipment.
Improve Contrast and Brightness in Portables--North America
Recent developments at a DuPont subsidiary, UNIAX Corp., promise a brighter future for portable technology
users who find it difficult to read palm pilot screens, computer monitors, or cell phone displays in direct
sunlight or in a dim room.
UNIAX recently licensed patents and transfers for its polymer-based organic light-emitting displays (polyOLEDs) to a German semiconductor manufacturer. The new technology will improve contrast ratio and
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brightness in all kinds of portable applications, including mobile phones and pagers as well as PDAs, MP3
players, portable game players, etc.
Nick Colaneri, Director of New Technology at UNIAX feels that poly-OLEDs are one way of making a thin
flat emissive display, and should have advantages in cost and power consumption. Colaneri elaborated that
current display technologies such as LCD, LED, field emitting, and others, each have drawbacks in terms of
image quality, power consumption, cost and/or ease of production.
For instance, LCD, the most common kind of display technology, has difficulty producing a full-color image,
has poor image quality in low ambient lighting and cannot support video rate switching. Its most popular
alternative, active matrix displays, provide much better images, but drain far more power, not to mention
consumer pocket-books.
With poly-OLEDs, a voltage is shot across a thin plastic film, initiating an electric current. According to
Colaneri, the current then excites the plastic molecules, and gives off light as it relaxes. He likened this process
to the way that day-glo plastic glows in sunlight. Because the current flow can be directed to specific spots on
the plastic film, it creates a pattern. This pattern then becomes the display.
The poly-OLED displays appear to be fairly simple and inexpensive to produce. In addition, they use far less
power than conventional display technologies. These facts have led UNIAX executives to envision glowing
prospects for their invention. "For small displays (less than 5 in. diagonally or so), and in portable applications,
poly-OLEDs are expected to be the superior choice," stated Colaneri.
Consumers won’t have to wait long to get a first-hand look at poly-OLEDs in action. DuPont has also just
entered into a joint venture with an Asian manufacturing partner. More advanced models should appear in two
to five years. With such a future ahead, portable and wireless electronics consumers better put on their shades.
Wireless Applications to Benefit from Si-Based Tunnel Diode--North America
Researchers have developed a silicon-based tunnel diode that has a high peak current density and high peak-tovalley current ratio--one that might be suited for integration with traditional Si-based production schemes.
Among other applications, compact A/D converters and oscillators for wireless applications could both benefit
from such tunnel diode technologies.
A tunnel diode is a semiconductor junction diode with an unusually heavy level of doping, on the order of
1000 impurity atoms per ten million semiconductor atoms. The heavy doping produces a device with a negative
resistance region that allows electron tunneling, and leads to very fast switching speeds. Paul Berger of Ohio
State University, feels that the union of tunnel diodes with transistors can increase circuit speed, reduce
component count, and lower power consumption due to the unique property of the tunnel diode’s negative
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differential resistance, which leads to novel quantum nonlinear functional devices and circuits. The end result
is more computational power per unit area compared to a transistor-only circuit topology, by harnessing the
tunnel diode’s folded I--V characteristics.
However, most traditional tunnel diode designs have not lent themselves to easy integration with existing
technologies. Berger and colleagues report that by using a type of tunnel diode in which electrons can switch
between different valence bands and interband tunneling diodes, high-performance devices can be made
without some of the material difficulties found in more common intraband diodes, in which electrons are
limited to one valence band.
The researchers used low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy techniques to grow layered Si/SiGe structures
with extremely high levels of boron and phosphorous doping. The new diode can conduct 150,000 A/cm2 of
material, three times the rate of the only comparable silicon tunnel diode. According to Berger, this result
demonstrates the high potential of this type of Si-based tunnel diode for high-power mixed-signal applications.
Berger says he feels that this could have enormous impact on future Si technology, beyond the 90 nm node,
especially a high-current density Si-based tunnel diode that could boost Si-based wireless technology.
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802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks
Standards Assessment and Background/Network Requirements/Security
Similar to personal computers in the 1980s and the Internet in the 1990s, wireless local-area networks (wireless
LANs) are proving to be among the next major advances of technology for businesses. And just as businesses
were forced to adopt and provide necessary security for the preceding technologies to track their users,
wireless LANs present similar productivity-boosting opportunities, while introducing new security concerns.
However, the benefits far outweigh the risks when appropriate actions are taken to minimize those risks. The
adoption of personal computers in the 1980s led to the creation of local-area networks that created the roadway
to allow communication to flow like automobiles through a city. A decade later the Internet created the
highways that efficiently connect each locality to the other. Today, wireless LANs introduce the concept of
near-complete mobility, such as that provided by air travel. Communication is no longer limited to the
infrastructure of wires providing new opportunities and challenges. Wireless LANs offer a quick and effective
extension of a wired network or standard LAN. By simply installing access points to the wired network,
personal computers and laptops equipped with wireless LAN cards can connect with the wired network at
broadband speeds from up to 300 yards from the access point.
WLAN uses radio frequency (RF) technology to transmit and receive data over the air. The Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has established the IEEE 802.11 standard, which is the
predominant standard for wireless LANs. Any LAN application, network operating system, or protocol
including TCP/IP, will run on 802.11-compliant WLANs, as they would over Ethernet. WLAN transmits on
unlicensed spectrum as agreed upon by the major regulatory agencies of countries around the world (such as
the FCC), although there is some variation by some specific countries.
WLANs are experiencing significant growth, due to cost and convenience factors. In many corporate
enterprises, WLANs have replaced or are complementing traditional cabled networks, enabling enterprises to
create and maintain a wireless network throughout their facility, be it single or multiple buildings without the
costs and physical limitations experienced with traditional cabling. WLANs provide unprecedented levels of
flexibility for workers, increasing their productivity by allowing them to roam throughout the corporate
facility, easily collaborating with colleagues, without losing access to network resources.
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The various WLAN technologies standardized by the IEEE 802.11 committee are designed for use within a
building, most frequently to connect battery-powered portable devices such as laptop computers and PDAs to
the local area network. These standards make trade-offs appropriate for their intended application, for example,
sacrificing range for the sake of reduced power consumption. As a result of their underlying technology and of
these trade-offs, 802.11 networks (unless otherwise noted, the term ‘802.11’ is used in this report to refer to
the entire family of specifications being developed by the IEEE 802.11 committee), are being increasingly
adopted.
The original 802.11 specification does not appear to have an advantage in terms of any of the criteria in the
chart, but in fact its maturity has secured it a growing niche. A number of equipment vendors offer
environmentally-hardened wireless 802.11 transceivers equipped with point-to-point outdoor antennas that
extend their range. Small, local ISPs are using these devices as a ‘last mile’ high-speed access technology for
customers who cannot be reached by DSL or cable modem lines. This need is common in rural areas; one
particular ISP is providing 802.11 broadband service to residents of islands off the coast of Sri Lanka. In these
cases, bandwidth is limited by the ISP’s wireline access network; no performance advantage results from
upgrading to a technology that provides data rates of 11 Mbps or 54 Mbps, where the landline link is limited to
T1 data rates.
Characteristics
Approval of the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networking (WLAN) and rapid progress made
toward higher data rates have put the promise of truly mobile computing within reach. While wired LANs have
been a mainstream technology for at least fifteen years, WLANs are uncharted territory for most networking
professionals.
IEEE 802.11 is limited in scope to the physical (PHY) layer and medium access control (MAC) sublayer, with
MAC origins to the IEEE802.3 Ethernet standard. IEEE 802.11 provides for two variations of the PHY. These
include two RF technologies, namely direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), and frequency hopped spread
spectrum (FHSS). The DSSS and FHSS PHY options were designed specifically to conform to FCC
regulations (FCC 15.247) for operation in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, which has worldwide allocation for
unlicensed operation.
IEEE 802.11 standard primarily addresses two separate layers of the ISO networking model. The first is the
physical network layer--lowest ISO layer that defines the physical transmission characteristics of the signal
that, in this case, is the radio signal such as the frequency, power levels, and type of modulation. The second is
the media access layer, or MAC, which is mostly made up of software-based protocols that enable devices to
talk to each other.
Some of the allocated spectrum in different countries for IEEE 802.11 standard are illustrated in Table 3-1.
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Table 3-1. Allocated Frequency Spectrum for IEEE 802.11 Standard
Country
Allocated Spectrum
US
2.4000 GHz - 2.4835 GHz
Europe
2.4000 GHz - 2.4835 GHz
Japan
2.4710 GHz - 2.4970 GHz
France
2.4465 GHz - 2.4835 GHz
Spain
2.4450 GHz - 2.4750 GHz
Channels
Channels are important to understand because they affect the overall capacity of WLAN. A channel represents
a narrow band of radio frequency. Since radio frequency modulates within a band of frequencies, there is
limited amount of bandwidth within any given range to carry data. It is important that the frequencies do not
overlap or else the throughput would be significantly lowered as the network sorts and reassembles the data
packets sent over the air.
Each channel will carry a maximum throughput for its standard. For example, the 802.11b standard has a
maximum of three non-overlapping channels carrying 11 Mbps throughput each, or 33 Mbps total throughput.
Range and Performance
The speed at which a WLAN performs depends on many things, from the efficiency of the wired network to
the configuration of the building to the type of WLAN employed. As a general rule for all WLANs, data
throughput decreases as the distance between the WLAN access point and the wireless client increases.
The 802.11 standards support multiple data rates to accommodate the loss of signal strength, while maintaining
high quality in data packet reassembly. The WLAN client constantly performs operations to detect and
automatically set the best possible speed. Subsequently, data rates may be listed as a series of numbers (such as
11, 5.5, 2, 1 Mbps for 802.11b).
The environment in which the WLAN is deployed significantly affects the range and transmission speed. For
example, an open space will allow relatively high transfer of data rates, whereas inside homes or offices, the
data rate might be affected significantly. The frequency at which 802.11b is transmitted allows it to penetrate
solid materials allowing, in most indoor environments, a maximum range of 300 ft.
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Network Requirements
The ease of setting up a WLAN is contributing to its rapid adoption. Reference the following checklist when
implementing a new WLAN or expanding an existing WLAN.
•
Hardware: WLAN consists of two main building blocks including an access point that connects to the
network and a wireless adapter installed in the computing device.
•
Access point: An access point is a small box, usually with one or two antennas. This radio-based,
receiver/transmitter is connected to the wired LAN (or broadband connection) using Ethernet cables.
•
Antennas and bridges: Antennas enhance the radio frequency coverage extending the range of an
802.11 WLAN. Bridges provide point-to-point wireless connection between two LANs, such as those
positioned on different floors.
•
Wireless adapter: A wireless adapter functions like a network interface card (NIC) in that it allows the
client computing device access to the network by means of the wireless access point.
Different Wireless LAN Standards
Wireless networks eliminate unsightly wires and cables. Instead they ensnarl you in confusing wireless
protocols with names that start with 802.11 and end with a letter.
The WLAN standards began with the 802.11 standard, developed in 1997 by the IEEE. This base standard
allowed data transmission of up to 2 Mbps. Over time, this standard has been enhanced. These extensions are
recognized by the addition of a letter to the original 802.11 standard, such as 802.11b.
The two most widely used standards are the 802.11a and 802.11b, with some competition from 802.11g.
802.11a products have only recently hit the market. These products offer two advantages over those based on
802.11b (also known as WiFi)--higher bandwidth and lower levels of expected interference (the 2.4 GHz
frequency range used by 802.11b is also used by digital cordless phones, microwave ovens and Bluetooth
devices). They are not backwards-compatible. An 802.11b laptop card cannot communicate with an 802.11a
access point, for example, which is the wireless transceiver attached to the wireline network. Some vendors are
offering products with dual transceivers to support both standards, but at a substantial cost premium.
802.11a has a far shorter range and requires more power - a significant disadvantage for battery-powered
laptop and PDA applications. It will co-exist with, rather than replace, 802.11b. The fate of 802.11g is unclear.
It offers equivalent speed and greater range than 802.11a, and compatibility with 802.11b equipment, but it
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uses the increasingly congested 2.4 GHz frequency range. Delays in approving this standard may mean that
802.11a establishes leadership in the higher speed market.
The 802.11b specification was ratified by the IEEE in July 1999 and operates at radio frequencies in the 2.4 t
GHz to 2.497 GHz bandwidth of the radio spectrum. The modulation method selected for 802.11b is known as
complementary direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) using complementary code keying (CCK), making
data speeds as high as 11 Mbps.
The 802.11e specification is fairly independent and is compatible with of any of the others.
The industry favors implementing 802.11e on the 'a' alphabet for a couple of reasons. For one, it is a cleaner
spectrum, and it has the capacity to accommodate multiple networks in congested environment. The standard
will be ratified by the end of this year or yearly next year.
Its applications are primarily for multimedia to guarantee bandwidth or for voice applications where you can't
have any disturbances. This standard 802.11e will thereby be integrated with other standards like a, b or g.
Different Wireless LAN Standards
IEEE 802.11a: Also called WiFi5. It supports speeds from 6 Mbps up to 54 Mbps, and works in unlicensed 5
GHz radio band. It will use the same MAC layer as 802.11, and is faster than 'a', which is becoming popular in
some offices. Standard includes features such as priority for certain types of traffic. This standard is
incompatible with 802.11b, and its range is 50 ft.
IEEE 802.11b: Also called Wi-Fi - the de facto standard for wireless networking. This standard supports
speeds up to 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz radio band. Several vendors offer products conforming to this standard.
The range of 802.11b is greater than that of 802.11a. On the flip side, it is susceptible to interference from
other 2.4 GHz devices.
IEEE 802.11d: LAN/MAN standard
IEEE 802.11e: Unlike other wireless initiatives, this is the first wireless standard that spans both home and
business environments. It adds quality-of-service (QoS) features and multimedia support to the existing
802.11b and 802.11a wireless standards, while maintaining full backward compatibility with these standards.
QoS and multimedia support are critical to wireless home networks where voice, video and audio will be
delivered. Broadband service providers view QoS and multimedia-capable home networks as an essential
ingredient to offering residential customers video on demand, audio on demand, voice over IP and high-speed
Internet access
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IEEE 802.11f: Defines Multi-vendor Access Point Roaming or Interoperability. Today, a user roaming between
access points may lose some packets during the handoff between different vendors' devices. This standard
ensures multi-vendor access-point interoperability through the Inter-Access Point Protocol, or IAPP.
IEEE 802.11g: Growing favorite of wireless equipment makers. Objective of this standard is to increase the
speed of 802.11b. Initially it was 22 Mbps in 2.4 GHz band, now it is 54 Mbps. Theoretical range is again
similar to 802.11b, i.e. 150 feet; but might be susceptible to interference.
IEEE 802.11h: Defines the spectrum management of the 5 Ghz band for use in Europe and Asia Pacific. The
802.11a standard faces interference problems in Europe, where it shares the 5 GHz frequency band with radar
and satellite communications. Dynamic Frequency Selection, or DFS, allows devices to detect such
transmissions and switch to an alternative channel. The Transmit Power Control protocol will allow users close
to an access point to reduce transmission power in order to reduce interference with other users. A final
standard, expected early next year, will require client device driver and access-point firmware updates.
IEEE 802.11i: Addresses security issues in WLAN’s. (Expected to be ratified in June 2004) It is working on
current security weaknesses for both authentication and encryption protocols. The standard encompasses
802.1X, TKIP, and AES protocols.
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Table 3-2. IEEE Wireless Standards
IEEE Standard
What it otherwise means
IEEE 802.11a
WiFi5
IEEE 802.11b
WiFi
IEEE 802.11d
LAN/MAN standard
IEEE 802.11e
QoS (quality of service) issue in LANs
IEEE 802.11f
Inter-access point communications
IEEE 802.11g
Increase the speed of 802.11b
IEEE 802.11h
Spectrum management of the 5 Ghz band
IEEE 802.11i
Security
Security Issues
The very air-borne nature of WLANs opens it to intruders and attacks. WLAN traffic travels over radio waves
that cannot be constrained by the walls of a building. While employees might enjoy working on their laptops
from a spot outside the building, intruders and would-be hackers can potentially access the network from the
parking lot or across the street. These people pose the greatest threat to the security of a WLAN. They do it in
three ways
Eavesdropping:
Because wireless communication is broadcast over radio waves, eavesdroppers who merely listen to the
airwaves can easily pick up unencrypted messages. Additionally, messages encrypted with the wired equivalent
privacy (WEP) security protocol can be decrypted easily with widely available hacking tools. These passive
intruders put businesses at risk of exposing sensitive information to corporate espionage.
Identity Theft:
The theft of an authorized user's identity poses one of the greatest threats. service set identifiers (SSIDs) that
act as crude passwords and MAC addresses that act as personal identification numbers are often used to verify
that clients are authorized to connect with an access point. However, existing encryption standards are not
foolproof and allow knowledgeable intruders to pick up approved SSIDs and MAC addresses to connect to a
WLAN as an authorized user and steal bandwidth, corrupt or download files, and wreak havoc on the entire
network.
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Denial-of-Service Attacks:
Outsiders who cannot gain access to a WLAN can nonetheless pose security threats by jamming or flooding the
airwaves with static noise that causes WLAN signals to collide and produce CRC errors. These denial-ofservice (DoS) attacks effectively shut down the wireless network in a way similar to the DoS attacks that affect
wired networks.
IEEE 802.11 provides for security via two methods: authentication and encryption. Authentication is the means
by which one station is verified to have authorization to communicate with a second station in a given coverage
area. In the infrastructure mode, authentication is established between an access point and each station.
Authentication can either be an open system or shared key. In an open system, any station (STA) may request
authentication. The STA receiving the request may grant authentication to any request, or to only those from
stations on a user-defined list. In a shared key system, only stations which possess a secret encrypted key can
be authenticated. Shared key authentication is available only to systems having the optional encryption
capability.
Encryption is intended to provide a level of security comparable to that of a wired LAN. The wired equivalent
privacy (WEP) feature uses the RC4 PRNG algorithm from RSA data security, Inc. Security issues are also
discussed in a separate chapter, titled 'security'.
Wi-Fi--A Shared Medium
Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity, also known as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) family of
802.11x standards, is used to create wireless local area networks (WLANs) with a range of 150 ft to 250 ft.
Users of mobile devices with Wi-Fi capabilities can establish high-speed wireless Internet connections within
buildings or spaces, commonly called 'hotspots,' A hot spot is typically a place where you can access the
services of Wi-Fi for free or for a fee. hotspots can be found in university departments, airport lounges, book
stores, coffee shops, corporate cafeterias or any other meeting area within range of a wireless LAN base
station.
Over the last few years, most deployments of Wireless LANs have been on the 802.11b standard that operates
over the unregulated 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum. The 802.11b standard as earlier mentioned offers
connectivity of up to 11 Mbps, about seven times faster than a typical T1 connection and fast enough to handle
large e-mail attachments and run bandwidth-intensive applications such as video conferencing. They operate
just like Ethernet (the technology that links most PCs in business offices), but without wires.
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Wi-Fi networks, like wired networks, are a shared medium. An 802.11b Wi-Fi network can provide 11 Mbps
of data to an individual user. Theoretically, if ten users are simultaneously using the network, each will have to
share and may only get 1 Mbp each. However, network sharing is not quite this simple. A lot depends on the
users' behaviors. Someone who is just sending and receiving e-mail uses the wireless connection in bursts.
They will probably never notice any slow down. On the other hand, a roomful of Wi-Fi users who are
accessing high-resolution multimedia over a single access point may indeed notice a slowdown. A few years
back, when Wi-Fi transmission speeds were much slower, this characteristic appeared to have little value.
However, as the technology evolved, the benefits became apparent. Corporate users found it convenient to be
able to move around the office (or campus) without the need for a physical LAN connection. An assessment of
interference and its relationship to range is given in Table 3-3
Table 3-3 Interference range
Maximum Range
Range At 11 Mbps
Light interference (open space)
750 ft -1,000 ft
150 ft - 350 ft
Medium interference (office)
250 ft -350 ft
100 ft - 150 ft
High interference (apartments)
125 ft -200 ft
60 ft - 80 ft
Distance from the Base Station
One of the factors that affects range and performance of a Wi-Fi network is the distance of the client devices
(your Wi-Fi equipment) to your base station (your access point or gateway). In an open area with no walls,
furniture or interfering radio devices, you may be able to get a range of 500 ft or more from your base station
to your Wi-Fi equipped computer. In fact, you could get a signal from up to a mile away depending on the
antennas you use and environmental conditions.
Many base stations can also act as repeater or relay stations for your network. For example, if you locate one
Wi-Fi equipped computer 100 ft. away from your base station, another Wi-Fi computer 100 ft. away in another
direction, and then position your base station in the middle, you can create a network with a range of 200 feet
from one Wi-Fi computer to the other.
Wi-Fi, or IEEE 802.11b, speed decreases the farther you move from the base station. For example, when you
are close to the base station, your Wi-Fi computer should be able to get the full 11 Mbps data rate. Move
farther away, and depending on environment, the data rate will drop to 5.5 Mbps. Move even farther, and the
data rate will drop to 2 Mbps, and finally to 1 Mbp. Getting just 1 Mbps throughput is still a perfectly
acceptable performance level. One Mbps is faster than most DSL and cable connections, which means it's still
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a satisfactory high-speed transmission if you're sending and receiving e-mail, cruising the Internet, or just
performing data entry tasks from a mobile computer.
What The Technology Means to Other Players
In the short term, the rise of Wi-Fi will have a detrimental effect on the rollout of next-generation, or 3G,
wireless technology, which is more expensive, slower, and less available. WLANs provide speeds
approximately 20 times that of 3G. A typical hot spot costs less than $200, compared with the $500,000 to $1
million for a 3G base station. With a comparison like that, wireless carriers are wishing they had known about
Wi-Fi before they spent $100 billion on 3G.
Some portion of the carriers' money, then, will start to move away from traditional 3G infrastructure into
WLAN equipment. There is no denial that the world will still need 3G to fill in the gaps between hotspots,
which are likely to be pretty large. After all, no one is under the impression that the entire world will be
covered by WLANs, 150 ft at a time. While carriers believe that Wi-Fi will eat into their 3G revenue, it will
not eliminate that revenue altogether. And in fact, the success of WLANs proves a much larger point: wireless
data is in high demand, and Wi-Fi will whet consumers' appetite for 3G. Frost & Sullivan believes that once
people develop a taste for this technology, they will be become addicted and demand more and more seamless
connectivity 365/24/7, anywhere.
Large telecommunication carriers are in the perfect position to offer both wireless services, combine billing
and customer service, and walk away with an effective, if not-so-elegant, solution to providing wireless data,
while maintaining their hold on customers.
However, one shouldn’t expect Wi-Fi to make the balance sheet look good, as most consumers will be happy to
receive the service as long it is free and divest it the moment they feel they need to pay. Also a great deal of
competition will drive prices down making the operators fight for every bit of share in the market.
The real winners are the Wi-Fi hardware manufacturers who are poised to reap the benefits of the Wi-Fi
revolution. Traditional T1 lines, which carry the data from the Wi-Fi base unit to the Internet, will also become
more important.
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Market Dynamics--Benefits/Restraints/Increasing the Wi-Fi Customer Base
Benefits
Wi-Fi's major benefits include its use of the open spectrum, its high-speed operation, and its flexibility in being
rapidly deployed. This not only makes it an excellent candidate for building mainstream data networks in
developed nations, but also in emerging markets like India and China, where cost plays a very important role.
Besides, Wi-Fi is an ideal technology framework for entrepreneurs; they can easily set up wireless hubs in
neighborhoods to provide services.
Restraints
Despite all the hype and the exponential growth of this market, the Wi-Fi industry faces a number of
challenges, ranging from interoperability between locations to the need for operators and aggregators to
acquire more users.
Skeptics point out many unsolved challenges, including a security breach in Wi-Fi's encryption protocol. Other
issues include congestion, interference, and the lack of a billing or roaming infrastructure. The emergence of
Bluetooth, and other home LAN protocols with superior technologies also pose challenges. The history of
technology has proved again and again that if a certain open architecture gains escape velocity, there is no
turning back.
Increasing the Wi-Fi Customer Base
There are several steps towards maximizing the Wi-Fi customer base and achieving the ultimate penetration of
this technology.
The first step in increasing the Wi-Fi customer base was for vendors to make the Wi-Fi network cards and hubs
widely available. They need to think in terms of Wi-Fi becoming a mainstream technology, with volumes that
could exceed those required by developed markets, and where Wi-Fi is one of several competing technologies.
The second step was for various chains to start deploying Wi-Fi. Public call offices (PCOs), cybercafes and
post offices are serving as initial 'hotspots'. Residential and office complexes can do the same. What this does
is two things: it enables connectivity at much higher-speeds than was available before Wi-Fi, and creates the
platform for Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices.
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The third step was for these networks to be connected to build virtual wireless ISPs, enabling individuals to
connect through a single login-password infrastructure. While mobility is not likely to be a key requirement in
the beginning, making it easier for users to connect to wireless networks is important.
The fourth step is for the development of low-cost, mobile devices. These become the computers of tomorrow
for the 'bottom of the enterprise pyramid'. If emerging markets can put together a need for 10 million such units
a year, prices can fall dramatically making Wi-Fi enabled low-cost, handheld computers the computer for the
next billion people.
The fifth step in this roll-out would be for content developers and enterprises to start putting together
applications which leverage the devices. One has to think of innovative ways in which millions of users can
now interact together with high-speed devices. This is what 3G hopes to capitalize on. However 3G is a topdown, carrier-driven technology which will take time to roll-out, and will be much more expensive. By
comparison, Wi-Fi is bottom-up and can become affordable for the masses very rapidly. It can help these
nations leapfrog with a high-speed wireless infrastructure which can be an enabler for new applications and
productivity enhancements.
Wi-Fi has all the makings of a pervasive, explosive technology: huge growth; a strong value proposition;
multiple and expanding uses; industry standardization; and global standardization. The technology's flaws are
nothing more than a speed bump, given the billions of dollars of R&D already poured into this space. Last and
most important, there is plenty of running room as we move from the corporation to the home, to the campus,
to the airport, to the hotel, and potentially to a citywide, maybe nationwide, level.
Perhaps cellular carriers should be concerned about the impact on the need for 3G services, if Wi-Fi access is
this readily available.
Revenue generated through public Wi-Fi hotspots has the potential to grow dramatically, but the technology
for wireless Internet access faces a number of challenges. Revenue from Wi-Fi technology, could increase by
as much as 125% over the next five years. In addition, the number of hotspots worldwide is projected to
increase to 160,000 by 2007.
Wireless Personal Area Networks
Standards Projects in Development
The IEEE 802.15 working group provides, in the IEEE 802 family, standards for low-complexity and lowpower consumption wireless connectivity.
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In March 1998, the wireless personal area network (WPAN) study group was formed. In May 1998, the
Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) was formed, and in May 1999 the IEEE WPAN study group became
IEEE 802.15, the WPAN working group. In July 1999, Bluetooth released the Bluetooth specification v1.0a.
Today, there are currently four IEEE 802.15 standards projects in development:
•
IEEE Std 802.15.1-2002 - 1Mb/s WPAN/Bluetooth v1.x derivative work
•
P802.15.2- Recommended practice for coexistence in unlicensed bands
•
P802.15.3 - 20+ Mb/s High rate WPAN for multimedia and digital imaging
•
P802.15.3a - 110+ Mb/s Higher rate alternative PHY for 802.15.3
•
P802.15.4 - 200 kbps max. for interactive toys, sensor and automation needs
Bluetooth--Revision and Expansion Driven by Technological and Market Needs
Bluetooth modules are the keystone of user-friendly networks for personal use, namely WPANs for voice and
data communications via cellular phones, notebook PCs, and PDAs. The license-free use of the 2.4 GHz band
and the low cost of the module provide the ideal conditions for creating a new global standard interface. When
electronic appliances such as the microwave oven and the computer are connected via Bluetooth Wireless
Technology, the same effect can be experienced as if the appliance itself were equipped with Internet
functions. Hence, the microwave oven can be accessed over the Internet to download the data or to enable the
function you need when necessary.
The subtext to the story of Bluetooth's evolution has been the development of the Bluetooth specifications.
Since the initial publication of the draft Bluetooth 1.0 specification in 1998, the specifications have been in a
constant state of revision and expansion, driven by both technological needs and market drivers.
The initial Bluetooth 1.0 specification, as with all first attempts at a common standard, left flaws that allowed it
to be interpreted differently by many different developers. This loose interpretation led to problems of
interoperability between chipsets from different developers and in some cases even between chipsets from the
same developer.
Early production Bluetooth chipsets represented partial implementation of the specification as developers
choose to work on meeting certain core elements rather than attempt a complete implementation. The resulting
early volumes typically achieved very low data rates of less than 200 kbps, had no point-to-multi-point
capability, and in most cases were data only.
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In 1999, the Bluetooth special interest group (SIG) released version 1.0B of the specification and subsequently
a series of amendments known as critical errata as the developers and supporting working groups revised the
specification to remove the problems. The resulting breakthrough from this process was the release of version
1.1 in 2001.
The release of Bluetooth specification version 1.1 marked a stabilization in the Bluetooth development process.
Version 1.1 provided a stable specification that solved many of the major issues such as limited
interoperability, combined with the increasing competency of the developers. This laid the platform for the
strong growth which began to emerge from 2002 onwards. Although version 1.1 did not ensure that all chipsets
met the specifications exactly, it did provide a basis for semiconductor vendors to produce chipsets that closely
conformed to the original concept of a universal cable replacement technology.
Version 1.2 of the Bluetooth specifications was released in late 2003 and unlike previous upgrades is
interoperable with the previous release. Although some of the new improvements may not be available when
1.2 compliant devices are operating in conjunction with 1.1 complaint devices.
The new release of the specification will bring improvements to the already robust security architecture of the
Bluetooth standard; it will improve user set-up and provide enhanced quality of service for voice processing
allowing clearer voice connections. The most high-profile improvements will be the inclusion of advanced
frequency hopping (AFH) into the specification and Bluetooth's bandwidth being increased to support data
rates of 2 mbps to 3 mbps. AFH is a modulation technique that avoids potential interference with other radio
devices operating in the 2.4 GHz band. As an unlicensed part of the spectrum the 2.4 GHz band is widely used
by a range of radio applications 802.11b WLAN equipment being the most commonly cited example. While
Bluetooth itself operates on the robust frequency hopping modulation scheme, there is concern from WLAN
users about the potential effects upon their networks. AFH overcomes this by utilizing those parts of the 2.4
GHz band with the least activity, preventing interference.
The first sample chipsets conforming to Bluetooth 1.2 appeared in late 2003, with end-user products becoming
available towards the end of the first quarter 2004. Bluetooth 1.2 is seen as an important step in supporting the
Bluetooth SIG's five minute out of the box initiative. This program is intended to promote easier out of the box
set-up of Bluetooth devices, responding to criticism from users about the difficulty of utilizing the Bluetooth
functionality. Ultimately, improved ease of use will play a major part in driving ubiquitous Bluetooth adoption.
The next step in the evolution of the Bluetooth standard will be the release of Version 2.0, although real
movement on this is not expected before the end of 2004. Research suggests that Version 2.0 will support data
rates of up to 12 mbps and will also further improve quality of service and the piconet functionality which
allows Bluetooth to create ad-hoc networks between a group of devices.
However, there is already significant skepticism over the need to move Bluetooth bandwidth up to 2 mbps or 3
mbps. Many see it as a pointless and potentially dangerous move. Although some application developers are
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keen to see higher bandwidth, it can be argued that the current symbol rate of 1 mbp is suitable for most of the
short-range cable replacement activities Bluetooth was initially developed to handle. Increasing the bandwidth
could potentially spark further interoperability problems, will increase power consumption and could position
the technology against other short-range technologies.
As of mid 2003, there were thirteen certified profiles and a further twelve profiles in the final stages of
development and close to certification. There are also a number of other profiles that are at different stages of
investigation or development, some sanctioned by the Bluetooth SIG, some proprietary. There is no guarantee
that these other profiles will ever be certified or released.
Interoperability problems are the major danger presented by the growth of profiles, particularly the
development of proprietary or unauthorized profiles. As new profiles emerge and are adopted, the potential
increases for new devices failing to interoperate with older devices. The growth of Bluetooth is demonstrated
in the semiconductor sector, from where most of the development has been driven. In 2001, just under 10
million chipset solutions were shipped, and by 2002 annual shipments had more than tripled to around 34
million units. By the end of 2003, Frost & Sullivan expects that shipments would at least double, with a
conservative estimate of over 70 million units.
Ultrawideband--Delivering Multimedia Capability Over the Short Range
Ultrawideband (UWB), a high-speed, short-range wireless technology, is ideal for effortlessly transferring
digital content between devices in entertainment and computing clusters in the home, including digital video
recorders, set-top boxes, televisions and PC peripherals. With the absence of a currently available and
standardized wireless technology that offers robust multimedia transport of multiple digital streams, UWB
promises to be the technology that delivers the bandwidth and quality of service that many consumer
electronics companies have been looking for. With the potential of offering a very high bit rate network, at 480
Mbit/sec. or higher, and ranging less than 10 m, UWB could fill a void that other wireless technologies have
left due to technical limitations.
UWB technology is based on the generation of extremely short digital pulses in the subnanosecond range (1 to
1,000 picoseconds). To transmit information, such pulse trains can be modulated any number of ways,
including time, phase, amplitude and voltage. However, it is the fact that the pulses can be modulated directly
by the baseband signal--instead of using a high-frequency carrier--that gives UWB radios their much-hyped
simplicity of design. No longer are expensive, complex, large-footprint analog circuits required for carriersignal generation on the transmit side and for carrier stripping on the receive side.
The short pulses associated coherent frequency spectrum can be multiples of gigahertz wide, thereby dispersing
the pulse's energy across many narrowband systems (such as GPS, cellular, PCS, satellite radio and the various
wireless-network bands). The bandwidth and the center frequency of the pulse are determined naturally by its
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length, but typically some kind of filtering is used to limit the bandwidth to keep it within the FCC mask as
defined by the ruling.
This wide relative bandwidth allows UWB to penetrate walls and other obstacles, making possible capabilities
such as through-wall imaging, while at the same time endowing it with a large degree of immunity to multipath
interference relative to narrowband systems, a characteristic particularly appealing to the communications
industry.
Also, because the amount of information any signal can carry is a trade-off between bandwidth, power and
distance (with various modulation and coding schemes used to optimize the communications channel), the wide
bandwidth of UWB signals has the allure of potentially very high data rates of up to 500 Mbits/s. It's important
to note that the information-carrying capacity scales linearly with bandwidth, and logarithmically with power,
making it much more attractive to designers to scale the bandwidth to achieve higher rates.
The FCC ruling in February was designed to curtail the interference this wide-bandwidth signal might have on
GPS, military, ground/air navigation or cellular/PCS applications. The ruling specifically defines UWB as a
signal with a bandwidth of 500 MHz or bigger, or 20% fractional at the -10 dBm point. The ruling limits UWB
power to Part 15 limits (-41.25 dBm) operation over the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz band, though other bands are
allowable below 900 MHz and roll-offs around the limits vary according to the application and whether it's for
indoor or outdoor use.
For many, the ruling by the FCC, though considered conservative, was a landmark event in wireless signaling
that kept the cellular industry and military at bay until UWB could be properly evaluated. Good or bad, the
FCC guidelines are forming the template for global regulatory rulings, with Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea and
Singapore all interested in adhering closely to the ruling.
However, similar to most networking protocols, the technology is making its way through the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.3a formal standardization process. Several companies
notably Wisair, Texas Instrument, Femto Devices, Focus Enhancements, Fujitsu, General Atomics, Hewlett
Packard, Infineon, Institute for Infocomm Research, Intel, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung,
Staccato Communications, Taiyo Yuden, TDK and Time Domain are coming together in an effort to have their
technology become part of an eventual UWB standard. To this respect they have also formed an alliance
known as the multiBand OFDM alliance (MBOA). The multiband coalition is a voluntary and informal
association supporting an open forum for exploring, sharing and shaping ideas for multiband UWB technology.
The primary objective of the coalition is to define the technically optimal and feasible UWB physical layer
(PHY) solution for high throughput (HT) wireless personal area network (WPAN) applications to be used for
global standardization. All of the coalition’s work is being done in concert with the formal standardization
process, with the intent of accelerating the process by solidifying a proposal for a well designed, robust and
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cost competitive solution. The coalition believes that this will provide and establish a quicker path to
interoperable products, as history teaches us that standards are required to accelerate high-volume markets.
With target data rates of up to 500 Mbits/s, UWB is being targeted at WPANs, audio/video distribution within
the home, as well as a cable replacement option for USB and FireWire. UWB is expected to first see use in
consumer applications within the home, with several companies already using the technology to develop
applications allowing DVD-quality video content to be streamed around the home. There are 3 main market
segments:
1. Consumer electronics: For set top boxes, residential gateways, video data or audio data to output devices
such as flat panel display, TV,and projector in home theater applications. One stream goes to your TV and a
couple of streams goes to your kids bedroom.
2. Mobile and hand held use: To be able to create a link between a PDA and PC just for streaming purposes or
you can use your cell phone as a modem to have Internet access. You could also have wireless mp3 players, or
cordless headsets, wireless speakers, etc. In Japan you get hand-held DVD players; before you board a plane
you go to an airport kiosk with digital rights management, where you can download a movie and watch it at
your convenience.
3. PC Centric applications: A personal computer is used mainly for data centric applications. Today an USB
with speeds in the range of 2 mbps or 12 mbps, will take 20 minutes for a normal back up. However,with UWB
you can do it wirelessly and very fast. You can also download information from digital cameras to PC.
There are however, some technical difficulties that have to be taken care off. The proponents of this new
technology face, head on, the difficulties of quickly and accurately detecting a signal below the noise floor at
high data rates and in the presence of multiple users and multipath interference, along with interference from
the wireless incumbents. The problems have led to some innovative antenna designs, wide-dynamic-range
circuitry and low-power implementations as well as advanced detection, modulation and coding schemes.
Much of the work to date remains tightly under wraps as companies protect their pending patents.
Many designers are confounded by the mind-boggling difficulties of actually detecting and acquiring a highdata-rate, low-level signal that resides below the noise floor in the presence of multiple users, multipath
interference and interference from incumbent wireless devices and by the need to do it fast (sub 1 sec), at low
cost, low power and with a small footprint.
The advantage of UWB is that the transmitter is quite simple, but the receiver, on the other hand, is quite
complex and power hungry. It has to pull signals in the presence of powerful interferers that will inevitably be
present. Good dynamic range is needed and that's expensive.
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In Japan there is a different scenario altogether; UWB is not legal from a regulatory perspective. Also, the
spectrum allocation for UWB has not been completed.
With all of the promises that UWB technology holds for the future of the digital consumer and the ‘Connected
Home,’ it is the multiband coalition that is spearheading this historic process and driving the standardization
for the ideal UWB technology for the IEEE 802.15.3a. These efforts will ultimately help provide an industry
standard, which will propel the high-volume market for UWB-equipped consumer devices, PCs and PC
peripherals. If all goes well, it is expected that the standard will be finalized by Q4 of 2004 or Q1 of 2005, with
standards-compliant silicon solutions also available within the same timeframe. By 2005, chip vendors foresee
a target price point for complete UWB silicon solutions to be less than $8.00.
Frost & Sullivan expects to see the first UWB products hit the marketplace in 2005. And so for the time being
many of the applications that would have utilized UWB chipsets will now use 802.11a to save costs. The 11a
technology also scores a point over UWB in terms of range, providing for the whole home.
WiMedia
WiMedia technology is a high-throughput, wireless communications system for multimedia and an easy-to-use,
consumer-friendly solution. WiMedia is an addition to the wireless networking standards collection; it focuses
on the development of short-range wireless delivery of multimedia. Also a part of the 802.15 suite of standards
for WPAN, WiMedia is working to build on existing WPAN technology to create a high data rate standard for
multimedia content. WiMedia is the brand name encompassing two wireless standards, IEEE 802.15.3 and the
ultra-wideband-based 802.15.3a PHY. The technology connects devices at 200 M bit/sec, and competes with
wired USB 2.0, IEEE 1394. Unlike an 802.11b wireless network, WiMedia networks provide ad hoc, peer-topeer connectivity, so you don’t need an access point.
Current users looking to stream audio and video have found themselves wishing they had more bandwidth
which would allow them to stream at a better quality. All of this is now possible thanks to WiMedia, or,
technically speaking, 802.15.3, a new wireless standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers. The new standard, which shares the same bandwidth of airwaves as cordless phones, microwave
ovens and other popular wireless protocols such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, would ensure fast, uninterrupted
streaming media. Once a connection is made between WiMedia devices, the network automatically switches
channels if it detects any interference from other technologies.
The WiMedia Alliance will establish a certification program to accelerate widespread consumer adoption of
wire-free imaging and multimedia solutions. Initial Alliance activity will be based on the high data-rate IEEE
802.15.3 draft standard with amendments and enhancements planned for future wireless systems such as ultrawideband (UWB). The WiMedia brand mark will certify the interoperability of multimedia devices that use
personal area wireless technologies. The brand will also let consumers know which personal devices are
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WiMedia-compatible and interoperable in a consumer-electronics-based networked environment. The Alliance
will manage the WiMedia brand and license its use to organizations whose products pass certification tests.
The rationale behind WiMedia solutions makes tremendous sense as OEMs are increasingly looking to
complement their wired networking interfaces with wireless solutions that provide high-bandwidth
connectivity in a variety of digital devices.
More than 70 home entertainment and networking vendors, including Sony, Samsung, Royal Philips
Electronics and Sharp helped develop the standard. Appairent Technologies, Eastman Kodak Company, HP,
Motorola, Philips, Samsung Electronics, Sharp Laboratories, Time Domain, and XtremeSpectrum form the
WiMedia Alliance. The WiMedia Alliance's founding member companies include Appairent Technologies,
Inc.; Eastman Kodak Company; HP; Motorola, Inc.; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.;
Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc.; Time Domain Corporation; and XtremeSpectrum, Inc.
The specification created by the IEEE aims to provide a high-bandwidth, high-quality, and secure wireless
platform. In the 2.4 GHz spectrum, we see many appliances causing interference with Wi-Fi devices (such as
cordless telephones). 802.15.3, however, automatically detects foreign devices and switches channels
accordingly.
802.15.3 operates at approximately 55 Mbps, around the same speed as the new 802.11g standard. Unlike
802.11g though, WiMedia does not attempt to use access points (infrastructure networks) in any way. Shortrange networks, PAN’s (personal area networks), allow different devices to communicate with each other.
These devices will include TV’s, audio systems, computers, gaming systems, etc. Streaming files to different
devices has never been easier or more efficient with the high quality of service (QoS) and bandwidth WiMedia
provides.
WiMedia cannot strictly be considered a competitor to Bluetooth as their core target applications are different;
however there is some overlap in the consumer electronics application area. It is possible that both of these
technologies will be integrated into certain types of devices at some point, but it will be a long time before
WiMedia reached the commercial mainstream that Bluetooth has already reached. Unlike the Wi-Fi Internet
hotspots that have emerged in coffee shops, libraries and even McDonald's in recent months, WiMedia would
not need a separate access point to power the system or additional configuration. WiMedia also boasts
uninterrupted streaming between two devices 300 ft apart and at speeds of up to 55 Mbps, three times the
distance and five times the maximum throughput of Wi-Fi. Bluetooth, which connects wirelessly to devices
within 30 feet, at a maximum of 1 Mbps.
Its high speeds make WiMedia best suited for wireless multimedia applications. An example of a WiMedia
connection would be a wireless link between a stereo system and a television, or a television and a set-top box,
with the aim being to create an interactive wireless network linking the different multimedia information and
entertainment systems within the household environment.
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802.15.3-compliant devices, which could be TV sets, stereo systems, computers, camcorders or any other
consumer electronics devices, would connect wirelessly without the user doing anything. So if you have two
WiMedia cards plug one to your stereo system and another to your office desktop. Download through the
office network and listen to them in the house. Also with the card embedded in the AV stack, you can push a
few buttons and begin viewing a just-shot home video from your camcorder on your TV or a slide show from
your digital camera. You can also wirelessly send pictures to the printer or e-mail them. This is the beauty of
this technology. People could also play music from radio stations all over the world rather than rely on their
local broadcasters.
High-speed, low-power WiMedia-compliant solutions will enable a new generation of un-tethered,
interoperable consumer appliance, imaging, and multimedia devices, ultimately providing greater benefits to
the end-user. They will also provide an easy-to-use consumer experience whether at home, office, or at a retail
kiosk. The technology would be most beneficial to those involved in the wireless consumer-electronics, digitalimaging, digital-projection, and streaming-media industries
The adoption of WiMedia as a major standard is still some time away; the concept has yet to prove itself, and
initial product offerings based on the technology are not expected until at least the end of 2004. However, the
WiMedia Alliance is making every effort to make sure the technology is a reality through its efforts to
accelerate industry adoption and ensure vendor interoperability.
Zigbee--It's Good for Low-Cost Control Signaling
ZigBee is a short-range wireless technology being developed for industrial and home automation control
situations. The Alliance, a rapidly growing, non-profit industry consortium of leading semiconductor
manufacturers, technology providers and OEMs, is now collaborating with the IEEE to define the network,
security and application layers above the 802.15.4 PHY and MAC layers. ZigBee was promoted by five
companies, Honeywell, Invensys, Mitsubishi, Motorola and Philips. There are also over 30 participating
companies including chip manufacturers, OEM’s etc who are collaborating on the technology. The Alliance
says this cooperation will result in an easy-to-use, standards-based wireless network platform optimized for
wireless monitoring and control applications These members are defining global standards for cost effective,
reliable, low power wireless applications.
Although ZigBee belongs to the IEEE 802.15 group ie it is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 RF standard. It may be
helpful to think of IEEE 802.15.4 as the physical and media access control (MAC) layers for the technology
and ZigBee as the logical network and application software.
ZigBee-compliant products operate in unlicensed bands worldwide, including 2.4 GHz (global), 915 Mhz
(Americas) and 868 Mhz (Europe). Raw data throughput rates of 250 Kbs can be achieved at 2.4 GHz (10
channels), 40 Kbs at 915 Mhz (6 channels) and 20 Kbs at 868 Mhz (1 channel).
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Range for ZigBee products is expected to be approximately 30 m in a typical home environment, compared to
approximately 10 m for Bluetooth products (without power amplifier). ZigBee is currently the only standardsbased technology that addresses the needs of most remote monitoring and control applications. The Alliance
hopes to encourage the broad-based deployment of wireless networks that are able to run for years on standard
batteries in a typical monitoring application.
Interference issues with appliances in the 2.4 GHz are relatively low as very few packets of data are
transmitted which minimizes the likelihood of an unsuccessful transmission. ZigBee is not designed to compete
directly with Bluetooth, but act as a substitute for those applications where Bluetooth is considered to be too
power hungry and where some of Bluetooth's features are not required. The data rate for ZigBee technology is
250 kbps compared to 1 Mbps for Bluetooth wireless technology. Like Bluetooth it is designed to have lower
power consumption, data rate and a much lower operational cycle. Although this technology has some
interference issues with Bluetooth technology, it can be sorted by the ability of this ZigBee technology to
resend the packets if it does not receive any acknowledgement. It is also cost effective due to the fact that the
stack of ZigBee is small compared to the Bluetooth stack.
Essentially ZigBee is intended to be used for brief disparate periods. As battery life is of prime importance for
such applications, the ZigBee protocol was designed from the ground up to support very long life battery
applications. In most cases batteries are designed for usage up to a year in a monitoring application.
Thousands of applications for products incorporating ZigBee technology will soon exist in both the enterprise
and home markets but mainly for industrial applications. The ZigBee technology is better suited for control
applications, which do not require high data rates, but must have low power, low costs and ease of use (remote
controls, home automation, etc.). It is envisioned that ZigBee will be used to remotely/wirelessly control
equipment such as light fittings, machine control panels, thermostats and other similar equipment. The
technology is all about a wireless networking solution that supports low data rates, low power consumption,
security and reliability.
ZigBee-enabled products are engineered to allow businesses to automate, control, and wirelessly connect their
enterprise systems. ZigBee technology is well suited to a wide range of applications in every industry. In
addition to enabling factory monitor and control functions, ZigBee provides the ability to track and locate raw
materials or finished products as they move in, through and out of the facility. Raw and finished material
transporters are looking at ZigBee as a replacement for older RFID technology.
Essentially, any application that could benefit from interoperability, or that matches the fundamental RF
characteristics of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard would benefit from a ZigBee solution. Typical applications for
ZigBee include static networks between low cost devices, sensors, automation and control and data exchange.
This translates to industrial and building automation and control, remote thermostats for air heaters and
coolers, home security and for wireless computer peripherals.
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802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Standards
WiMAX--Long Distance Option Doesn't Need Line-of-Sight
There are lots of companies today wanting to deploy wireless connectivity over larger areas, such as in cities
and rural areas, as an alternative to using copper and fiber-based solutions. The problem, however, is that there
have not been effective, standards-based solutions for implementing wireless networks within metropolitansized areas. The sudden surge in demand for high speed Internet access, voice, data and video transmission has
encouraged the growth of broadband wireless access (BWA). In the recent past the number of users to deploy
wireless connectivity has increased proportionally with novel technologies and standards seeking their way
into the market.
802.11 has been tried by vendors for usage in metropolitan-sized environments, but with limited success. Even
though there is reduction in costs, the technology has performance limitations when supporting larger numbers
of users needing guaranteed bandwidth. In addition, RF interference is often a significant problem with 802.11
when covering large areas due to license free operation.
The IEEE 802 group initiated the IEEE 802.16 Working Group to create standards for broadband wireless
access to offer a high speed/capacity, low cost, and a scalable solution. The latest entry into the wireless
networking paradigm is the 802.16 family that covers the frequency range between 10 GHz to 66 GHz and
transmits data at the rate of 70 Mbps. This network standard is also referred to as IEEE wireless metropolitan
area network (MAN) air interface. The advantage of this standard is primarily the affordable cost coupled with
a wireless alternative to the existing cumbersome cable connection, especially in the areas where the terrain
doesn’t permit the wired infrastructure. Traditionally, companies relied on proprietary wireless connectivity
equipment which served their purpose and also remained secure in nature. However, the proprietary nature
proved to be a big barrier for the devices to be interoperable and also became very expensive to maintain.
WiMAX-802.16a
A new wireless network standard 802.16a, which is popularly referred to as WiMAX, has been developed to
make broadband wireless reasonable and easily deployable.
The Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEEE) approved the 802.16a standard which is considered as an
extension of 802.16. In a normal WiMAX configuration, the base station communicates with the other base
stations, such as offices or homes, on a point to multi-point basis. WiMAX covers the frequency range of 2
GHz to 11 GHz and the added advantage is that the subscriber terminals need not be in line-of-sight with the
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base station. WiMAX offers greater bandwidth and better coverage up to 30 miles. This is much better than the
coverage offered by the Wi-Fi family (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g) which is intended for covering only small
areas.
The significant difference in the frequency bands between the 802.16 and WiMAX is attributed to the fact that
the non line-of-sight operations are possible only in the lower frequencies. Benefits have been incorporated
into WiMAX by introducing some changes in the physical layer.
It has the flexibility to operate at different frequency bands, and thus meets the different channel requirements
across the world. It has been designed to support a small antenna which is more affordable and increasing
popular. The standard supports time division duplexing (TDD) and frequency division duplexing (FDD), and
thereby addresses the different policies and regulations available. This gives a promising picture of worldwide
deployment. It requires two channels, one for reception and the other for transmission purpose. Frequency
separation is introduced between these two channels in order to reduce channel interference. In environments
where two channels are not available, TDD provides with a duplexing scheme which uses the same channel for
transmission and reception purpose. It is highly scalable, connection oriented, which results in faster routing
and forwarding, and protects the user’s privacy by using encryption methods.
The time taken to deploy a WiMAX is significantly less than it is for T1 connections. It helps in enabling lastmile broadband deployment. It can be used to deliver video, voice, data and also high-speed network
connectivity for Wi-Fi access points. For efficient use of the frequency spectrum, the standard supports
channel quality measurements as an additional feature in the physical layer. As the number of users increase
the operator or provider can further subdivide the cell and can reallocate the spectrum. Since the standard
works well in line of sight (LOS), non line of sight (NLOS), and near LOS operation mode, the coverage is
supreme. The coverage is further increased by following mesh topologies and introducing supporting
technologies like smart antenna.
The media access control (MAC) layer in the wireless MAN supports different kind of quality of service (QoS)
for different applications. Applications such as normal video or voice transmission require lower response time
and can tolerate certain error rate. On the other hand data specific applications cannot be made susceptible to
even minimal errors. These issues are handled efficiently by the MAC layer.
The IEEE 802.16 standard follows an adaptive modulation strategy as against the fixed modulation strategy
followed in the older schemes. The main disadvantage with the fixed modulation was that if the system offers
higher data rates then it requires optimal links, but with the lower orders of modulation the data rate was
reduced significantly. This is dealt with effectively in the 802.16 standard by enforcing a strategy which
balances the data rates and the link quality appropriately. This leads to the efficient usage of bandwidth.
Despite the widespread usage of 802.11b and vigorous commercialization, the market for 802.16 looks
commercially viable and very promising. The main disadvantage of the 802.11 family of standards is the
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limitation on the coverage area. On the other hand, the 802.16 can provide up to a 30 miles range .This is the
driving fact for 802.16’s commercial acceptance and provides a base for ideal wireless backhaul technology.
Table 3-4. Provides a Comparison between 802.11 and 802.16
FEATURES
Coverage and range
802.11( Wi-Fi)
802.16 (WiMAX)
Limited to offices, indoors
Operates in non-line of sight mode and hence the
areas within the range of 300ft.
range is much higher up to 30 miles
Cells are sectorized and split to increase the
Scalability
Scalable from 1 to 10
Quality of service
(QoS)
subscriber base. Highly scalable from 1 to 100
The MAC layer offers different QoS support to
It does not support QoS
different applications
The IEEE 802.16a standard was approved in January 2003. Since the standard was approved very recently,
research has been restricted mostly to the corporate sector. In order to make this standard more adoptable in the
commercial market some of the key issues need to be addressed and one among them is interoperability. Nearly
25 companies including Intel, Airspan, Alvarion, Analog Devices, Fujitsu Microelectronics America, Nokia,
OFDM Forum, and Wi-LAN Inc., have joined the non-profit WiMAX forum to address these key issues and
promote the standard globally. In July 2003 Intel, US, had announced their plans of bringing out a silicon chip
which will be based on the 802.16 standards. Alavrion Ltd., Israel, has entered into a strategic agreement with
Intel to integrate Intel’s 802.16 silicon chips into their next generation BWA equipment. Wi-LAN Inc., a
global provider of broadband wireless communication products and technologies has joined with Fujitsu
Microelectronics America, Inc., to work on 802.16a system-on-chip solutions.
LMDS--A High-Throughput Fixed Wire Solution
LMDS - Local Multipoint Distribution Service
LMDS, a fixed wireless solution, uses microwave signals to transmit and receive data. Operating just like
cellular systems, LMDS can be used within a small geographical area to provide service. The base station
needs to be in line-of-sight within a three-mile radius (for MMDS, it is 35 miles) of the receiving antenna.
These communicate in the frequency range of 28 GHz and 29 GHz, significantly higher than any other
communication technology, cellular or otherwise. LMDS throughput could reach as high as 500 Mbps both
ways, making it highly suitable for high bandwidth applications, particularly the last mile connections to
broadband homes or on-campus applications.
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The services offered by LMDS can be delivered in a point-to-point or point-multi-point configurations, though
the point-to-multipoint is widely preferred method of delivering these services. Point-to-point links have been
quite widely deployed for high speed dedicated links between two nodes. LMDS provides a less capital
intensive solution for deploying high speed wireless services.
Table 3-5. LMDS System Architecture Components
Network operation center (NOC)
Fibre-based infrastructure
Base station
Customer premises equipment (CPE)
A NOC typically contains, network management systems (NMS) that manages the large customer base. The
fiber based infrastructure consists of, synchronized optical carrier network (SONET), optical carrier (OC),
central office (CO) equipment, ATM and IP switching systems and interconnections with the PSTN network.
The base station is where conversion form fiber to wireless happens. It may typically contain, fiber terminators,
modulation and demodulation equipment and microwave transmission equipment. The customer premises
equipment will connect with the base station through TDMA (time division multiple access), FDMA
(frequency division multiple access) or CDMA (code division multiple access) methods. Customer premises
maybe office buildings or even residential houses. Different customer locations require different configurations
and price options.
Architecture
The most commonly used architecture is the cosited base station equipment architecture. The indoor network
infrastructure connects to the microwave tower colocated in the same premises. RF planning typically provides
multiple sectors for these microwave systems in which to transmit. The beamwidth ranges from 15 degrees to
90 degrees. Another alternative architecture is where the indoor digital network infrastructure connects to
multiple base stations through analog fiber links. This increases redundancy and reduces servicing costs. Issues
involved are, deployment of remote base stations and the lack of analog fiber resources. This second
alternative is still in design process.
Wireless Access Systems
TDMA, FDMA and CDMA form the core of wireless access between the CPE and the base station. All
wireless access methods are built around these technologies. As of today most operators use TDMA and
FDMA. In an FDMA scheme, customers share the same downstream link, ie each customer is given a specific
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time frame within which he can use the channel. Uplinking is done by allocating different users with different
frequencies in the same channel, much like frequency division multiplexing. FDMA access systems have a
constant bandwidth or one which varies very slowly over time. In TDMA access systems, users are time
divided and multiplexed on the same channel for both uplinking and downlinking. TDMA access system is
used more for bursts of data where bandwidth is allocated on demand.
Data rates for Access Systems
For FDMA based access: Data rates are dependant on the type of modulation used. To calculate data rates, a
value known as the spectral efficiency is needed. For different modulation techniques there are several spectral
efficiency values. For instance the spectral efficiency for 4-quadrature amplitude modulation (4-QAM) is 1.5
bits/sec/Hz. So assuming a spectral band of 1 GHz with a frequency reuse of 2 GHz, the LMDS system
provides a spectral band of 500 MHz per sector. Assuming equal uplink and downlink, we have a 250 MHz
band in each direction per sector.
For example for a customer using a 5 MHz link at 4 QAM, this works out to 5x1.5=7.5 Mbps per customer site.
There are 250/5=50 customers per site making it to a total of 375 Mbps upstream.
For TDMA based access: TDMA systems are best suited when there is uncertainty about the data rates, i.e.
when there are data bursts. Assuming that a 250 MHz upstream channel is available per sector and each
customer is using a 5 MHz channel. Each 5 MHz channel can service about 80 DS0 connections
simultaneously. This would make it about 80x50=4000 customers per sector. Hence this access system is used
when a large area of low data rate users have to be serviced.
Transmission Issues
Since LMDS systems operate in the 20 GHz range and above, they are highly susceptible to rain, reducing
signal strength and thereby decreasing the range of service and efficiency of operation. LMDS antennas are
highly directional which not only raises the area of coverage, but also solves the issue of multipath fading.
Also unlike in cellular services, users can’t move because the antenna is fixed on rooftops, which again
reduces the issue of multipath fading.
MMDS--A Long Distance Option for Small Businesses and Homes
MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution system) is a wireless alternative to fixed broadband access. The
technology is very similar to LMDS and competes directly with other wireless technologies such as wireless
LANs which operate in the 2.4 GHz band and LMDS which operates in the 28 GHz to 30 GHz band. Signals in
the higher spectrum such as LMDS signals are called millimeter waves. These waves propagate over a
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relatively short distance reliably, most often a couple of miles. Hence, wide scale deployment is a very costly
solution. Hubs are typically located on top of buildings.
MMDS systems on the other hand are more suited for large coverage areas in the range of 30 to 35 miles. Hubs
are maintained on hilltops or other higher points. Just a single tower can service a large area, with relatively
lower cost to the service provider. However, this decreases the data rates. The overall data rates vary from 500
kbps to 1 Mbps, making this solution suitable for residential and small business units only.
MMDS was originally intended to deliver wireless cable TV to subscribers. Since this service proved to be
very unpopular with subscribers, service operators have concentrated on data access. The Internet seems to be
the next big application for MMDS deployments.
MMDS Architecture
MMDS architecture is very similar to any ISP solution. An Ethernet port is connected to a router which in turn
links with a MMDS modem. The modem connects with a MMDS base station over a wireless link, thereby
replacing the wired fiber link. The base station is connected with the service provider’s equipment which is
interconnected to the Internet.
The base station uses a point-to-multipoint connection methodology which multiplexes communication from
multiple users. However, the link is line-of-sight and requires the MMDS modem to be facing the base station
antenna. The network layer is IP and the radio interface consists of physical and link layer protocols designed
especially for the wireless medium.
Access Systems
Current wireless access uses conventional modulation techniques. Future access will be based on a technology
called VOFDM (vector orthogonal frequency division multiplexing). VOFDM sums up the received signals as
well as reflected signals to produce a stronger signal level. This eliminates the line-of-sight hindrance. Using
the OFDM technique also improves the data rate characteristics. OFDM techniques divide the carrier into
several subcarriers. Since each subcarrier carries a portion of the data load, longer symbol periods can be used
which makes the system more resilient to multipath interference.
Issues
Current MMDS systems require line-of-sight operation. Also during severe weather conditions, the signal
strength deteriorates. Since MMDS antennas have a wide beam width they service a large customer base which
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reduces data rates. Typical data rates are 500 kbps to 1 Mbps. This raises concerns about the QoS achieved and
given to the customers.
Wireless data also raises concerns about security over the radio interface. Though only a very sophisticated
hacker can gain access, exchange of sensitive data is risky. Also there isn’t significant deployment of MMDS
networks. In the United States only Sprint and MCI are offering MMDS services. Recently Sprint has stopped
adding subscribers to its wireless broadband services, which raises questions about the viability of this solution
in the long-term.
Rival technologies such as WLANs are also providing customers with wireless access with data rates in the
range of 11 Mbps. Since mass customers such as residential users require low individual data rates, WLAN is
becoming quite popular.
MMDS equipment offered at the time of its launch was expensive and very complex to install, which made it
very difficult for vendor companies to gain any significant return-on-investment.
Recent Developments
Though MMDS was never a popular broadband wireless system compared to WiFi or WLANs, it is set to make
a comeback. The recently approved 802.16 standard for broadband wireless and the impending mobile
broadband wireless standard 802.20 form the basis for this revival. As prices for subscriber terminals and base
stations have fallen considerably over the past few years, vendor companies are increasingly realizing the
potential for broadband wireless equipment.
Nextel’s bid of $144 million for MCI WorldCom’s wireless spectrum licenses in the 2.4 GHz range shows the
value of this spectrum in terms of its applications. Finally, equipment enhancements such as self-installation,
portability, indoor mounting, QoS and full mobility capability address a number of technical issues that were
dominant at the time of earlier installations.
Due to a recent deregulation that allows cable TV companies to provide telephone and Internet services, along
with the development of digital technologies that make efficient use of available bandwidth, MMDS has
considerable future potential. An MMDS network can provide high-speed Internet access, telephone/fax, and
TV together, without the constraints of cable connections. These developments and the emergence of new
applications areas will hopefully elevate the profitability of MMDS services in the short and long term and
emerge as a serious wireless broadband access system.
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Figure 3-1 MMDS system architecture components
Comparison of Competing Technologies
5GHz VS 2.4Ghz
The 5 GHz band (802.11a) is less crowded than the 2.4 GHz band (802.11b). 802.11a avoids interference from
cordless phones, microwaves, and other electronic devices in the neighborhood. However, 802.11a faces
regulatory issues in some countries due to legacy systems in the 5 GHz band. The maximum data transfer rate
for 802.11a is 54 M bits/sec which is much faster than 802.11b with a speed of 11 M bits/sec. However, speed
and distance are inversely related. According to Atheros, 802.11a throughput drops to 21 M bits/sec. at 65 feet.
That's still 4 times faster than 802.11b under similar conditions.
The density of 802.11a access point (AP) is greater. To avoid channel overlap, only three 802.11b access
points can have the same footprint. The 802.11 supports 12 access points, although many products support only
eight non-overlapping channels. 802.11a also reduces co-channel interference because APs using the same
channel are set farther apart.
802.11b has an edge when it comes to maturity, per-station pricing, availability, and interoperability. By midJanuary 2003, just seven 802.11a products were Wi-Fi certified. A single radio cannot support 802.11a and
802.11b simultaneously, so migrating from 'b' to 'a' requires hardware upgrade. Even if you're starting a new
WLAN, many laptops and PDAs exist with embedded 802.11b. These 'legacy' stations will be around for a
while.
Residential users and small businesses, in many cases, should opt for 802.11b; availability and selection are
better, prices are lower, and most don't require higher density or bandwidth. Businesses with existing 802.11b
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should add 802.11a overlays in high-usage areas where bandwidth and density are pressing problems. 802.11a
can be selectively deployed for power users that run bit-hog applications. Others should either wait for Wi-Fi
certified 802.11g, or buy dual-band products.
Dual-band is the best of both worlds, at a premium price. Products include APs with two slots for replaceable
radios, cards with two radio chips, and chipsets with two integrated radios. Dual-band APs support 802.11a
and 802.11b stations simultaneously. Users with dual-band cards can associate with APs on either band. But
flexibility isn't free.
Wi-Fi VS UWB
Those developing UWB (ultra wideband) technology agree it is complementary to Wi-Fi rather than being a
replacement for Wi-Fi. If you walk into your living room, your devices that require high throughput need
UWB. 802.11 works across the house, as 10 m is too small for your household network. If 802.11 is the
wireless backbone for the home, UWB is the local network in the room.
High definition video transfer looks like the immediate killer application, while flat panel TVs will be the next
item that will ramp to UWB.
Future applications will include flat panel DVD’s and set-top boxes. Eventually it will be used in portable
devices, but due to additional cost and power requirements, those applications will be developed later.
Until the IEEE ratifies a UWB specification, the technology is in a state of flux. The different players are
pushing it in different directions to suit their own agendas. For example, Texas Instruments would have the
technology function at about 11 Mbit/sec over 10 m in a realistic environment, with the capability to push it
further by about 200 Mbit/sec and over four m.
With a UWB standard still at least a year off, the companies are forming their own technological approaches.
Companies are trying to make the standard, digital heavy. They have tried to put a lot of the processing in the
digital side of things and make it as light on the analog side as possible. It is much easier to design, debug and
test in digital than analog. Also one can leverage Moore’s Law, as the technology gets better, as the nodes
shrink, the digital will continue to shrink and the power consumption will also continue to shrink. Analog is
not going to change that much as you go down process nodes.
Texas Instruments' proposed solution uses the 4 MHz tons of OFDM (orthogonal frequency Division
multiplexing) to create flexibility, the idea being that the technology then becomes scalable. In the home this
would mean the application would be capable of gauging the best transmission rate it could support and then
transmit at that rate, falling back to a lower rate as distance is increased. On a global level, scalability means
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the UWB spectrum can be shaped to meet changing regulation needs across the world as the FCC only has
jurisdiction over the United States.
Such flexibility on a worldwide scale is thought of as key to UWB’s success. With Japan and Korea
representing the leading-edge consumer markets, UWB’s success in these countries is not only necessary but
possibly all that is necessary. If one can market the UWB in these Asian countries, then there is a sizable
enough market to justify UWB’s development.
Wi-Fi VS 802.16a
A more robust standard for high-speed broadband wireless delivery to laptops and desktops will augment the
burgeoning Wi-Fi market beginning in late 2004.
The position of the standard, 802.16a, today parallels that of WLAN technology in the late 1990s, as the
market finally grew and 802.11 price against performance gains converted WLAN from a niche to mass
market. 802.16a, dubbed WiMAX, is about to reach similar price and performance points, the study finds.
Under the current conditions, 802.16a could emulate 802.11’s rise several years from now, says study author
Andy Fuertes. 802.16a is considered the next step beyond Wi-Fi because it is optimized for broadband
operations, fixed and later mobile, in the wide area network (WAN). It already includes some advances that are
slated for introduction into the 802.11 standard, including enhanced security, higher data rates, and better
utilization of the spectrum.
WiMAX and Wi-Fi are complementary as these two technologies address different segments of the market and
are optimized for different tasks, local as opposed to metropolitan area networking. 'Last mile' access will be
the first application for 802.16a, but mobility will follow via 802.16e.
Wi-Fi Vs Bluetooth
The Bluetooth wireless technology uses the 2.4 GHz band, which is unlicensed, and can be used by many other
types of devices such as cordless phones, microwave ovens, and baby monitors. Any device designed for use in
an unlicensed band should be designed for robustness in the presence of interference, and the Bluetooth
wireless technology has many features that provide such robustness.
The Bluetooth wireless technology and Wi-Fi are complementary technologies in a sense that while the
Bluetooth wireless technology is designed to replace cables between cell phones, laptops, and other computing
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and communication devices within a 10 m range, Wi-Fi is wireless Ethernet, ie, it provides an extension or
replacement of wired networks for dozens of computing devices.
Although one really does not have the need for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to co-exist, we expect the Bluetooth
wireless technology to be used as widely as a cable replacement for devices such as PDAs, cell phones,
cameras, speakers, headsets and so on. Whereas we expect 802.11 to be used for higher speed wireless
Ethernet access.
On any given day and time if devices operate in the same frequency band , there is the potential for
interference. The severity of this interference is a function of the system designs and the distance between
devices. Since the strength of a radio signal varies approximately with the 'inverse square' of the distance, a
small increase in separation can reduce the level of interference significantly. Studies by a number of
companies indicate that if the separation is more than 2 m, in most cases there is no perceptible degradation of
transmitting data in either device. From 2 m to about a half-meter, there is a graceful degradation. As the
devices are brought in very close proximity and collocated, the degradation can be quite noticeable.
Fortunately, this scenario only happens when the two systems are in the same device, and in those cases,
Bluetooth hardware and Wi-Fi hardware can collaborate to dramatically improve performance.
Wi-Fi VS HomeRF
HomeRF is an open industry specification developed to promote wireless communications in the home and
small office environments. A group of companies from the personal computer, consumer electronics,
peripherals, communications, software, and semiconductor industries joined together to form the homeRF
working group (HRFWG), a group dedicated to the development of a common standard for this kind of
technology.
HomeRF aims at building wireless networking among home appliances, with the HomeRF 2.0 release offering
speeds of up to 10 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. The technology is principally designed for use with PC and
cordless phone applications, allowing multiple users to share the bandwidth of an external connection. Active
promoters include Siemens, Motorola, Proxim and National Semiconductor. However, its drawback was that it
was positioned in the market between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It offered speeds comparable to Wi-Fi, but
obviously lacked the same economies of scale, while as a cable replacement option it could not offer the
mobility of the widely-supported Bluetooth.
HomeRF’s death-knell was struck in March 2003 with the departure of Intel from the group. In fact, the chip
maker has since become one of the most enthusiastic backers of Wi-Fi. However, though Wi-Fi has been seen
as a rival startup technology, it has yet to prove it is more than a free add-on for Internet cafes, or broadband
wireline providers.
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Wi-Fi has claimed another notch in the belt, with the shutting down of the group backing the rival technology
HomeRF. The former chairman of the HomeRF Working Group, Ken Haase, has informed that the body is no
longer functioning. The organization is also closing down its homerf.org website. That’s a good start, but it’s
not the sign that Wi-Fi can become a commercial mass market standard.
Nanotube to Serve as an Antennae for Wireless Devices--North America
Carbon nanotubes are structures related to buckyballs, or buckminsterfullerenes. These carbon cylinders were
discovered in 1991 by a Japanese researcher, Sumio Iijima, who was using an electron microscope to study the
material deposited on a cathode during the arc-evaporation synthesis of fullerenes. Since then, hundreds of
researchers have been looking into carbon nanotubes, either as containers for other molecules--as structural
elements they’re 1,000 times stronger than steel on a weight basis--or as ingredients in future electronic
devices. Now a group of researchers at the University of Southern California discuss their efforts to use these
tiny tubes as a part of an electronic device, as elements of antennae for wireless applications.
Small amounts of noise boost the reception of weak electrical signals in p-type carbon nanotube field-effect
transistors. The effect, known as stochastic resonance, boosts the transistor’s input-output mutual information
or correlation. The effect was quite robust. The researchers found, although they were in the early stages of
learning, how to manipulate it. Bart Kosko, one of the researchers on the project feels that such noise-enhanced
signal processing at the nanolevel promises applications in signal detection in wideband communication
systems and biological and artificial neural networks.
The device that was tested consisted of a carbon nanotube stretched between two metal electrodes of Ti-Au.
Both the nanotube and the electrodes sit on a silicon dioxide insulating layer, which sits on top of a p-doped
layer of gate material. The nanotube was 3 micrometers to 5 micrometers long, and less than 2 nm in diameter.
The results of their work, said Kosko, "suggest that nanotubes can exploit noise in other signal-processing
tasks if advances in nanotube device technology can overcome the problems of hysteresis and parasitic
capacitance that affect logic circuits and high-frequency signals." If the kinks can be worked out, such devices
could find a home in a wide variety of applications, from broadband or optical communications devices, to
spread-spectrum communications. "A nanotube’s length can code for a given frequency, while chemical
adsorption can tune a nanotube’s threshold."
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The researchers believe that in addition to microelectronic applications, the research may be useful in
biological and neural applications. He feels that there may be many good applications for the technology that
we have not yet foreseen.
Magnets to Damp Out Electromagnetic Noise--North America
Over the past few years, a variety of communications technologies have come into use that transmit and receive
in an unlicensed portion of the radio spectrum, operating at 2.4 GHz. Certain types of cordless telephones,
‘Bluetooth’ devices for short-range communication of microelectronic devices, and the increasingly popular
IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking protocols all make use of the 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz frequency
band. Unfortunately, that band is also susceptible to interference from a common household device, the
microwave oven. An oven typically operates at a center frequency of 2.45 GHz, at several hundred watts of
power.
A group of researchers in the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department at the University of
Michigan report that a simple, inexpensive fix can damp out much of the electromagnetic noise caused by the
magnetron of a microwave. "The technique employs permanent magnets to generate an azimuthally varying
axial magnetic field;" said Ronald Gilgenbach, lead author on the report. By creating such a field, by placing
four permanent magnets alongside one of the two cylindrical magnets found in a typical magnetron design,
electromagnetic noise from the microwave magnetron can be significantly reduced. "The noise reduction near
the carrier is approximately 30 dB," said Gilgenbach. "Microwave sidebands are reduced or eliminated."
Gilgenbach said that the additional magnets don’t need to be identical in physical size, or spaced symmetrically
or periodically. The technique works equally well on both new magnetrons and old ones, which typically
exhibit a noisier spectrum. However, the technique does reduce the power delivered by the magnetrons, by
about 10% in a new magnetron and by about 20% in an older magnetron. If fewer magnets are used, less power
is lost, but more noise remains in the output of the device. The magnet modification works especially well at
cleaning the noise associated with the magnetron startup.
Though the researchers say that the physical mechanism of the noise reduction is not fully understood, they
have several theories that they are exploring.
On-Chip Wireless Communication--North America
As microelectronics products become more and more complex, the tiny traces that connect different parts of
the chips to each other, known as interconnects, follow ever more tortuous paths. Researchers at the University
of Florida report a new way for simplifying intra-chip communications.
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Wireless communication is becoming increasingly popular as a means for sharing data between electronic
components, with technologies such as 802.11b (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth taking the electronics market by storm.
However, Kenneth O and colleagues report using wireless communications on a much smaller scale. Rather
than shuttling data through radio signals from one side of a house to another, they radio data to and from
different parts of a single silicon chip. Their transmission, containing the clock signal needed for the orderly
operation of a processor chip, bridged a 5.6 mm gap, from a tiny transmitter to an equally tiny chip-level
receiver. "Instead of running the signal through the wires, what we did was broadcast and receive the signal,"
said O. He explained that though individual circuits are getting smaller, actual chip size is increasing in some
cases. Today's average chip is about 1 sq. cm. However, faster chips planned for the years ahead may be as
large as 2 cm or 3 cm, making wireless intra-chip communications using technology such as wireless
interconnects, more necessary.
The team has been able to bring the wireless realm down to chip level in several applications. Working with
IBM’s Watson Research Center and the Navy, they have demonstrated 13 GHz CMOS amplifiers using a 0.1
micrometer CMOS technology on silicon-on-oxide and silicon-on-sapphire films. The team has also been able
to create a 1.2 dB noise figure 900 MHz amplifier, and demonstrate on-chip wireless communication using
integrated antennas. According to the developers, antennas will be installed onto chips one way or another, it's
inevitable.
Remote Monitoring of Home Appliances--Singapore
Extensive Internet infrastructure worldwide and wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and WAP (wireless
application protocol) have created new opportunities in the remote monitoring arena. Leveraging it, researchers
from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created a software application called Domus, which
enables mobile devices to control and monitor activity on a user’s personal computer (PC).
Tan Kok Kiong, associate professor in the electrical engineering department, and his team of researchers,
introduced virtual laboratories in the NUS in the late 1990s, which let students within the department conduct
experiments anytime and anywhere with a standard Web-browser. This was expanded to develop an intelligent
home automation system. Recognizing that the home PC can be made a hub for monitoring and controlling
home appliances, Domus works on a distributed thin client model, under which a mobile device establishes a
direct connection with the targeted PC. Thus, a user can remotely check on the security system at home, turn
on home appliances, be alerted to a power failure at home, or activate a pet-feeder while on holiday, to name a
few uses.
The current version of Domus facilitates three major functions. First, using a mobile device, users can access
their e-mail service and attach files from a remote PC to a composed e-mail. Second, the application allows a
user to access and control a Microsoft PowerPoint file on his/her mobile. Third, the application can capture the
screen of the remote PC and transmit the resultant image to a mobile device. This feature provides a gateway to
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home automation applications at home and access to real-time information from applications running on a
remote PC, which might include the latest financial information or production figures.
The project is multidisciplinary in nature as, the disciplines of control, automation, communications, and
software have required extensive co-ordination. Further enhancements are being planned to expand the scope
of the device even further. Access functions to Microsoft Word and Excel documents will be available in a
forthcoming version. Moreover, a refinement is being devised, which will enable the monitoring device to alert
the owner through SMS (short messaging service) if any untoward or abnormal incident occurs. The incident
may be technical (abnormal production level), home appliance based (power failure) or even human-related (a
break-in, or someone fainting). The team says it expects to incorporate the above refinements in the next year.
The current version of Domus is available for commercialization. Funding and collaboration were initially
provided by National Instruments in 1997, and continued by the NUS.
802.20 to Give Competition to 802.16
A new mobile broadband wireless network standard that is expected to be finalized by next year is 802.20. This
IEEE standard for 4G is targeted at providing high-speed connectivity to mobile devices, such as cell phones,
personal digital assistants (PDA), and laptops. The objective of this standard is to bring in an affordable,
omnipresent, interoperable mobile wireless access networks that meet the needs of end-user markets. The IEEE
standard for 4G--802.20--will be fixed by the end of next year and will support data rates up to 4 Mbit/sec.
with frequencies up to 3.5 GHz. The 4G standard will allow cell phones to operate from vehicles traveling at
up to 250 km/hr, and could be based on OFDM, CDMA and multiantenna techniques.
The standard is data centric and is considered to complement the existing 3G standards. The frequency range in
which the standard is expected to work is below 3.5 GHz, data transmission rate is 4 Mbits/sec (Mbps), and
peak user rate downlink is greater than 1 Mbps. As is the case with the 802.16 standard, 802.20 supports timedivision duplexing as well as frequency division duplexing. It is intended to support vehicular mobility even at
the speed of 250 kms/hr which implies that the standard would work well even in a high-speed train. The
latency time for the 802.20 standard is less than 20 millisec. It could operate using orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM), carrier division multiple access (CDMA) or multiantennae techniques.
802.20 and 802.16 have complementary focus. 802.16 has a long way to go before it catches up with 802.20.
802.20 is a combination between fixed broadband access such as 802.16 and W-CMDA, although it does not
replace LAN. Flarion Technologies, United States, has plans of submitting a proposal to support 802.20 mobile
broadband wireless access (MBWA) by using ODFM. ODFM is the technique of splitting the given high-speed
channel in to multiple low speed channels with small band gaps between them.
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Some of the potential applications of this IEEE standard 802.20 are access to the Web, file transfer without any
size limitations, e-mail, video and audio streaming, IP multicast, telematics, location-based services, VPN
connections, voice-over-Internet protocol, instant messaging, on-line live gaming and real-time applications,
for which the response time needs to be minimal.
Drivers & Restrains
Drivers
Wireless LAN technology allows instant connectivity to unconnected workers in the corporate network from a
conference room, the cafeteria, or somewhere in the vicinity of the building at speeds several times faster than
a dial-up modem. As it is very simple to attach wireless access points to wired high-speed networks,
installation can be done in hours rather than weeks or months. The biggest advantage of this networking
standard seems to stem from the fact that it can work with all existing applications.
The benefits of deploying wireless LANs can be summarized as the following:
Mobility: It offers mobility and can boost productivity with the convenience of wirelessly connecting to the
network from any point within range of an access point. WLAN provides continuous, cable free access to your
network, e-mail, and the Internet throughout the workplace. With a wireless network, you and your staff can
work from anywhere, anytime.
Ease of Configuration: You can quickly extend a wired network with the ease of attaching an access point to
a high-speed connection and add additional access points as needed.
Ease of Deployment: Deploying a wireless LAN can be cheaper than a wired LAN. Wireless networks are
quickly installed, provide flexibility, and are easily reconfigured. Very low incremental cost is required to add
users to an existing WLAN network. Implementations do not require the expense or maintenance of wiring.
High-Speed Connection: Today's wireless networks offer high performance and bandwidth to keep all your
essential applications and transactions running. Throughput speeds comparable with or better than 10-baseT
wired networks provide reliable access to e-mail, the Internet, file sharing, and other network resources away
from the desk.
Cost Savings: In terms of value of wireless, mobility, flexibility and lower cost implementation. WLANs
require no cables, which saves companies thousands of dollars; moreover, information can now be accessed
from remotest points.
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Support: Tri-mode/dual-band products supporting 802.11a, b and g will drive the market for users interested
in Wireless LAN connections as they support maximum number of standards.
Applications: Wireless technology also has a great future ahead, with high-speed, short range technologies
such as Ultra Wide Band set to replace USB cables in three or four years. However,in the meantime and,
despite its faults, wireless remains one of the most exciting technologies of recent times
Finally, with recent European approvals, 802.11a is ready to deliver both high performance and capacity on
less-congested frequencies. Best of all, new tri-mode client cards can talk to all three.
Restraints
Before worrying about performance, security and interference, the first wireless issue you may experience is
incompatibility. Over a few short years, the original 802.11 wireless Ethernet standard has enjoyed numerous
extensions, each identified by a lower-case letter tagged at the end. Some refer to entire physical layers
designed for networking, while others specifically enhance security, quality of service and interoperability. The
crucial thing, though, is that certain combinations may work together, while others won't.
Third-party certification may aim to simplify compatibility concerns, but introduces additional terms and
branding. Finally, manufacturers eager to gain a competitive edge may release products based on a new
standard while it's still in draft form.
Hidden joists, metal sheets, tanks or girders can impact wireless range. Their range is typically limited to
between 60 ft and 300 ft in unobstructed areas.
Every access point has a maximum operating range and number of simultaneous users, but if you need to
increase either you need extra access points.
Perhaps the biggest technical issue facing day-to-day wireless networking is interference, either from nearby
wireless networks or devices sharing the same radio frequencies. The 2.4 GHz frequency is particularly
congested, with 802.11b and 802.11g networks sharing the same radio resources such as Bluetooth, microwave
ovens, cordless phone systems, baby monitors and wireless video senders. In the presence of other 2.4 GHz
devices, the performance and range of 802.11b and 802.11g networks could both be reduced. Similarly,
wireless networks could impact other 2.4 GHz devices. Wireless video senders seem particularly at risk, often
suffering from audio and video interference in the presence of 802.11b or 802.11g networks. One solution is to
try changing the channel on which your access point or device is operating, but if this doesn't work, you will
either have to switch off the conflicting device or swap it for one operating at a different frequency.
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Careful channel selection is also essential to avoid interference between nearby Wireless Access Points. While
you may believe the 11 to 14 channels of 802.11b and 802.11g provide plenty of scope, each one overlaps with
the next. In fact to eliminate interference, you should select 802.11b/g channels numbered as many as five
apart. Consequently 802.11b and 802.11g are limited to just three non-overlapping channels: 1, 6 and 11.
802.11a is superior in terms of congestion and interference.
Finally the radio waves that transport wireless networking data can easily penetrate walls and be received by
snoopers. So security is a concern. Worried corporates can, however, implement additional security measures
by connecting users through virtual private networks (VPNs), but these come at additional costs.
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Assessment of Radio Frequency and Optical
Communication Technologies
RF Technologies
Technology Assessment--Intense Innovation Drives Applications
The field of radio frequency communications has grown in leaps and bounds, and research in this field justifies
million dollar investments. We have come a long way from old transistor-based systems, that carried only
voice, to the new generation digital voice and data systems. For defense purposes, the whole meaning of RF
systems changes. The battlefield is a place where lives depend on the existence of reliable communication
technologies.
With the Internet boom, everything changed. It changed the way information is exchanged and processed.
Digital data systems play a vital role in this. It was quickly realized that visual information is easier to
understand than audio data or voice. Typically, visual systems require huge amounts of bandwidth and hence
the need for broadband, high-range data communication systems. This research service profiles companies that
specialize in equipment for high data rate, and extremely high-frequency data communication systems.
Innovative technologies have emerged to provide broadband communications in extreme situations, such as
disasters and natural calamities. For example, one system being developed by researchers at the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University relies on leftover fiber ends to provide broadband communications in
disaster areas.
Innovations such as wireless system-on-a-chip and optical antennas will see increasing use. Companies such as
Trex Enterprises have been pioneering the field of long-haul free-space optical and RF communications, while
Japanese companies including Fujitsu have recently announced the production of long-haul broadband data
rate systems for metro networks. Startups such as Dragonwave Inc. are also boasting of a 50 Mbps to 100
Mbps wireless communication system with a range of over 10 miles. Ensemble Communications and Harris
Corp. have been providing military grade broadband communication systems. Ceragon Networks and P-Com,
who have primarily been telecom carrier equipment suppliers and manufacturers, provide carrier-grade longhaul wireless systems in the 7 GHz to 60 GHz range. Companies such as Redline Communications supply
OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing)-based RF systems.
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Wireless Broadcast Across Chip--North America
It’s a very small radio station, which could have an important impact. A team of electrical engineers at
University of Florida is showing a wireless communication system built entirely on a single chip. A miniature
radio transmitter broadcasts information across the chip to a miniature antenna. This is the first wireless
communications system for moving data within a chip that we’ve come across.
Kenneth O at University of Florida tells us that it is the future. "Antennas are going to get installed onto chips
one way or another - it’s inevitable. We are really the first group that is making the technology happen." It
solves some real problems. Transmitting information to all parts of the chip simultaneously through the many
tiny wires embedded in the silicon platform is getting much more difficult as chips get bigger and more
complex. Kenneth O’s chip-based radio systems would bypass the wiring, ensuring continued performance
improvements in the larger chips. They could also make possible, tiny, inexpensive microphones, motion
detectors, and other devices.
In the all-on-a-chip system, the transmitter is a voltage-controlled oscillator, an amplifier, and an antenna. And
the receiver is an antenna, a low-noise amplifier, a frequency divider, and buffers. They demonstrate each of
these individual circuits with 0.18 -micrometer complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology
at 15 GHz. The work was supported by the industry consortium Semiconductor Research Corp., which has
worried that traditional interconnect systems won’t be able to meet performance needs of microprocessors at
the 0.1-micrometer technology node and beyond. Global interconnect delay becomes significantly larger than
gate delay, at this limit.
Today’s fastest commercial chips, used in Pentium 4 and other high-end processors, operate at 2 GHz.
Techniques are rapidly being developed to speed them up. Chips in labs already process information as fast as
20 GHz, and 100 GHz looks feasible. The chips will also get bigger, with 2 sq. cm to 3 sq. cm projected over
the next two decades.
All this makes it harder to send information to all of the chip’s regions simultaneously. The distances between
the millions of tiny circuits within the chip become more varied. Kenneth tells us that this will impact the
chips’ performance when the delay affects distribution of the clock signal, the basic signal that synchronizes
the many different information processing tasks assigned to the chip. This signal must reach all regions of the
chip at essentially the same time for optimum performance.
The University of Florida team broadcast the clock signal from its on-chip transmitter on one side of a chip to
5.6 mm across the chip to its receiver. "Instead of running the signal through the wires," O reports, "what we
did was broadcast and receive the signal."
Copper and low-K dielectrics have been introduced by the industry to reduce the global interconnect delay, but
they will only work for a few more generations. The global interconnect delay is particularly worrisome
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Assessment of Radio Frequency and Optical Communication Technologies
because the global clock signals must be distributed across the microprocessor with skews of less than 10% of
the global clock period. Each new generation of microprocessors increases clock frequency, decreasing clock
period, and reducing the amount of skew that can be tolerated. This is happening at the same time, as chip area
and total delay through the clock distribution network are both increasing.
This is the widening gap that the University of Florida chip will close. A signal is generated on-chip at about
eight times the local clock frequency, and sent to the antenna. Clock receivers distributed throughout the
integrated circuit (IC) detect the signal and then amplify and synchronously divide it down to the local clock
frequency. These local clock signals are buffered and distributed to adjacent circuitry.
As with optical interconnects, wireless signals propagate at the speed of light. However, since optical
components won’t be needed, the system should be easier to integrate into CMOS chips. They should also
provide another means for global communications, freeing wires for other purposes. Moreover, using wireless
interconnects in a clock distribution system should reduce the latency in the clock tree, helping reduce clock
skews and eliminating the frequency dispersion problem that could ultimately limit maximum clock frequency.
Applications will go beyond maintaining the performance of larger chips, Kenneth tells us. The availability of
such chips could lead to a chip-to-chip wireless communications infrastructure, seamlessly and constantly
connecting desktop, handheld computers, mobile phones, and other portable devices. The military has shown
interest in pairing wireless chips with tiny sensors such as microphones, to drop thousands of these devices in a
region to eavesdrop over a wide area. On the home front, wireless chips could be paired with motion detectors
and implanted in the walls of buildings to help find victims of a disaster.
Optical Communication Technologies
High Data Rates and Long Haul Spans
Optical wireless solutions or free space optics (FSO) offers the advantages of both wireless and optical
communications. Instant connectivity and mobility offered by wireless technologies combined with the high
data rates, security and long-haul spans makes FSO one of the most important means of communication. FSO
is particularly important in tactical communication systems using space or ground-based lasers.
The lasers' higher capacity is fundamentally due to their higher frequencies. Satellite telemetry systems use
radio frequencies up to 40 GHz, or 40 billion cycles/sec. By contrast, near-infrared light has a frequency of
about 193 THz, allowing data transmission to take place thousands of times more rapidly.
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This makes lasers and optical wireless communications important for defense considerations. For decades, the
military establishment has sought a form of high-data-rate communication that's intercept free. Many military
groups, including Special Forces and the Navy, using ships in a radio-free zone, have taken a turn listing the
benefits of such a system. Encrypted radio and microwave signals only go part of the way because, while an
interceptor might not know the details of the message, one can determine the position of a transmitter by
triangulating the source. On the other hand, signals sent through modulated laser beams are extremely secure.
Not only can they be encrypted, but someone would have to be in the direct path of the light to intercept the
signal.
Considerable sums of money have been spent on research activities to develop FSO communication
capabilities. FSO has already been in commercial use to solve what is called the ‘last mile problem’.
Commercially available FSO products provide high-speed data and voice connectivity in congested metro
areas. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have
been funding research projects aimed at developing such capabilities. The Naval Research Lab (NRL)
established one of the first high-speed long-haul experimental laser communications links across the
Chesapeake Bay. This project was implemented by the Honeywell Technology Solutions Incorporated.
DARPA is supporting the development of steerable agile beam (STAB) capability through its microsystems
technology office. A consortium of leading defense contractors and universities are working on this grant.
Boeing, for example, is working in conjunction with Rockwell Scientific Company. The European Space
Agency has already demonstrated the viability of FSO communications in space using the Artemis satellite.
The Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on a space local area network
project that would use free space laser links for data transmission.
Lawrence Livermore Completes Laser Communication Link--North America
In what is considered the longest terrestrial high-capacity air optics link between the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory and Mount Diablo, the team has completed a 28-km, high-capacity laser communication
link between those two points. The project was initiated to develop an optical wireless testbed for evaluating
new laser communication technologies.
Laser communications consists of an optical system in which information is encoded on a laser beam and
transmitted to a receiver telescope. Functionally similar to radiofrequency or microwave communications,
lasers use the optical part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The laser communication beam is not visible or
harmful in any way.
The experiments were conducted as part of the secure air-optic transport and routing Network (SATRN)
program, which is cosponsored by the Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and International Security Directorate,
and Laboratory Directed Research and Development to provide advanced technologies for long-range laser
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communications.The initial laboratory - Mount Diablo, link transmitted data at a single-channel data rate of 2.5
GB/sec, the equivalent to the transmission of 1,600 conventional T1 data lines, 400 TV channels, or 40,000
simultaneous phone calls.
Proliferation detection, counter-proliferation, arms control, counterterrorism, and war-fighting, all require the
timely and secure communication of information in situations where fiber-optic cable is physically or
economically impractical and data requirements exceed radiofrequency or microwave wireless capacity. The
experiment was conducted on the supervision of Tony Ruggiero, the principal investigator on the project.
Ruggiero says that the next challenge for the SATRN team, is transmitting data long distances for longer
periods of time to establish a solid baseline for the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of the system’s
single-channel long-range link performance.
A New Family of Optical Materials--North America
Researchers have come up with a new type of glass that’s useful for much more than just windows and bottles.
The material, they say, could have applications across a wide range of fields, including applications in optical
communications devices, infrared materials, power lasers, surgical lasers, and sensors. In addition, the material
could serve as a low-cost replacement for the sapphire windows that are currently used in some optical
applications.
The glass, developed by scientists at Containerless Research with support form NASA and the National
Science Foundation, has been dubbed REAl Glass, for ‘rare earth aluminum oxide,’ the key components of the
material. The production process involves the creation of a supercooled fluid, that allows the atoms of rare
earth elements to be well distributed in the finished glass. The process is containerless, eliminating contact
between the molten material and a solid container. Initially, NASA research facilities that allowed the scientists
to levitate their molten glass in an electrostatic field were used. Later, other means of levitating the materials
were used, including aero-acoustic levitators or conical nozzle levitators. However, the researchers said that
the levitation was not necessarily needed, in that, methods could be employed that float the glass components
on materials such as molten gold metal to achieve the same separation for contamination.
"The REAl Glass products are a new family of optical materials," says Richard Weber, a scientist with
Containerless Research. "We're already making commercial quantities of glass rods and plates for use in
lasers," he added. Additional applications are in the works. The company is currently manufacturing the
materials in 10 mm-thick rods and plates, through a high-temperature manufacturing process. The process
allows the precise rare-earth composition of each mix to be tailored for specific applications. "Our glass can
provide efficient power lasers and expand coverage to new wavelengths," by using the tenability aspect of the
material, Weber said.
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Carbon Nanotubes for RF Signal Processing - North America
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has awarded a $300,000 grant to two researchers
from the University of California at Irvine to develop radiofrequency signal processing components for
wireless communications, based on carbon nanotubes.
Peter Burke and William Tang will be collaborating in a research to understand, characterize, and control the
electronic circuit properties of freely suspended carbon nanotube nanoelectromechnical radio frequency (RF)
resonators, as well as the ultimate speed limits of active nanotube transistors.
Peter Burke's goal, who works as an assistant professor in UCI’s Department of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science (EECS), is to develop nano-RF signal processing components for wireless communications
using the carbon nanotubes.
In the last decade, the cylindrical molecule of carbon known as a nanotube has become a do-all wonder
futuristic substance, touted for future use in everything from X-ray machines to paint. Though the use of
nanotubes in RF signal processing is relatively new, Burke and Tang are ready to tackle the challenges by
combining their expertise in nanometer-scale device fabrication and MEMs (microelectromechanical systems).
They believe that merging MEMs and nanotubes electronics will provide the best long-term solution for
power-efficient wireless networking systems, on a single chip.
The researchers begin their study by working on the filter, which selects the proper frequency among many
conversations being broadcast and presents it to the rest of the phone’s electronics. Given the importance of a
filter, Burke and Tang thought that it would be the best, although not necessarily the easiest place to start.
Currently, the filter is a separate chip, and having a separate chip for a specific function will increase the costs.
The team expects the first prototype to be ready within two years and a couple years from that
commercialization can begin.
Colloidal Quantum Dot Laser for Communication Devices - North America
Researchers at MIT report that they have created an optically-pumped quantum dot laser that uses a colloidal,
rather than an epitaxial approach. The discovery may make quantum dot-based lasers a more viable approach
for practical applications.
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Quantum dots are structures of semiconductor material about 180 nm in diameter. Common quantum dot
structures are made of materials such as InAs, InP, and CdSe. The photon-emitting crystals, just a few hundred
atoms in size, may one day form the basic building block of a new generation of light-based computing and
communication devices. Just under two years ago, Bawendi and colleagues at MIT and at Los Alamos National
Lab, established theoretically that closely packed solids comprised of nanocrystal quantum dots could offer the
necessary performance for efficient emission of laser light.
Due to their tiny size (being practically one-dimensional), a quantum dot device can be tuned to emit very
specific wavelengths of light, making them of interest for a variety of phontonics applications. In the past,
quantum dot laser technologies have been primarily based either on a self-assembly approach or on an epitaxial
deposition approach, in which thin layers of semiconducting material are deposited in precise positions. In the
current work, nanocrystals of organically-coated CdSe are suspended in a glassy film coating using standard
solution-based methods. This gain medium is then mounted on a waveguide combined with a grating.
According to the authors, this colloidal approach makes the materials much easier to produce and work with.
There are many approaches available for tuning such a device. The wavelength of light emitted can be altered
by changing the properties of either the grating, the waveguide, or the size of the nanocrystal particles in the
gain medium. As predicted for quantum dot-based lasers, the device can operate effectively over a wide range
of temperatures - in this case, ranging from 80 K to room temperature.
Ruby Slows Light - North America
Researchers have found that lasers and a ruby crystal can be used to create slow light at room temperature; a
finding that could have applications for a number of technologies. Control of the transmission of light is a key
tool needed for the success of a variety of technologies. "Controllable optical delay lines, optical data storage,
optical memories, and devices for quantum information, all could benefit from this work," said Robert Boyd of
the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester. The new ruby-based technique is "much simpler than
those previously used for generating slow light."
In 2000, a team of Harvard researchers reported slowing the speed of light down to about 38 miles an hour by
sending it through a cloud of super-chilled sodium atoms in a state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate.
(The speed of light in a vacuum is 186,171 m/sec) Last year, those researchers and a group at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics, managed to take the work one step further. Using the interaction between
two laser beams, chilled atomic vapor (sodium in one case, rubidium in the other), and a magnetic field, they
were able to stop light, hold it inside the vapor, and then release it later.
Last year, scientists at MIT, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Texas A&M and the Electronics and
Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejon South Korea, reported slowing light down to 45 m/s--and
even bringing it to a complete halt--inside a solid crystal of Pr doped Y2SiO5, the first time that light has been
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successfully brought to a standstill in a solid. That system needed to be held at a temperature of just 5 degrees
above absolute zero in order to work.
The technique relies on a quantum coherence effect known as coherent population oscillations in order to
work. The effect produces a very narrow spectral hole in the absorption profile of the ruby crystal when it is
illuminated by a pump wave from a laser, changing the optical properties when a probe wave is then applied.
Boyd found that it was not necessary to apply separate pump and probe waves to the ruby crystal in order to
observe slow light effects. A single intense pulse of light is able to provide the saturation required to provide
slow light propagation. The ruby crystal was able to slow light down to as low as 57.5 m/s.
The fact that the slowing takes place in a solid and at room temperature, the researchers said, makes it
especially attractive for potential applications in telecommunications settings.
Addressing the Last Mile Problem in Communication - North America
Free-space optical (FSO) technologies offer optical capacity, but are typically deployed at lengths under a
kilometer for reasonable availability. FSO has a major time-to-market advantage over fiber. Fiber builds often
take 6 months to 9 months, whereas an FSO link can be operational in a few days. Millimeter wave technology
at 60 GHz is unlicensed due to oxygen absorption and is capable of higher capacity than frequencies at longer
wavelengths. However, it is susceptible to outage in heavy rain regions and is thus limited in range (about 400
m or so).
A new solution to the last-mile problem uses the strengths of two of these technologies to mutually mitigate
each other's weakness. Hybrid FSO Radio (HFR) combines free-space optical and 60 GHz millimeter wave
(MMW) technologies to provide, for the first time, a true carrier grade (99.999%) wireless, and redundant,
unlicensed system capable of ranges greater than 1 km in all weather conditions. HFR is poised to be the
disruptive technology that will help carriers liquidate bandwidth assets currently locked in fiber networks.
Harris Corporation has developed a method and apparatus for a free space optical nonprocessing satellite
transponder that includes the step of receiving a phase modulated optical communication signal in a satellite.
HRL Laboratories has developed a combination RF and optical beam steerer. It comprises an optically
transparent substrate having first and second major surfaces, the first surface having disposed an array of
conductive elements associated with a radio frequency beam steerer and the second surface having an array of
elements disposed, associated with an optical beam steerer. TRW Inc has developed an optical communication
system using a radio frequency (RF) signal for communicating an analog communication signal. It comprises
of an optical transmitter and receiver. The transmitter generates a reference light beam that is shifted in
frequency by the RF frequency, responds to the analog communication signal and produces a communication
light beam having a phase modulation corresponding to the analog communication signal. Raytheon’s
invention relates to reception of electromagnetic signals by an array of antenna elements connecting with
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respective receiving circuits and, more particularly, to the use of optical fibers for communicating received
signals and for energizing the receiving circuits.
Use Gold Nanocrystal as RFID Inks - North America
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the emerging automation technologies that gets a lot of
attention these days. Currently, RFID tags cost between 20 cents and $1, which is high. Researchers are trying
to reduce the cost of these tags, so that this technology can be used in all products across supply chains,
manufacturing processes, and other emerging applications. The other drawback of RFID is size. Compared to
barcodes, RFID tags are bigger and less practical. This is because tags have both active and passive
components, while barcodes have only passive components.
A multidisciplinary research group of chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers at the University of
California at Berkeley have overcome those drawbacks. Led by Vivek Subramanian, the team has developed
electronic inks that enable circuits to be patterned onto paper, plastic, or cloth without damaging the material.
These circuits include both passive components (inductor, capacitors) and active components (transistors and
diodes), forming an RFID tag.
The Holy Grail of the system is the production of gold nanocrystals that are only 20 atoms wide and melt at
100 degrees C. These are encapsulated in an alkanethiol and dispersed in ink. An inkjet printer is used to
deposit the ink on a surface in the desired circuit pattern. The heat of the printing process dries the alkanethiol,
leaving a highly conductive gold pattern on the surface. Given the small amount of gold needed, the system is
predicted to be relatively inexpensive. Subramanian’s target is to develop a system that adds less than half a
cent to current product packaging costs.
For now, RFID is used mostly in supply chain management (SCM) as well as asset and baggage tracking.
However, manufacturers have begun to realize the advantage of using RFID technology in SCM to track assets
both in warehouse inventory and in transit. Devices that use RFID technology help logistics managers to scan
and communicate the location of products. They also help in checking the inventory of a particular product.
Tags can be programmed to have adequate information about the object including date and place of
manufacture. Companies can use these tags to prevent theft, reduce errors, and get first-hand information
regarding products being shipped.
Subramanian’s next goal is to add some programmability to the tags. Therefore, he is working on adding
memory to the tags. At the same time, he is also developing high-quality printable transistors that are resistant
to corrosive oxygen and moisture.
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This Tag Will Self Destruct in 30 Seconds - The Netherlands
Two months ago, Royal Philips Electronics announced that its radio frequency identification (RFID) circuits-an electronic bar code that can be implanted in an object and then read at a distance through a radio-based
challenge/response transmission--would be used by clothing manufacturer Benetton to tag clothing in its Sisley
brand line. The announcement, which came on the heels of an order for 500 million passive RFID tags by
Gillette, the maker of personal care products such as razors, was seen as a sign that RFID was perhaps ready to
enter the consumer market in a big way. In a retail environment, RFID tags could allow advanced inventory
control systems known as smart shelves. Such technology could alert store staff when stocks become low or
are being stolen, as well as enable automatic re-ordering of products.
After the announcement from Philips, however, a campaign by concerned privacy groups caused Benetton to
issue a statement saying that "no microchips
(smart labels) are present in the more than 100 million
garments produced and sold throughout the world under its brand names," and that "no feasibility studies have
yet been undertaken with a view to the possible industrial introduction of this technology." Members of the
groups were concerned that the tag chips would remain active even after the clothing was purchased, and could
potentially be used to track or identify individuals.
In a technological solution to this problem, researchers at the Auto-ID Center--a consortium of three
universities and many companies involved in RFID technologies--have come up with a way to permanently
disable the tags using a self-destruct command. Under the specifications for a type of RFID known as EBC
(electronic bar code), the tags can kill themselves.
The "transponders also implement a password-protected self destruct command, that enables the owner of the
tag to electrically and permanently destroy the tag," explained Sanjay Sarma, in a report on security and
privacy in RFID systems. "It was determined that a secret key must be used to execute the self destruct
command; therefore, requiring the destruction of a single tag at a time." Even if the key was broken, steps
could be taken to detect and react to unauthorized deactivation of a tag by monitoring for the signals. At least
three RFID manufacturers (Philips, Alien Technology, and Matrics Inc) have said that they plan to have tags
incorporating the self-destruct feature on the market very soon.
RFID Tags on the Rise - The Netherlands
Don’t look now, but your shirt may know what color it is. Your tires may know whether they’re sitting in a
showroom, or are out on the road. And Fido may know its owner’s address, and provide that information on
request. They’re all part of a recent explosion in the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, tiny
transmitters (either passive or active) that can be used to aid security, materials tracking, and other
identification applications. When queried by a transponder, a tag replies with a low-power radio transmission.
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Earlier this year, International clothing manufacturer Benetton announced that it would incorporate RFID
devices into the tags on clothing in its Sisley brand line. The tags, which manufacturer Royal Philips
Electronics says are ‘imperceptible to the wearer,’ will be used to encode such information as the clothing’s
style, size, color and intended destination. A tag reader can scan the information in the tag remotely, without a
line-of-sight to the tag. In addition, multiple items can be scanned at once--allowing an entire sealed box of
items to be inventoried instantly.
Earlier this year, Gillette placed an order for 500 million passive RFID tags, which it intends to use in a trial of
advanced inventory control systems known as smart shelves in stores. Such technology could alert store staff
when stocks become low or are being stolen, as well as enable automatic re-ordering of products.
Though the basics of RFID technology are well established, there’s still a need for research into improvements.
Tire manufacturer Michelin announced earlier this year, that it was conducting fleet trials of tires containing
embedded RFID transmitters that could be used to identify a vehicle, as well as contain safety information
about the tire’s properties. The company has had to develop its own antenna designs for the project, as off-theshelf systems proved not to work well through the rubber of the tire. In addition, bonding issues between the
tag and tire materials required in-house research.
Other manufacturers are trying to shrink the tags, as well as find ways of incorporating them into a variety of
smart labels and tags. Implantable tags are used in some areas for identification of stray pets. And one
company, Applied Digital Solutions, has even developed a device known as the VeriChip, which could be
implanted into people to carry health information.
FDA Approves Chip Implant - North America
The US Food and Drug Administration permitted a Florida-based company to use implantable biochips in
humans for "security, financial, and personal identification/safety applications." The agency said in its letter
that when used for these applications, an implantable chip would not be considered a medical device that must
be regulated by the agency. The ruling frees Applied Digital Solutions to continue the development of its
VeriChip technology for human use. However, the agency stressed that if future chips were to be marketed to
provide information to assist in the diagnosis or treatment of injury or illness, they could then be considered
regulated medical devices that would be subject to an extensive safety review process.
The chips under discussion are 12 x 2.1 mm, RFID (radio frequency identification) tags about the size of a
grain of rice that can be implanted under the skin of an animal using a simple injection procedure. The
insertion takes just minutes, and can be performed under a local anesthetic. A polyethylene sheath around the
chip helps the skin bond to the device, holding it in place. Passing a handheld scanner device near the chip
causes it to transmit a unique serial number, which can then be looked up in a database for identification
purposes.
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Related technologies are currently marketed for pet identification by companies such as Avid, Destron-Fearing,
and HomeAgain. Some pet-adoption centers and municipalities require that new pets be implanted with such
chips. The company is promoting human chipping for applications ranging from customer verification at
automatic teller machines to matching passengers with luggage at airports.
Although the company has previously mentioned medical applications for their technology (such as
identification of wandering Alzheimer’s patients, or keeping track of drug-prescription histories in hospital
records as a sort of cyber medic alert bracelet, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) officials have expressed
concern about marketing the device for such uses.
Integrate RFID with Other Applications - North America
Researchers at the University of Rochester have found a new application using radio frequency identification
(RFID) tags. Traditionally, RFID tags are used to track products, and find use in supermarkets and other
applications that involve tracking. The radio tags are built with transponders capable of transmitting unique
identification numbers. Radio receivers monitor the tags to track stocks in real time.
The team at Rochester, lead by Jack Mottley, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has
reversed the traditional radio tags by making the receivers mobile and the transponders fixed. This enables
transmission of information at certain points in space. "We reversed the usual application of fixed reader and
portable tags to use fixed tags to let a person know where they are," says Mottley.
The system, called navigational assistance for the visually impaired (NAVI), has been designed to provide
location information for the visually impaired and other applications, such as self-guided tours. The system
consists of a set of permanently mounted passive transponders and a reader device carried by the user. Mottley
explains that the system tips off an inventory system when a specific item is near; a transponder initiates a
particular CD track when a playback device comes in its field.
This system may be used as an alternative to global positioning system-based schemes for aiding in locationspecific information and other navigational assistance. As the passive transponders get installed in key points
such as hallways, "the user will simply turn on the device, make sure the correct CD is installed, and then put
on headphones," said Mottley. "As they pass by the transponder the CD player will turn on and play a
particular track--say track number 3," he said.
The team at Rochester points that developing such a system is economical as the device is made from off-the
shelf parts and is easier to maintain as transponders are economical, simple, and durable. These tags do not
contain power supplies and are adept in functioning even if they are covered with layers of paint.
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The team is devising the system, the size of a normal portable CD player, and is also working on improving the
prototype with a longer range tag reader. Mottley says there is need to achieve about a 2 m read range. The
system could eventually be used in self-guided tours at places such as museums, and as a way to give people
directions in complicated and confusing buildings such as medical centers, according to Mottley. The method
could be used in commercial applications within the next two years, concludes Mottley.
Detect Biological and Chemical Agents Using RF-Based Biosensor - North America
Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices have been long in existence. Retailers and consumer packagedgoods companies are believed to be the largest users of this technology. The major benefit of the technology is
that it allows companies to precisely track their inventories and enable the study of consumer preferences.
Researchers at Auburn University, are now developing ways to include sensors in RFID tags that can be used
to detect biological and chemical agents, creating an effective tool to combat acts of terror. The main focus of
the research at Auburn is to develop a biological and chemical agent detection tool that will find application in
the food industry. The team at Auburn attaches biosensors to the RFID tags, so that they can instantly alert
suppliers and retailers of any potential threats, such as anthrax or other toxins in their products.
Barton Prorok and his team are developing the RFID biosensor by coating microscopic structures, on a
cantilever less than 100 micrometers long, with bacteriophages--viruses that bind with anthrax and other
biological and chemical agents. Typically, when an agent binds with the phage coating, the cantilever generates
a signal that gets transmitted to a handheld RFID receiver.
The main goal of the research team is to integrate the tiny sensor, a transducer, and a chip on a stamp-sized
RFID tag. The device is built in such a way that it can be submerged in liquids such as milk or juice bottles, or
at the bottom of a meat package.
This research is at an early stage and a bacteriophage-based RFID biosensor will take years of development
before it reaches large scale commercial application. Food companies have begun testing the RFID biosensor;
McDonald’s largest beef supplier, Golden State Foods, is one. Another company, Fresh Alert has included
RFID tags with temperature sensors and timers, to signal when perishables have become unsafe for
consumption.
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Wireless Sensor Systems
Smart Devices and Sensors
The integration of wireless communications with sensors is one of the next big step ahead in both these
technologies. The growth of the personal communications market is driving the cost of radio devices down and
the quality up. The expenses associated with installing, terminating, testing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and
upgrading wiring is also growing. With wiring in some specialized installations approaching $2000/ft, the
appeal of wireless systems is obvious.
Innovations alone have not brought wireless solutions to the industrial marketplace. The market forces driving
wireless technologies continue to offer components that exploit new technologies at astoundingly low prices
and high quality. However, many engineers are not yet convinced about the reliability of wireless sensors on
factory floors due to deficiencies in radio frequency operations. Generally, when a wireless sensor network is
designed for a real-world application, engineers tend to go with a proven product, even though it may have its
limitations. Wireless Ethernet and Bluetooth networks are often chosen for applications solely because they are
on the shelf and have a history of being effective. Systems scientists will tell you how ultra-wide band (UWB)
that has many advantages, was developed for wireless communications and not the factory floor.
The industry has established networks of wireless sensors that can operate in a demanding environment and
provide clear advantages in cost, size, power, flexibility, and distributed intelligence. Sensor network designs
have changed greatly over the last 50 years. The cost and complexity of hard wiring prompted many to
embrace bus architectures when they became available in the 1970s. Bus and network topologies significantly
reduced the required wiring, and provided an opening for distributed intelligence at the unit and factory floor
levels.
The shrinking cost of computational power drives the move to distributed architecture. Some organizations
have successfully developed components for wireless sensors but haven't been able to produce an integrated
sensor that meets the operating parameters necessary for real-world use. Bringing new technologies to bear on
sensor design requires an interdisciplinary approach to design that many organizations have been unable to
implement. Yet, many have speculated that the next generation Internet will be much more sensory interactive
than it is at present. Adding the numbers of sensors necessary to address this demand will bring the sensor
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business to new paradigms. Preparing to make this transition today is critical to the long-term success of
organizations.
Smart Devices and Smart Sensors
Smart devices have evolved from the combination of modern solid-state technology and digital
communications. Solid-state technology has the ability to integrate complementary trends such as new sensing
methods and improved computing capability. There are four main areas where smart sensors differ from
standard sensors, by adding functionality:
•
Process data manipulation
•
Diagnostic information
•
Configuration capabilities
•
Information storage
•
Digital communication capabilities
Process data manipulation lets smart sensors provide added functionality. They can amplify and digitize
signals, and the software then conditions the signals. A basic sensor usually does not deliver a linear signal.
Linearity, however, is the goal in process control.
Smart sensors add value to a system by providing advanced diagnostic information. They are designed to
operate under specific physical conditions, and can monitor their environment, and notify the applications
when their surroundings approach critical limits. Flexible sensor configuration minimizes the number of
different sensors that a user must develop or hold in inventory. With the configuration capabilities of smart
sensors, the same sensor type can be optimized and configured for different jobs in different applications. By
using a serial communication link to the device, transfer of information can be managed efficiently. Required
data is only reported at the time when the information is needed. The combination of smart sensors and
wireless communications technologies has lead to the wireless sensor.
Smart sensors can automatically adapt their behavior in a certain range under changing internal and external
conditions. Self-calibration is one example of adaptive behavior. By using adaptive technology, device lifetime
can be extended by the ability to compensate for parameter drifts caused by aging parts. This technology also
increases the operational area of the device. The device can adapt automatically to different environmental
conditions. Adaptive technology also increases the repeatability and the accuracy of sensors. A new generation
of sensors technology has emerged with microcontroller technology and device-level communication networks.
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Standards
Existing and emerging standards are making it easier for the transition to ubiquitous wireless sensors. The
IEEE 802.11 allowed wireless Ethernet connectivity, giving people their first view of wireless connectivity to
the Web. The number of requests for Internet addresses continues to grow exponentially as more and more
devices are becoming Internet accessible. The IEEE 1451 smart sensor standard is making it easier to interface
sensors to the network. Extensions to 1451 are now being proposed by IEEE committee members to support
wireless sensors that can be instantly accessible over the Internet, with controlled access, of course.
Some vendors have examined Bluetooth and have decided it is appropriate for their market. The trade-offs
made to control cost and improve throughput at the expense of reliability may be a little scary for some
engineers. However, engineers are reluctant to discount this technology just because it isn’t ideal. Many can
recall the early criticisms of the Ethernet standard. Competing standards emerged for a while, offering
solutions that satisfied the hard, real-time constraints thought to be required in industrial applications. Over
time, though, the lure of low-cost connectivity and ubiquitous hardware and software options was just too
much. What will finally happen with Bluetooth is hard to guess.
Applications
Markets for wireless sensors currently depend on applications, for which wiring is impossible or too expensive,
or where operating and support costs are prohibitively high. These include an environment where sealed
compartments are required (for example, vacuum processing chambers or nuclear processing facilities). Others
include applications, in which obstacles make wired connections impossible or where the sheer number of
sensors makes it impossible to access information on a timely basis.
The cost of wiring in a typical chemical plant is around $40/ft. The market for new sensors in these plants is
being stifled by the need to run wires to connect the new sensors to the existing plant infrastructure. The
market for fully integrated wireless sensors, which can make sensor data available through existing plant
backbones, appears to be at about $200/sensor. No one has moved to meet the need for wireless chemical
process sensors, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and vibration sensing devices.
New sensors and actuators based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are being devised in
laboratories around the world and are providing solutions in specific applications. Many automotive air bag
deployment systems, and a new generation of ink jet printers use such MEMS techniques. Attaching wires to
these miniature devices can be problematic and introduces failure modes that could be avoided with wireless
designs.
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The Center for Intelligent Sensors in Germany, builds miniature sensors based on multichip modules. Many
new miniature sensors are designed with low-mass, low-footprint electronics but require cables to be attached
to them. Wireless implementations will eventually make these devices even more versatile.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL's) nose-on-a-chip is a MEMS-based sensor that can theoretically
detect as many as 400 types of gases and wirelessly signal the level in parts per billion (ppb). Tests at ORNL
have confirmed ppb sensitivity for mercury in air with a wireless signal transmitted to a PC receiver for
readout.
Another example, a single-chip, self-contained wireless temperature sensor can reliably transmit the
temperature of the environment over three decks of a ship, and under typical shipboard electromagnetic
interference (EMI) conditions. The communications protocol implemented on a chip allows a TV-style remote
to be used to program the sample rate, analog gain, and other parameters. The potential for cost reduction,
unprecedented flexibility, and power reduction is evident in such single-chip wireless systems.
Leading Manufacturers and Key Players
Honeywell's complete line of sensors, transmitters, transducers, analyzers, and controllers are ideal for
measuring pH, specific ions, conductivity, resistance, salinity, hydrogen purity, gas, temperature, pressure,
humidity, moisture, and chemical concentrations. The new DirectLine sensors offer unparalleled savings
during installation, start-up, operation, and maintenance.
Delphi offers a wide range of sensors and actuators for applications that help optimize powertrain and chassis
performance, as well as enhance consumer comfort and convenience. In addition, Delphi's integration expertise
provides the foundation for increasing customer value by integrating sensors, actuators, and electronics into
multifunctional modules. The Delphi Intellek smart sensors and actuators team has access to all system
technologies and resources within Delphi. The systems team experts have united to design and develop nextgeneration systems that can be linked to each other.
Oceana Sensor Technologies Inc., Virginia Beach, VA, a high-volume manufacturer of smart, wireless, and
network-capable sensing systems, has made advancements in machinery health monitoring and industrial
process control using sensors, to boost the evolution of wireless smart sensor technologies for condition-based
maintenance (CBM). Oceana has affiliated with two companies: RLW Inc. and Predictive Online Devices Inc.
(POD). RLW (State College, PA) specializes in software application development using smart sensor networks
for CBM. POD specializes in automated condition-based lubrication and plant-wide lubrication/diagnostic
services.
James Truchard, CEO and president of National Instruments, spoke recently to a group of the world's top
engineers at the Sensors Expo and Conference in Philadelphia. In his keynote presentation, he highlighted the
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potential of smart sensor technology and the critical role that software plays in making it possible for this
technology to decrease development time, improve quality, and reduce costs. From testing cell phones to
monitoring the production of food and beverages, sensors make up a fundamental part of the manufacturing
process. They measure pressure, voltage, temperature, sound, and other stimuli by sending electrical outputs to
a computer for analysis.
Key Players
Crossbow Technology Inc. and Cyrano Sciences Inc. have synergized their expertise and are jointly involved
in developing a prototype wireless leak-detection system. While information from their web sites indicates that
this system is tailored to detect hydrocarbon leaks in the gas and oil industries, these sensors can also be
adapted for measuring chemical vapors or odors in other industrial applications such as food quality, medical
diagnostics, and environmental monitoring.
Philips Semiconductors has developed baseband solutions in direct collaboration with Ericsson, founder of
Bluetooth. Using its world leadership in DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) cordless
telephony, Ericsson has transferred RF technologies seamlessly into the Bluetooth domain. Its advanced submicron CMOS and BiCMOS processes will deliver low-voltage and low-power Bluetooth chips at the volume
and price levels that are required for high-volume consumer markets. Moreover, its innovative silicon system
platform (SSP) design methodology will give the power to embed Bluetooth functionality into advanced
system-on-chip solutions.
Wilcoxon's Bluetooth technology is expected to be advantageous in many industrial applications. According to
information provided in their web site, their technology is likely to find application in areas, such as cranes,
turntables, conveyors, rotating kilns, oil refineries, pulp and paper plants, mines, power generation and
distribution plants, water treatment and distribution plants, wastewater treatment and collection facilities,
HVAC, and process control equipment.
Oceana Sensor has over three decades of experience in sensor manufacturing. Piezoceramic technology is used
in all sensor designs to create products that achieve high sensitivity, high resolution, rugged shock-protected
operations, broad temperature range, fast response time, and a broad frequency range. The smart devices that
Oceana Sensor is marketing are net enabled, which provide easy communication service capability. This
facilitates the standard integration capability along with a global accessibility of information. Additional
information gathered from their web site indicates that smart sensor networks are capable of supporting fullyinteractive audio and video, machine diagnostics, prognostics, maintenance scheduling, factory automation,
and database warehousing. This delivers the capability for asset managers to utilize machinery better, at
reduced life-cycle costs without the requirement for a physical presence at any plant.
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Low-Power CMOS Image Sensors - North America
Sensors for commercially available electronic devices may just have gotten smaller. Microelectronics
manufacturer Conexant Systems recently introduced what they say is the industry's smallest and lowest-power
640 x 480 pixels video graphics adapter complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. The
device may find its way into devices such as wireless handsets, personal digital assistants, PC cameras, digital
still cameras, and other applications, in which issues such as size and battery life are critical.
CMOS chips are made using standard silicon processes in high-volume foundries. Advances in normal
semiconductor technology can be readily translated into the CMOS imaging chip realm. And so, as chip
lithography techniques have improved in other applications, the rewards are moving into the image sensor field
as well. Kevin Strong of Conexant’s digital imaging business unit feels that driving down CMOS imager
process lithography is crucial to creating smaller, high-optical performance pixels. This allows for the building
of smaller and lower-power image sensors. Conexant is also the first in the industry to use 0.18-micron CMOS
process technology to accomplish this."
Often, additional electronic circuitry, providing capabilities from digital logic to clock drivers to analog-todigital converters, are built in to a CMOS sensor chip using the same fabrication process that creates the sensor
itself. Conexant’s chip, known as the Cx20490 sensor, contains an integrated 10-bit analog-to-digital converter
and all necessary timing circuitry. It outputs full VGA resolution RGB Bayer data up to 30 fps. The device
uses a 3.3-V power source and consumes less than 50 mW at its full frame rate.
Though smaller and cheaper than CCD imagers, historically, CMOS imagers have offered inferior video
quality when compared to charge-coupled devices. CMOS chips generally have higher fixed pattern noise
(FPN), higher dark current, and lack of a high-quality electronic shutter. Still, they are quite popular in many
imaging applications, and are quite cost-effective. Conexant claims that the new sensors are manufactured in
proprietary high-volume, mixed-signal CMOS processes that deliver superior sensitivity to light and lower
noise contribution, than standard CMOS imaging devices.
Wireless Sensor Networks to Detect Forest Fires - Australia
With the aim of simplifying the present day robot from its complex, monolithic form, researchers at the
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia, have recently
demonstrated a low-cost application of a sensor network to navigate a flying robot. Conventional robot
networks use a small number of expensive robot-borne sensors. The new model encompasses ubiquitous
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sensors embedded in the environment with which the robot interacts, in order to deploy them, to harvest data
from them, and to task them.
Using a sensor network (each one capable of sensing and communicating), the team, led by Peter Corke, has
developed and implemented a control algorithm that allows flying robots to fly along paths computed
adaptively by the network and communicated incrementally to the robot. Each sensor is equipped with some
limited memory and processing capabilities, and communication capabilities. The information necessary for
navigation control is distributed between the robot and the network. The network contains local data about the
environment, and can use this data to generate global maps, while the robot has information about the task it
needs to perform, such as monitoring the direction, or spread of a forest fire.
Here’s how the robot navigation process works. A sensor network comprising 54 Mica Motes (a type of
wireless sensor) is dispersed over a large geographical area. A flying robot--a helicopter consisting of a flight
computer, low-cost sensors, a custom inertial measurement unit, magnetometer and a vision system--is tasked
to travel along a path across this area to reach multiple locations that may change dynamically. The sensor
network computes the goals and the best path that visits each goal adaptively. Also, a simple handheld device
can be used to guide humans within the same environmental infrastructure.
One useful application for the above process, as mentioned earlier, is in monitoring the spread of forest fires.
Sensors are dropped with a flying robot that can localize using GPS (global positioning system) locations
beamed down from the robot. Once localized, they sense and propagate temperature levels to compute a
temperature gradient for the region. The occurrence of a new fire will be signaled throughout the network,
automatically. In addition, the sensor network can also compute a shortest path to the fire, and safe paths for
people in the area to exit.
Though Corke sees the progress as encouraging, he acknowledges that inter-sensory communication within the
network is not perfect, and faults may occur. Future work will focus on gathering data from robot navigation
trials and demonstrating sensor-based path adaptation.
This work is a collaborative project between the Dartmouth Robotics Laboratory and the CSIRO Robotics &
Automation team. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (Australia), Office of Naval
Research, and the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Task Program.
Self-Powered Wireless Sensors - North America
Companies deploying multiple sensors have often found that replacing dead batteries has been extremely labor
intensive and time consuming. MicroStrain, a US company based at Vermont, is developing a new array of
sensors which negates the need for a battery completely. MicroStrain’s technology will enable condition-based
maintenance, without the need for a battery. These next generation, self-powered wireless sensors rely on
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harvesting strain and vibration energies from their working environment to sense and transmit information,
wirelessly to a central host.
There has been a growing demand for sensors that can wirelessly report data without the need for battery
replacement. These sensors transmit information to a central host; and by networking a large number of
sensors, low-cost monitoring of the targeted environment is possible. Steven Arms, President at MicroStrain,
feels that this breakthrough will not only reduce the cost of sensor applications by eliminating wiring and
batteries, it will also expand the types of applications where sensors can be deployed.
The sensor is based on a technology that converts mechanical energy into stored electrical energy using
piezoelectric materials. This advanced energy harvesting wireless sensing system uses digital radio frequency
(RF) communications, node addressing, and time-division multiple access, to operate with low power,
distributed through an ad-hoc sensor network. Data from the sensor network is uploaded to an Internet server
through a Web-enabled receiver. The energy harvested from the structure or machine, may be used
immediately or stored for future use. The project is currently funded by the US Navy, and future plans include
leveraging working demonstrations on Navy machines for a range of commercial sensing applications. These
include applications such as condition-based maintenance of electrical and mechanical systems, and ship and
aircraft structural monitoring.
Applications also exist outside the navy, such as in next generation smart machines and smart structures that
use wireless communications to report on their health for their whole lifetime. The sensors also have
applications in aerospace, medical structures and civil engineering.
Watch Your Home Remotely With Affordable New Tools - North America
Until recently, PC-based systems for controlling household utilities and security have cost as much as $5000 if
built into a new home; a more elaborate installation retrofitted into an existing house or an apartment could
cost as much as $50,000. Moreover, these systems were unlikely to offer Web-enabled access. Now, a new
generation of products promises at least some Internet functionality at far more affordable prices. Xanboo's
Internet Home Management System, costs only $150, plus an additional $10 per month for a Xanboo account.
This initial low-cost version is limited to performing security functions, but the company plans to add optional
household controls. The Internet Home Management System consists of a controller that connects to a PC
through a universal serial bus (USB); a color video camera with a built-in microphone, and motion and audio
detectors; a 60 ft camera cable; and software to control the works. Additional cameras cost $50 each; and
wireless sensor modules for sound, water, or doors and windows cost $20 each. A single controller supports up
to four cameras and as many as eight sensors.
To use the system, you must sign up for the Xanboo account, which lets you check the status of things at home
through a personalized page on Xanboo's web site. New modules that allow users to turn lights on and off,
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open and close garage doors, and control air conditioning--all from the same web site--are in the works. Setup,
including registering online, takes only ten minutes. The individual pieces worked well. However, while most
of the sensors communicate wirelessly, the all-important camera module must be hooked up to the controller
using the thick cable that is included in the package. Once installed, the camera's motion detector transmits a
still image or a 10 sec video clip to the PC and, from there, to the Xanboo's site, whenever a movement triggers
a response. Users choose to be notified either by e-mail ,text messages to cell phones, pagers, or wireless
personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Belkin, a company best known for its printer and network cables, already offers a line of SignalPoint infrared
controllers for audio and video systems; the company has introduced cameras for security monitoring, as well.
MyCasa Network meanwhile, is seeking a distribution partner for a line of products designed to use home
power-line networking, to allow control of household appliances over the Web.
Wirelessly Linked Sensors and Machine Controllers - North America
The Bluetooth standards are the latest step in the evolution of the wireless world. They promise a way to
eliminate all those wires necessary to get your computer to talk to your printer, and enable wireless links
between mobile phones and other portable consumer electronic devices. They have even been considered for
use in industrial controllers. This was, however, a thing of the future. Well, the future is here. Crossbow
Technology Inc. (San Jose, CA), which made a name for itself a couple of years ago with the development of a
competitively priced fiber optic gyro to replace mechanical vertical gyros, has developed a wireless
architecture based on Bluetooth standards. The architecture will make it possible to use low-cost radio links
between sensors and machine controllers. Crossbow Technology Inc. has named its technology CrossNet
Wireless. In operation, CrossNet will translate the analog data generated by sensors and send it to network
controllers that can act upon the information. CrossNet is not limited by the type of sensor at work. It will work
with temperature, humidity, pressure, strain, torque sensors, or any other kind of parameter that needs to be
measured. Its limitation comes with devices that create digital output, such as limit switches or proximity
sensors.
The impact should be enormous, in that it will eliminate the biggest complaint of engineers in setting up data
acquisition systems - wiring. The problem of wiring is particularly acute in applications that require frequent
reconfiguration.
An Application of Wireless Smart Sensors
A network of tiny, wireless sensors capable of monitoring the lighting and temperature of a building, has the
potential to cut energy costs by billions. Buildings, which use about one-third of all energy consumed in the
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United States, could be outfitted with tens of thousands of tiny sensors, all tied into a central computer that
would regulate energy usage. During peak hours of energy consumption, air conditioners, ventilating systems,
lights, and computer networks would be automatically turned on, then shut off when the demand subsides.
Once buildings have basic intelligence systems, passive sensors will be designed to perform more intelligently.
The next generation of smart sensors could be sophisticated enough to automatically cut off power supply to
certain building systems during specific times of the day.
The new smart sensor information technology also possesses the potential for myriad applications. Smart
sensors can be designed to monitor all sorts of environmental conditions, such as traffic congestion, air
pollution, or magnetic fields. They can be used to mitigate the effects of disasters by monitoring the motion of
buildings during earthquakes; to provide better healthcare by monitoring the pulse, blood pressure, or
movements of elderly people; and can be used in new distance-education networks for enhancing the quality of
education.
Sensor Detects Forces in Human Knee Joints - North America
A wireless sensor built into an artificial knee replacement is able to sense forces inside a knee joint during
normal human activities. The piezoelectric sensor, which was developed by Microstrain Inc. for Scripps Clinic
Division of Orthopedic Surgery, collects force data from strategically placed piezoelectric strips placed in the
knee. The data is collected by a wireless sensor chip and transmitted to a computer for analysis.
Till recently, knee replacements have relied on mathematical models as guidelines for the complex mechanical
design behind artificial joint replacements. The data collected from these sensors will now be able to validate
these models and provide more realistic versions of the same.
The sensor is totally sealed in a titanium housing, which prevents leakage. The system is mechanically robust
and can withstand all the various knee movements. The entire system is divided into two parts. The top half of
the prosthetic knee is made of conventional polyethylene surface. The lower half is custom-designed by
implant manufacturer DePuy Johnson and Johnson. It is made entirely of titanium and includes all the
electronics. The unit is hermetically sealed using laser welding. Four metal posts connect the two halves of the
artificial knee. These posts have piezoelectric transducers underneath them that sense the local strain in
titanium and send the data to an external antenna. A coil is wrapped around the knee, which communicates
with the built-in sensor.
The chip is powered by a magnetic induction system that requires a bulky external pack. Microstrain engineers
are improving the sensing and transmitter systems and making them more compact. They are also developing a
wireless piezoelectric-based power system, which is powered by the motion of the knee. The company has
some patents on the RFID transmitter design that it is using in the system, and is working on a simpler
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transceiver system. The company is in the process of reworking the same systems for spine and hip
applications.
Benefits and Challenges
Benefits
Low Power Usage
The main advantage of a wireless sensor is that it has no wires. An external power source requires wires, so
these sensors must run on batteries. Another advantage of wireless sensors is low-maintenance costs, so the
battery must have a long lifetime. The key to extended battery life is the prevention of energy drain. For the
most part, all suppliers have access to the same battery technology, so battery life is a function of how efficient
the design is with respect to information conveyed per milliwatt hour of energy consumed. Note that the real
issue here is how much energy is consumed, not how much power is used.
Approaches available to a designer in managing battery life include power harvesting, power management,
embedded intelligence, spread-spectrum process gain, low-power designs, battery technology, diversity, and
battery capacity. Some of these interact with other issues, so a systems approach is necessary for a viable
design.
Power Harvesting
The solar cell (photovoltaic) is the most familiar form of a device that harvests energy from its environment.
Other designs harvest energy from vibration, temperature differences, electromagnetic fields, and chemicals
present. For example, Computational Systems Inc. (CSI), uses a photovoltaic device to recharge the battery in
its wireless sensor. Wristwatches have harnessed energy from the wearer’s motion for years. The latest
technology from Seiko is being investigated for other uses. Seiko can now harvest energy from the motion of
the wearer (Seiko Kinetic), using a miniature mechanical generator, or from body heat (Seiko Thermic), using
the Seebeck effect.
Embedded Intelligence
This approach offers the most significant opportunity for energy management. The amount of data being
transmitted directly affects battery life. For example, a sensor that transmits the entire spectrum from an
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accelerometer must sustain a higher data rate than one that can intelligently decide if the spectrum is normal
and, therefore, may not need to be transmitted. For example, CSI’s wireless sensor monitors electric motor
health. The sensor’s embedded intelligence lets it suppress unnecessary status transmissions. The technology
implementing the intelligence, though, can drain the battery faster than the transmitter. A new generation of
low-power DSP chips offers opportunities for reducing the power required in an intelligent sensor.
The techniques described here not only improve battery life but can also reduce the transmission power
required for a specified range along a given signal path. This reduces the likelihood of interference, another
important attribute for industrial wireless systems. The goal of these systems is to transmit the information with
the lowest power-level possible. Another technique for increasing range is to use a multihop network (for
example, the Internet). The problem here, is where do you store the routing table? If the node that contains the
routing table becomes unreachable, the entire network will be affected. Mobile ad-hoc networking is a
technique used to maintain a dynamic routing table. The technology allows wireless sensor networks to be selfconfiguring as sensors enter and leave the network. Because this is a hot research topic, one is likely to see
some extraordinary claims from suppliers who are trying to provide the functionality while not understanding
the underlying technology.
Process Gain
This critical technique reduces battery drain in wireless communications systems. In any spread spectrum
transmission, process gain can be shown to be equivalent to 20 dB log (chip rate). This means that a design that
chips a bit into 100 sub-bits results in a process gain of 40 dB. This is equivalent to 20 dB in power gain at the
receiver with no increase in transmission power. However, the act of chipping does draw power, so a sound
system design is required. Process gain can’t be used to penetrate an environment dominated by Gaussian
white noise. But fortunately industrial environment are usually limited by narrow band, intermittent noise
caused by arcs, motors, and lighting. In such an environment, process gain available from the chipping rate can
be a significant source of overall system gain. The electronics required to perform the high-speed chipping has
been cost prohibitive in the past, but recent innovations driven by the cell phone industry are making new
designs feasible.
A key parameter here is the energy per bit. The more energy put into each bit transmitted, the simpler the
receiver can be. Because the receiver is always the most difficult part of the network to design and build,
reducing the cost of the receivers reduces the cost of the network. The more energy per bit, the more likely the
bit will get through. Spreading the bit in spectral, temporal, spatial, or polarization domains (increasing
diversity) makes it less likely that interference will corrupt the transmission. This is a trade-off with throughput
though, because the more energy you put in each bit, the more is the energy needed for the total transmission.
Again, embedded intelligence is key because it ensures that raw data aren’t transmitted needlessly.
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Many vendors are selling systems that don’t sample at the sub-bit level. All currently available frequencyhopping, spread spectrum (FHSS) systems are slow hoppers - the rate at which they move from one frequency
to another is slower than the bit rate. They send multiple bits on each narrow band channel before they move to
the next channel. This results in a system with no process gain, but it does have some of the advantages of a
spread spectrum transmission.
All direct-sequence, spread-spectrum (DSSS) systems subsample the bits, so they exhibit some process gain.
IEEE 802.11 (wireless Ethernet) uses a 11-bit spreading code in the DSSS version, so they sample each bit 11
times. Robertshaw, a maker of industrial wireless products, has a line of products that uses a 63-bit spreading
code in a DSSS design. DSSS is inherently similar to a technique used for years in industrial measurements:
modulating a DC level to improve the sound-to-noise ratio (SNR) for transmission. In this case, each bit is
exclusive-ordered with a high-rate chipping pattern that can be demodulated in the receiver because it knows
the chipping pattern used for each channel.
Low-Power Design
Battery life can be extended even further by using smart antenna arrays. Active power control signals can be
used to reduce the remote transmitter power and save battery power, but this requires two-way communication
in all nodes. Cell phone and wireless Internet industries are leading the activities in these areas.
Anything that reduces errors in transmission can extend battery life because errors often require retransmission
of the entire packet. There is a trade-off among bit error rate (BER), transmission power, forward error
correction (FEC), and other techniques. Optimizing these parameters improve the likelihood that information
will get through, and makes system design critical for reducing power drain and enhancing battery life. The
dynamic environment for noise in industrial environment could cause problems as the process continuously reevaluates the need for error correction versus throughput. New techniques allow dynamic allocation of FEC
bits. This means the system can achieve higher throughput when noise levels are low and sacrifice throughput
only under higher noise conditions. The downside is that packets that are lost will need to be retransmitted.
IC design greatly influences the power demands of the system. The critical factor in transmitter design is the
ratio between power transmitted versus the power drained from the battery. As more power comes out as RF
energy, the more efficient the design is. The operating voltage has an influence, too. The lower the voltage, the
lower the energy consumption. Inefficient converters are used to bring the voltage back up, so the energy
consumed can actually go up when the voltage is reduced.
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Diversity
One of the design approaches used to help ensure a robust signal path is known as diversity. This approach is
built on the fact that a spread spectrum signal is inherently diverse. New designs (especially in the cell phone
markets) are taking advantage of spatial, spectral, temporal, and polarity diversity. Spatially diverse systems
support multiple antennas, so techniques can be applied for directional gain and noise rejection. Spectral
diversity is inherent because the signal is spread over a range of frequencies for transmission. Temporal
diversity can be obtained using a technique called interleaving. In wireless communications, you can use chip
interleaving to improve diversity. Chips (that is, subsamplings of individual bits) are scrambled in a pseudorandom way, transmitted, and then reassembled in the receiver. Because the chips from bit 1 are spread out in
time as well as frequency, the likelihood of a noise pulse interfering with the entire bit is reduced. You achieve
polarity diversity by using circularly polarized RF transmission signals.
Battery Technology
The main issue in energy storage is the required maintenance. The initial cost of a cell is usually quite low, but
if the sensor must be retrieved and serviced to replace a dead battery, the maintenance cost may be
unacceptable.
For systems where the batteries are recharged in situ, the issue of time between charges becomes critical from
an operational perspective. However, even rechargeables eventually must be replaced.
The specification is usually quoted as the number of recharge cycles before failure. Because this is also related
to battery capacity, the correct quote will include a graph of battery capacity (in mA hours) versus number of
recharge cycles. On the other hand, some devices don’t use batteries at all. The bee chip uses a capacitor to
store energy. Most RFID devices harness energy from an interrogating beam and retransmit a radio signal from
the energy obtained. These are short-range devices, but they have a long life because they don't need batteries
for functioning.
Extensibility--Standards and Technology
Today, most vendors supply systems accommodate a reasonable number of devices in the same RF
environment. The IEEE 802.11 wireless Ethernet standard was the first over-the-air standard available on the
market. Cell phone providers, of course, have their own standards, but they’re not available to others. Like
most standards, there’s enough leeway that some products meeting the standard still won’t play well together.
The Bluetooth standard offers remarkable potential. Although many detractors argue that it won’t be suitable
for industrial measurements, it really is too early to dismiss it. A new wireless sensor focus group has been
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formed under Oceana Sensor Technologies’ Bill Nickerson, and Crossbow Technologies is now offering the
CrossNet system, which uses Bluetooth with its wireless sensors. Bluetooth will be incorporated in the IEEE
802 standard as IEEE 802.15. Technologically, Bluetooth is an FHSS system (slow hopping) that operates in
the 2.4 GHz band with a limited range. It’s designed and marketed for home and office automation
environments. It's use in industrial environment has raised some concerns, but with enough pressure from
industry, these concerns may be either reduced or eliminated.
The IEEE 1451 smart sensor standard currently requires a wired interface. Some of the committee members are
considering a wireless physical layer for inclusion in the standard. This would give industrial wireless
suppliers a new option.
Technology plays a role in extensibility, as well. The number of units that can coexist can be a function of the
technique used for multiple access to the RF channel. Techniques used include time division, frequency
division, or code division multiple access - TDMA, FDMA, and CDMA, respectively. TDMA requires that
each device have an allocated time slot in the channel. Graviton is developing a wireless sensor suite using
TDMA and low-power designs. FDMA requires a separate frequency for each device. CDMA is the only
technique that allows all devices to broadcast simultaneously on the same frequency with a sufficiently high
chipping rate without interfering with each other. Because the CDMA codes are orthogonal, each channel looks
like white noise to the others. The limit of the background noise is a function of the system design and results
in practical limits in the hundreds of units. The mobile and portable radio research group (MPRG) has
published extensively in this area of research. The CrossNet and Centeron (Robertshaw) systems are examples
of CDMA systems. Hybrid techniques are drawing interest as well.
The critical question that is yet to be answered, is how many devices can coexist without a serious impact on
cost or reliability. A new technique, called ultra-wide band (UWB), spreads the signal over 3 GHz using a
Gaussian monocycle and pulse position modulation. The technology holds the potential for long-range, lowpower, low BER transmissions. However, the technique has also led to potential interference problems.
An ad-hoc working group (UWB working group) has been formed to facilitate research and commercialization
of the technology. Moreover, Time Domain Inc., has good papers on UWB technology on its Web site. The
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is still investigating the potential for interference with other
services because the wide-band transmissions are in restricted bands but at low power levels. UWB is not
licensed for use in the unlicensed bands, but Time Domain has received exemptions for special products to be
developed.
Throughput--More is More
The cell phone and wireless Internet markets are continually pushing for increased throughput, but the
industrial wireless market appears to be a little different. A reliable connection is usually more important than
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blinding speed, but those in the industry do care about response time because they need equipment to respond
quickly when commands are given. You can address this issue by selecting a higher transmission frequency, a
wider bandwidth, or a high-tech modulation scheme.
Higher frequency carriers usually allow more signal bandwidth, and therefore more throughput. The industry,
science, and medicine (ISM) bands used by most suppliers allow transmissions in the 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and
5.8 GHz bands. The push to the higher frequencies is usually driven by the desire for higher throughput.
For industrial purposes though, there’s a trade-off. The lower frequencies usually do better in a nonline-ofsight environment, much like those you would find in most industrial settings. The higher frequencies suffer
more attenuation with dust, moisture, and people in the signal path. They do offer some advantages in noise
rejection though, because most noise sources are in the lower frequencies.
The 2.8 GHz band is used for industrial RF heaters (for example, microwave ovens) and can interfere with the
low signal levels used in industrial wireless sensor networks. Most commercially available systems are in the
915 MHz or 2.8 GHz bands. Many organizations (including ORNL) are working to gain access to the 5.8 GHz
band.
The modulation technique used in a communications scheme directly impacts throughput, too.
Frequency modulation (FM) has yielded to such advances as phase shift keying. Binary phase shift keying
(BPSK) has been the proven standard for most digital transmissions, but lately, quadrature phase shift keying
(QPSK) is making progress. As the names imply, these techniques modulate the phase of the carrier in ways
that can be detected in the receiver. BPSK shifts the phase in each cycle so that a zero or one is determined by
the presence or absence of the mid-cycle phase shift. QPSK offers four possible phase differences in each
cycle. Mary is the generic term for dividing the cycle into opportunities for phase shifts. As you might imagine,
the receiver gets tougher and tougher to design and build. This is a classic trade-off between throughput and
SNR. The bottom line of many of these techniques is the number of bits per Hz of bandwidth. The current state
of the art is about 1 bit per Hz. Systems performing higher than that are emerging, but they may have other
problems because trade-offs had to be made. The critical questions to ask here are what trade-offs are made to
get the increased throughput, and are they worth it in your application. Distributed intelligence can be used to
reduce throughput requirements without sacrificing robustness.
Some technologies (for example, CDMA) are difficult to implement in a low-cost sensor, so most suppliers
will opt for the simpler TDMA or FDMA. In volume manufacturing, though, there is little cost advantage of
one over another. CDMA would offer a significant technological advantage if it could be implemented at the
same or lower cost than the other options. A buyer might then examine the product characteristics, look for the
required functions, and then decide if the cost is suitable. If two products are offered at roughly the same cost,
you might look to the one with the better performance. The relative weights of the attributes will be a function
of the particular application. The critical question is always, what trade-offs were made to get the property of
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interest. Many times, battery life can be extended at the expense of update rate or response time. The range can
be increased with increased transmitter power, but that could cause more interference or reduce the battery life.
Throughput can be increased, but at the cost of battery life and interference. Proprietary systems may offer the
highest performance per dollar in narrow lists of attributes, but using these systems can force you into a
situation where extensibility and maintainability are unacceptable.
These trade-offs are what make the system design viable; you have to be ready to ask the right questions to
understand what the final performance will be in a specific application. Sometimes vendors will quote the
battery life at the minimum throughput and transmitter power, but they will quote the range and data rates at a
different setting for power and sampling. Let the buyer beware.
Challenges
Wireless sensors and other wireless products are becoming more readily available, but only a few vendors are
offering unique transmitters. Most offer repackaged transmitters from any of the major industry suppliers. The
implication here is that the vendor selling the sensor may not be knowledgeable about the radio link in the
product.
The user can’t count on the vendor for assistance, so the user must become the expert. To help with this,
Wayne Manges and Glen Allgood of Oak Ridge National Laboratories outlined the characteristics of an ideal
wireless sensor and attempted to provide benchmarks to compare and evaluate emerging products. A profile of
the ideal wireless sensor can be described as follows. It should:
•
Have adequate battery life
•
Transmit over adequate distances
•
Avoid electromagnetic interference (EMI)
•
Provide plug-and-play compatibility with multiple products from multiple vendors
•
Be suitably small
•
Be self powered, self configuring, self calibrating, and self locating
•
Provide a secure (undetectable) RF signal for communications
•
Have sufficient onboard intelligence to reduce the bandwidth it requires
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•
Provide a high-bandwidth connection
•
Connections should be verifiable, with no errors in the transmission no matter how bad the RF
environment or how obstructed the RF path might be
•
Be able to respond to requests for faster scans, activating the actuator, or changing your node address
•
Above all, the ideal wireless sensor should cost less
All these features require technology to support the functions. Performance is tied to design, and understanding
the design can help engineers recognize performance potential.
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Security
Sensitive Data
Adoption of mobile terminals such as notebooks and personal digital assistants is growing, particularly in the
corporate environment. Alongside this is a trend toward increasing the flexibility of these devices by installing
WLAN. WLANs have seen particularly strong penetration in North America and this is being repeated in
Europe and Asia. This has brought together concern about the safety of information, predominantly within a
corporate building. Data that is proprietary to an organization is private and should be secure, and safe. The
LAN was sacred and wasn't connected to the outside world. However, with remote or branch offices, sales
forces, and remote employees, there came a large demand for interconnectivity which was achieved through
modem for point-to-point connection. So organizations employed T1 lines and the Internet to access corporate
information.
That creates a fairly large opening to steal or corrupt corporate information. A number of security issues have
emerged, principally relating to the ability of unauthorized users to connect to these WLANs, and through them
to the wired systems. This happens when an unauthorized person with a WLAN-enabled mobile terminal
connects to an access point within the corporate network. The unauthorized person simply needs to get close
enough to an access point to establish a connection, which can be outside the physical boundaries of the
company.
Unlike wired TCP/IP networks, which have standardized technologies such as SSL and IPsec to secure access
to sensitive data, the wireless world is in the midst of a multi-year evolution in security standards.
Specifications for WEP, EAP, TLS, TTLS, 802.1x, 802.11i and AES have not yet been set. Some of these
technologies are available today, and many vendors have implemented proprietary versions (eg Cisco’s LEAP).
Some of these standards are still under discussion, and won’t be finalized for years.
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Table 6-1. Key Issues Concerning Wireless Security
Ignorance – Harsh though this may sound, many of the organisations that install
Wireless LAN solutions are not aware of the security implications. They simply don’t
bother to check out the security factors.
Defaults – Wireless LAN equipment is typically sold with security features switched
off by default. Ignorant purchasers never bother to switch the security on.
WEP – The most popular form of Wireless LAN security can be breached using
specially configured hardware and software that can crack the algorithm used to
encrypt transmissions.
Security Measures
Organizations can dramatically reduce the risk of being hacked by simply switching on the security settings.
While WEP is flawed, breaching it is not a formality. To hack into the network requires highly specific
equipment and software which the average notebook user simply isn’t set up for. It also takes a number of
hours for the hacker to intercept enough data packets to identify the algorithm being used.
Just because someone can make a connection to the network, it doesn’t necessarily mean they can get their
hands on sensitive information. They may be able to surf the corporate Intranet, or access the Internet via your
network, but if sensitive areas have further authentication and encryption in place they won’t necessarily get in.
Some security measures that can be undertaken by organizations to reduce the risks are as follows:
•
Firewalls: For Wireless LANs to be secure they need to be placed in front of a firewall. Unfortunately
many are placed behind one. Users should ask their vendor about distributed firewalls and other
similar solutions.
•
WEP Upgrades: The Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), the standards body for
802.11 WLANs and WEP is working on changes that will make the protocol more secure in future
releases. The 802.11I standard is likely to be ratified early next year, and available soon after.
•
Advanced security applications: There are a range of proprietary techniques that can be used. Many
increase encryption to 128 bits. Alternatively systems can be installed by which the keys in the clients
and access points can be easily and quickly changed. Therefore they are changed frequently,
increasing security.
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•
802.1x: A new security standard being developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers. This is already supported by Microsoft Windows XP and is likely to become more popular
over the next few years.
Unfortunately, the standards for WLAN security are in a state of flux. The original 802.11 standard includes a
mechanism called wireless equivalent privacy (WEP) as an option. It addresses the use of encryption and
distribution of keys. Various criticisms have been leveled at the WEP architecture design. As a result, the IEEE
has gone back to the drawing board. The IEEE 802.11i task group has been working on a new standard for
MAC enhancements for enhanced security. They have also specified the use of the 802.11x authentication
framework. In the meantime, some vendors have extended or altered the implementation of WEP in their
products. To add to the confusion, Cisco has introduced its own proprietary standard (LEAP), and the Wi-Fi
Alliance has promoted the use of Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) for pre-802.11i equipment.
Enhanced Security: VPN Overlay
Having a VPN overlay and basic security with a WLAN is comparable to having a security guard in the lobby
of your building. The guard calls you to let you know that John Doe is there to see you. If you're expecting
him, you let him through. But, is he who he really says he is and how would you know until you saw him walk
through the front door? A security guard alone leaves a hole in the system. However, if the security guard
checks Doe's passport or driver license, there's no way he's coming in without authenticated documentation to
prove his identity. To achieve mutual authentication, the security guard could present his/her own passport to
Mr. Doe, so he knows he is at the correct building and not about to meet with an impostor. In a sense, this is
what enhanced security does with a VPN. Providing mutual authentication through digital identities from the
client side and from the VPN side is like a handshake back and forth signaling the validity of the users.
To deploy a VPN, the WLAN access point is placed outside the firewall and a VPN gateway is placed between
the two. Since the WLAN access point is outside the firewall, it is effectively being treated as an untrustworthy
network resource since it blurs the security perimeter. Even if WEP security is compromised, no access to
corporate resources is possible without a subsequent authenticated VPN session.
Restraints
Standard 802.11 security is weak and vulnerable to numerous network attacks. Vendors have failed to deliver
interoperable, highly-secure WLANs. Three years after initial concerns about WLAN security, achieving a
highly secure enterprise WLAN still remain a challenge. Vendors have succeeded only in confusing the market
by offering solutions that are complex, costly to implement, and often cumbersome to support.
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Despite the continued growth of the consumer WLAN market, total revenue from enterprise WLAN sales have
recently declined. Enterprises have resisted adopting WLANs due to the immaturity of security and
management standards. Although new standards are emerging, the complexity is still too great, forcing
companies to postpone WLAN deployment. Despite all the vendor marketing hype, standards remain immature
and vendors continue to push their individual agendas.
Enterprises must be aware of the complexity that remains in securing WLANs. Organizations will be forced to
select a wireless system from a single vendor or take a VPN security approach until standards stabilize in 2005.
By 2006, the integration of wireless features into the wired infrastructure will ease operational complexities
and enable WLANs to be treated as just another network-access medium.
Rogue access points: This happens when clients and/or end users set up unauthorized access points which
network administrators are not aware. These unknown access points create opportunities for war drivers.
Drive-by hacking and war driving: If a WLAN is exposed, someone with a laptop and homemade antennae can
easily hack into a company's network from its parking lot. A number of papers and articles describe these
weaknesses and software is readily available to bring the exploits within the grasp of anyone with a notebook
and an inexpensive WLAN PC card. Also referred to as war driving, someone can drive through a city to
discover exposed networks. Some software even allows users to map the WLAN systems found by correlating
with global positioning satellite (GPS) data. War driving is referring to war dialing where hackers randomly
dial phone numbers hoping to find a modem to attack.
Not enabling the security function on a WLAN: As mentioned earlier, many WLAN access points are shipped
with WEP security disabled by default and many network administrators neglect to turn it on. This allows any
WLAN-enabled device to connect to the network unchallenged. Please note even if WEP is enabled,
vulnerabilities still exist.
Loss of brand equity: From a 30,000 ft view, lack of enhanced Internet security could mean loss of brand
equity. If a drive-by hacker invades your network, steals private information and reveals this information to the
public, the devastating result will be an automatic loss of trust. Bottom line, your company's brand equity is
forever tainted, costing you millions.
As with all freedom, checks and balances must be in place to prevent abuse. Entrust recommends overlaying
VPN technology and using the enhanced identification of Digital IDs for current WLAN deployments. As
newer, more secure versions of WLAN security are deployed, these same Digital IDs can be reused. As an
added return, these same Digital IDs can be leveraged across multiple applications across the enterprise, which
can significantly reduce the time to pay back on the investment. It is also worth noting that the synergies
between the VPN overlay on WLAN approach and ongoing enterprise remote access and home office projects
will derive additional value from current VPN investments.
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The 802.11 standards for wireless networking are vulnerable because it uses radio signals through open air
space, as opposed to electrical signals through closed wires. The wired equivalent privacy (WEP) standard,
created to address this liability, was supposed to make wireless networks as private as wired networks by using
40 bit and 128 bit encryption. However, there is still the apprehension that the equivalent privacy is not so
private after all.
With the increase in telecommuting and consulting, IT managers need to be alert to the possibility that
employees are transmitting sensitive data over unsecured networks. As a result, the employee's home needs to
be at least as secure as his or her office environment.
An Optical Antenna for Improved Wireless Security--United Kingdom
Although the use of radio-frequency-based networking and data devices (particularly 802.11b, or ‘Wi-Fi’ type
devices) is expanding rapidly in the consumer computer market, awareness that RF-based protocols have
security flaws is spreading as well. One of the very characteristics that make 802.11b products popular for
networking--the ability for such signals to pass through building walls unimpeded--also leaves those data
signals open to being hijacked by unauthorized users. Increasingly, users are turning to computationally
intensive encryption techniques to try to harden their wireless communications against attack.
A group of British researchers is proposing an alternative method for helping to secure wireless
communications, an optical solution, rather than a purely radio-based solution. By developing what the
researchers call an ‘optical antenna,’ they believe that they can allow more robust use of optical signaling for
wireless data transmission.
The device consists of a dielectric, totally internally reflecting concentrator, with a curved receiving surface for
capturing signals over a wide filed of view. The concentrator is attached to a filter and a photodetector. The
optical antenna can easily be integrated onto semiconductor sensor devices.
Roger Green of the University of Warwick’s School of Engineering says, that this optical antenna is so precise
that it can search for a signal on just one wavelength of light, and is 100 times more efficient in gathering that
signal than any other optical sensor of its kind anywhere in the world today. The company, Optical Antenna
Solutions, operating with a patent license from the University of Warwick, demonstrated devices using the
technology at the recent Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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According to team members, the design is such, that close alignment of the transmitter and receiver is not
necessary. Up to a 120-degree angle between the transmitter and receiver can be tolerated by the device. At the
same time, however, the setup requires a line-of-sight path for transmission, providing somewhat more security
than RF signals. In addition, Green pointed out, an optical signal such as an infrared transmission can be
blocked by walls, and stopped by shielding on windows, allowing such signals to be trapped inside a building.
One application of the technology could be in secure payment schemes - allowing a device such as a cellular
phone or PDA to beam a purchase authorization to a point-of-sale device. The technique could also be used in
conjunction with more traditional RF data networking equipment, by providing a secure means of distributing
encryption keys for a wireless network within a building.
WPA Plugs Holes in WEP
The 802.11 wired equivalent privacy (WEP) has been an area of concern for users of wireless LANs. Although
WEP can keep casual users from accessing wireless LAN, it is not enough for just corporations who need it, to
install them. A key flaw in WEP, is that its encryption keys are static rather than dynamic. Unless the security
mechanism is improved, product manufacturers will face declining sales. With a stronger security standard,
there can be significant growth numbers in academic institutions.
Keeping this in mind the wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) alliance announced a standards-based security mechanism
that eliminates most 802.11 security issues, known as the Wi-Fi protected access (WPA). WPA enables the
implementation of open wireless LAN security in public areas and universities. WPA provides effective key
distribution and enables use across the often different vendor radio cards.
Effective wireless LAN security solutions, such as Cisco's lightweight extensible authentication protocol
(LEAP), have been in use over the past year, but they provide limited interoperability. In most cases, client
radio cards and access points must be from the same vendor, something that doesn't fare very well in public hot
spots and many companies that don't enforce a standard desktop.
WPA includes both the temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP) and 802.1x mechanisms, which together
provide dynamic key encryption and mutual authentication for mobile clients. WPA provides a unique
encryption key for each client, thereby thwarting potential hackers. TKIP introduces new algorithms to WEP,
which includes extended 48-bit initialization vectors and associated sequencing rules, per-packet key
construction, key derivation and distribution function, and a message integrity code. WPA interfaces in
companies with an authentication server, such as remote authentication dial-in user service, using 802.1x with
EAP. The authentication server stores all user credentials. This function enables effective authentication
control and integration into existing information systems.
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WPA fixes all known problems with WEP, except denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Frequent DoS attacks can
bring down the reputations and profits of an organization. Until one moves on to the next security levels - the
802.11i standard, customers should implement WPA through upgrades in existing equipment.
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Market Analysis
Market Dynamics
Today, the big question on everybody’s mind is, What's keeping companies from going wireless today? The
industry lacks a clear migration path between current wireless data access technologies (2G), which have
limited bandwidth, and more-speedy 3G packet technologies. Promising speeds of up to 2 Mbps, 3G
technologies support real-time access to sustain high-quality audio/video and other bandwidth-intensive
business/consumer applications. However, much of the hardware that operates on current wireless networks
may not be supported as 3G infrastructures are deployed. What's more, coverage and compatibility challenges
can stem from the multiple digital wireless standards currently used in the United States - time division
multiple access (TDMA), code-division multiple access (CDMA), cellular digital packet data (CDPD), global
system for mobile communication (GSM) and others.
Just as companies jumped too hastily into e-commerce, businesses today also risk the same by implementing
isolated wireless solutions with limited back-end integration and business value. Getting the right data to the
mobile user in a useable format that is then updated and accessible to others in the enterprise is critical to a
successful application. The mobile device, the data display, wireless carrier, and gateway, e-Commerce and
legacy systems all have to be integrated and fine-tuned to deliver maximum business value.
Wireless access to enterprise applications introduces new and unique security risks, as organizations must
consider ways to prevent outside attack on the end-user device, over-the-air transmission technology and
connectivity from the carrier network to the business Intranet.
The 3G evolution is taking place on three fronts, Japan, Europe and North America. The Japanese have been
the most aggressive in their push toward developing this technology because they have the most pressing
immediate need. Their demand for cellular service has exploded in recent years, and spectrum shortages in
Japan are beginning to limit wireless growth. In addition, the Japanese government's Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications has stated that it will only allocate new spectrum for systems that are 3G compliant.
As a result, Japanese wireless operators have been setting the pace for international standardization efforts.
Japanese telecommunications operators such as NTT DoCoMo (the largest telecommunications company in the
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world) and Japan Telecom are focusing on wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) as their preferred technology for 3G
services. DDI and IDO, currently cdmaOne (a type of CDMA, also known as IS-95) operators, are promoting
wideband-cdmaOne technology, which provides a better evolution path for IS-95.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is developing a European set of 3G standards,
called the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). The current UMTS proposal, now called
UMTS terrestrial radio access (UTRA), focuses on ways that GSM technology can evolve into the 3G by
taking advantage of wideband CDMA Technology.
In North America, major efforts are under way by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), a
group responsible for public, mobile and personal communications systems standards to determine the
evolution path of cdmaOne and TDMA (IS-136) technology into the 3G. CDMA with the support of the
CDMA development group (an international consortium of CDMA operators), wideband is becoming the
technology of choice. It offers higher capacity and more advanced multimedia services than current 2G CDMA
systems. In contrast to W-CDMA, wideband cdmaOne permits cost-effective operation within 5 MHz wide
spectrum bands in each direction, an important consideration for PCS carriers in the smaller, narrower D, E,
and F spectrum blocks. Wideband cdmaOne is being designed to build upon the exist 3G cdmaOne within the
same 5 MHz spectrum band. The Universal Wireless Communications Consortium (UWCC), a trade
association of TDMA carriers, is evaluating how TDMA can evolve into the 3G At this time, the air interface
preferred by the UWCC is called UWC-136, a hybrid system which incorporates IS-136+ for voice and EDGE.
The EDGE air interface is targeted to provide a high-speed data solution that can be deployed in limited
spectrum blocks of 1 MHz in each direction.
International Comparisons--North America/Western Europe/Asia-Pacific
This research service has compared mobile market performance in North America, Western Europe and parts
of the Asia-Pacific region with regard to mobile penetration, usage, and pricing. These comparisons have
shown three consistent differences in performance between the US mobile market and mobile markets in other
countries. First, mobile penetration is significantly higher in Western Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific
region than in the United States. Second, average minutes of use per subscriber are significantly higher in the
United States than in Western Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Third, revenue per minute, a
commonly used proxy for pricing, is significantly lower in the United States than in Western Europe and parts
of the Asia-Pacific region.
Market Environment
The foregoing international differences in mobile market performance generally focus on two fundamental
differences between the mobile market environment in the United States and the mobile market environment
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abroad. The first difference relates to the competitive environment in which carriers operate, and the second to
the use of mobile party pays (MPP) rather than calling party pays (CPP) for billing mobile calls.
A competitive market environment stimulates mobile subscriber growth and thereby drives up mobile
penetration by exerting downward pressure on the pricing of services paid for by subscribers. Paradoxically,
however, the relatively high levels of mobile penetration in Western Europe have not been achieved as the
result of a more competitive market environment. On the contrary, analysts do agree that mobile markets in
Western Europe are both structurally and behaviorally less competitive than the US mobile market, and that
this is one of the principal reasons that revenue per minute is significantly lower, and average mobile usage
significantly higher, in the United States than in Western Europe.
One dimension of market structure is the number of competitors per market. European countries have achieved
significantly higher mobile penetration rates than the United States with typically just three to four operators
per market.
Hurdles to Wireless Deployment
Although there is a great deal of enthusiasm today for mobile and wireless solutions, the success of a mobile or
wireless initiative goes far beyond the initial novelty of the technology or elegance of the solution. The true
success of the project will be based on the day-to-day experiences of two of IT’s main constituencies: end
users and business managers. The final costs and benefits of the deployment will be determined by how well
the project meets the needs of these two groups.
Five hurdles to successful mobile and wireless deployments
Complexities of wireless and mobile technologies increase the possibility of failure in any one of these areas,
due to a number of unique challenges posed by mobile and wireless devices. Understanding and adapting to
these constraints is key to the success of mobile projects. Some of the most pressing challenges are outlined
below.
•
Complexity of the technology base
•
Insufficient security and control
•
Remote management and support
•
Handheld device limitations
•
Limitations of wireless computing
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Unlike today’s PC/LAN (and even WAN) environment, mobile and wireless technologies comprise a
patchwork of different technologies, standards and works in-progress. This complexity is most evident in the
following areas.
Devices
While enterprise desktop systems are relatively standardized, wireless devices come in many forms, are
manufactured by multiple vendors and run on many different operating systems. Pocket PC, Windows CE,
Palm OS, RIM and RIM/J2ME often must be supported in some combination. Vendors of wireless-capable
devices include HP, Palm, Sony, Kyocera, Samsung, Handspring and Research in Motion, to name a few. In
addition, while some of these combinations are similar, no two configurations have identical management
interfaces. Further complicating the situation, each operating system and hardware vendor continue to release
new versions of hardware, software, device drivers and applications.
Networks and Standards
Unlike the PC environment, which has standardized on Ethernet and TCP/IP connectivity throughout the LAN
and WAN, wireless networks are more diverse and require relationships with multiple service providers to
achieve nationwide coverage. Wireless network technologies encompass multiple connection standards (eg
CDMA, GPRS, 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g) and evolving security standards (WEP, LEAP, TLS, TTLS,
802.1x, 802.11I, etc.), all made more difficult by vendor-to-vendor hardware and software incompatibilities.
For wireless LANs, 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g are in place or coming soon. Wireless WAN coverage
entails a patchwork of network types and carrier coverage maps. Today, Mobitex is used for RIM/Blackberry
and Palm VII devices; CDPD provides wireless Internet connectivity for other PDAs and laptops. Neither
network has complete nationwide coverage or full TCP/IP support. Nationwide CDPD coverage requires the
use of the AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless networks. Mobitex coverage is provided
by a single carrier, Cingular Wireless, but provides the slowest connections and has limited coverage.
A typical enterprise will need to use multiple networks and multiple carriers to support their mobile work
force. Even if a single primary carrier is selected, roaming agreements will increase cost and require some
knowledge of other carriers to troubleshoot and resolve problems.
Network Service Plans
With wireless computing, public network services (both WLANs and WWANs) play a critical role in the
overall enterprise operation. Mobile operators and carriers provide and market different service plans, which
will change from time to time. These service plans are associated with individual users or specific devices, so
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different types of users may require different types of service plans. These factors present a serious and
ongoing management challenge to IT organizations.
Many enterprises will likely select a single vendor and set of standards for devices, connectivity, and services,
or face the challenge of integrating, managing and supporting incompatible software and hardware components
from a range of vendors. However, even when a single platform is selected, the enterprise will face
incompatibilities, as new versions of hardware, software, and firmware are released. Many enterprises already
have a variety of hardware and software deployed by IT, by departments or by individual end users, and will
also face the issue of integrating their current installed base with new technologies, even if a corporate
standard is used for new deployments. This can result in extensive manual effort and ongoing high costs.
VC Spending
Venture Capitalist's have invested in different parts of wireless systems including wireless switches and
wireless network software's. Service providers seem to be at the backlog. Venture firms specializing in wireless
remain confident about the sector's potential, despite falling share prices, concern over slowing growth and the
fact that funding for wireless startups last quarter experienced a sharp decline.
Companies working on spectrum enhancement, wireless medical monitoring, transmission clarity, and memory
and battery life enhancements for next-generation phones recently have piqued the interest of iSherpa, which
holds Digital Reliance, a wireless asset management company, among other firms in its portfolio.
Companies that have developed wireless Internet protocol applications are waiting for the networks to exist.
The realization that carriers need third-party content to generate increased revenue from their walled gardens is
also driving current investment interest,
Those in the investment community no longer expect to recoup their money quickly with a high-return IPO.
Entrepreneurs too now realize that it takes years not months to build a solid company. The overall market for
IPOs should improve this year, analysts say, with stronger offerings from companies that already have
demonstrated strong customer growth and are either profitable or a quarter away from the break-even mark.
This year also should see a continuation of the trend of large firms buying smaller companies for their
technologies, rather than dedicating personnel and money to develop the technologies themselves.
Venture Capital Investment trends suggest that WiFi is a market with long-term substance. Venture capitalists
are betting that WiFi will be more akin to successful and enduring technologies such as Ethernet than to flameout technologies such as WAP. 'Hot Spot' businesses attracted more than $100 million in venture capital, of
which about two-thirds went to Network Operators and the remainder to Network Infrastructure providers.
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Companies providing WiFi Enterprise Applications took in a relatively small 6% of the investment total. The
focus of investment in this arena has been voice-over-WLAN systems. Intel Capital was the most active
investor in WiFi, with at least 15 private investments during the ten quarters in review and companies in the
San Francisco Bay Area attracted the most WiFi- directed venture capital, receiving 43% of the total. Venture
firms specializing in wireless remain confident about the sector's potential, despite falling share prices, concern
over slowing growth and the fact that funding for wireless startups last quarter experienced a sharp decline.
Chipset companies drew about one-third of all investments. Investment trends in this category suggest the
market is moving toward combined platforms (802.11 b/g) which favor full CMOS design over the SiGe or
BiCMOS systems.
The realization that carriers need third-party content to generate increased revenue from their 'walled gardens'
also is driving current investment interest. There is also a need for applications designed to help carriers with
billing and payment issues are needed.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based Seapoint counts half-dozen wireless companies in its portfolio, including Airspan
Networks Inc., BridgeWave Communications Inc., NetMotion Wireless Inc., Qpass Inc. and Tesaria Inc.
Seapoint expects to cut three or four deals this year, about the same number as last year.
In the past, investors felt compelled to act quickly to establish stakes in promising companies. But the failure
of so many New Economy business models has created a much more cautious overall investment environment.
Those in the investment community no longer expect to recoup their money quickly with a high-return IPO.
Entrepreneurs now realize as well that it takes years not months to build a solid company. The overall market
for IPOs should improve this year, analysts say, with stronger offerings from companies that already have
demonstrated strong customer growth and are either profitable or a quarter away from the break-even mark.
This year also should see a continuation of the trend of large firms buying smaller companies for their
technologies, rather than dedicating personnel and money to develop the technologies themselves.
Even as the economy slumps, there are venture capitalists looking for new and innovative ideas to fund. The
money is there for startups and new ventures; it just takes a little more savvy to get it. VC firm brings to an
entrepreneur a whole thought process about what's right for your business, what's right for your idea or what's
right for your venture. It is not the same for everyone. One needs to weigh different options, which is very
important for entrepreneurs today.
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Some venture capitalists include:
•
Amadeus Capital Partners
•
Apax Partners
•
Frontiers Capital
•
Granite Ventures
•
Highland Capital Partners
•
Index Ventures
•
Intel Capital
•
Nokia Venture Partners
•
Pitango Venture Capital
•
Sequoia Capital
•
Siemens Mobile Acceleration
•
Siemens Venture Capital
•
Kokia Venture Partners,
•
August Capital,
•
Fidelity Management & Research Company,
•
Foundation Capital,
•
New Enterprise Associates
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Applications
Electronic Business
Wireless is an extension of e-business. It is an extension of everything that you have on the Web or your
internal systems. Now you can access information from almost any place or at almost any time. E-business
gives access to customers, supply chains or other capabilities. It takes all the information that used to be locked
up in a computer system and makes it available to people. Wireless takes it one step further and makes it
available to people wherever they are, any place, at any time.
Just as increasing wireline access speeds enabled new capabilities, high-speed wireless access will expand the
capabilities of the wireless data applications that exist today. Once higher data rates become widely available
and financial transactions over these networks become commonplace, real-time versions of the entertainment
applications mentioned above could become reality. Wireline streaming media (audio and video) applications
are only now becoming more commonplace, as wireline broadband access becomes more widely available. The
same will hold true for wireless versions of these types of applications in whatever form they take.
There are five main issues driving acceptance of wireless technology: speed of data transfer, always on
capability, cost of service, application usability and application relevance. The global market for small wireless
Internet capable devices, including handheld computers, basic microbrowser phones, smart phones and next
generation multimedia phones is set to grow exponentially.
With advances in technology these mobile devices may become dramatically more prevalent. Mobile phone
penetration is increasing; investment by operators in both spectrum and infrastructure are forging ahead and
more firms are gearing up to provide services and content to the consumer marketplace. One way is leverage
the unique qualities of a mobile devices based on geography and people preference and tailoring services and
applications to the consumers needs.
Wireless also promises an entirely new method for conducting commerce. Given the level of convenience
particularly for small payments, mobile commerce may soon rival the traditional credit card. Wireless services
such as vending machine purchases or parking meter payments could become commonplace, offering
entertainment or convenience to consumers.
Mobile Multimedia
Although mobile multimedia services has enormous potential, there are certain challenges that need to be
considered before the benefits of such a service can be reaped by both the providers and the customers.
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As 3G technology begin to evolve commercially, there will more of mobile multimedia available to the
customers. Successful launches of data services, such as i-Mode in Japan and Vodafone Live in Europe, prove
the interest for mobile multimedia. The number of operators offering their subscribers mobile multimedia
services has grown substantially in 2003, and appears set to grow even more during the years to come. To
necessitate further growth, applications and services need to be tailored to the mobile channel. This helps the
customers choose and pay for those services which they require.
In future, all networks will have a solid foundation in international standards as well as industry consensus on
deployment. The architectural design choices when formalized, should take into considerations the following
points - personalized services, co-branding, business-to-business relations, tariffing and quality-of-service
aspects. The history of mobile telephony has shown very clearly, that in order to create and expand a true mass
market, the solutions have to be firmly based on standards, which allow for interoperability in many
dimensions. They include terminal-to-network connections to create a thriving end-user equipment market;
intra-networks compatibility to create multivendor competition; and inter-operator exchangeability to create a
user base that is not limited by the coverage of a given operator or technology.
Various End Applications of Wireless Technologies
Devices
Mobile users can access data services through a variety of devices, including those that also have voice
capabilities, such as mobile telephone handsets and smartphones, as well as devices that only offer data
capabilities, such as pagers, two-way messaging devices, PDAs, and wireless modem cards. Some PDAs can
establish a mobile Internet connection with a built-in wireless modem while others require the attachment of a
wireless modem card or a mobile phone. Laptop users can access the Internet while on the move by attaching a
wireless modem card or mobile telephone to their computers.
Some of the applications that are in use are as follows
(i) Paging
Traditional paging service consists of one-way data communications sent to a mobile device that alerts the user
when it arrives. The communication typically consists of a phone number for the user to call, and can also
contain other text-based information. Paging services are offered by paging carriers as well as by mobile
telephone carriers.
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(ii) Text Messaging
Text messaging, also called short messaging service (SMS), provides the ability for mobile telephone users to
exchange short text messages with other mobile handsets and with e-mail addresses. Text messages are limited
to a maximum message length ranging from 120 to 500 characters.
(iii) Ring Tones and Personalized Graphics
Over the past year, mobile telephone carriers began offering their customers a number of new, entertainmentoriented applications and services to download and use on their mobile handsets. These include ring tones,
personalized graphics, games, and the ability to take and exchange digital photos.
(iv) Games
In addition to text messaging, music, and graphics, another entertainment application that all of the six
nationwide carriers and some smaller operators began offering over the past year was mobile gaming. Various
card, casino, sports, action, adventure, trivia, and puzzle games are available for users to download and play
locally on their handsets or, in some cases, against other players connected to the network.
(v) Multimedia Messaging Services
Over the past year, carriers introduced the ability to exchange photo, video, animation, and audio files using a
mobile phone. These services are often collectively called multimedia messaging services (MMS), because
customers are using another medium instead of, or in addition to, text to communicate or convey a message.
With mobile photo services, users can take, send, download, and view digital images using their mobile
handsets. They are able to send photos to other handsets with image-viewing capabilities or to any landline email address.
(vi) Information Alerts
Many mobile data providers offer their text messaging users the ability to receive short, text-based, customized
information alerts, including news updates, weather forecasts, sports scores, stock quotes, horoscopes, and
traffic information, on their mobile devices. Users specify on their carrier's website which content they would
like to receive and must own a text messaging-capable handset. The range of available content is based on the
number and type of content providers with whom the carrier has an agreement.
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(vii) Web Browsing
In contrast to information alerts, which push content to mobile users, wireless web services enable users to pull
web-based information and applications from the Internet to their mobile devices. Subscribers who connect to
the Internet via a wireless modem card attached to a laptop can surf the entire web using common PC browsers,
such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. Users connecting via PDAs or some smartphone models are typically
able to access most web sites, although some web pages may be difficult to view given the smaller screen size
and other constraints of such devices.
With mobile telephone handsets, web browsing is generally limited to the web sites offered by the content
providers with whom a carrier has a content agreement. Therefore, most mobile telephone carriers allow
wireless web users to access a variety of popular web sites and applications on their mobile handsets, but do
not allow access to the entire web.
(viii) E-mail
Most mobile data providers currently offer users the ability to access e-mail messages while being mobile. Email is distinguishable from text messaging in that e-mail services do not have the maximum character limits
that text messaging services do. Moreover, mobile e-mail services allow users to access or to receive
automatically messages sent to their pre-existing work or personal e-mail accounts. Some mobile e-mail
services allow users to access existing, web-based or POP3 e-mail accounts provided by web portals such as
Yahoo! or MSN or by ISPs such as Earthlink.
(ix) Corporate Server Access
Several mobile data providers offer--either directly to individual consumers or to enterprise customers to
implement for their employees--the ability to access on a mobile device, company intranets and files stored on
corporate servers.
(x) Telemetry and Telematics
Telemetry and telematics both involve the use of wireless technology to transfer data between systems and
devices. Wireless telemetry is the monitoring of mobile or fixed equipment in a remote location. The most
common example of wireless telemetry is the remote monitoring of utility meters by utility and energy
companies, called automatic meter reading (AMR). With telematics systems, a person in a remote location can
access information using various wireless technologies. Telematics is most often used to describe vehicle
navigation systems, such as OnStar, where drivers and passengers employ GPS technology to obtain directions,
track their location, and obtain assistance when a vehicle is in an accident.
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Although wireless telemetry systems are mainly used for AMR, they can also be used to monitor a variety of
other fixed and mobile machines, including health care equipment, HVAC systems, gas and oil pipelines,
vending machines, alarm systems, parking meters, streetlights, smoke/fire detectors, factory process systems,
and photocopiers. Businesses and consumers can also employ wireless telemetry systems to remotely monitor
the location and status of vehicles.
Classification
Wireless is emerging in many new applications. Some of the traditional applications for wireless have been for
voice communications and paging. Now wireless is being used to network computers, to allow remote
monitoring and data acquisition, to provide access control and security, and many other such functions.
Wireless is an ideal solution for an environment where wires are not possible, such as vehicles and hand-held
devices. Most wireless products can be categorized by application, some of which include:
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•
Computer networking
•
Wireless local area networks (WLANs)
•
Infrared (IR) ports on computers, printers, and other devices
•
Radio modems
•
Remote data acquisition
•
Personal digital assistants (PDA's)
•
Radio frequency (RF) modems
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The Benefits of Mobile and Wireless Computing
Today’s work force is demanding mobility, flexibility and real-time access to critical data. Many companies
are finding the solution in wireless devices that enable their employees to conduct business anytime and
anywhere. Wireless access to enterprise applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and
field force Automation are increasing productivity and reducing cycle time. Simultaneously, local area
networks (LANs) are becoming mobile with technologies such as 802.11b. While the specific benefits of
wireless access are different for each company, they can include:
•
Increased sales productivity
•
Enhanced field service responsiveness
•
Improved customer service
•
Increased operational efficiency
For example, enabling access to real-time data via hand-helds helped one company increase the number of
sales calls it could carry out, resulting in a 2% to 3% increase in sales volume. Another firm reported office
employee productivity improvements of as much as 22% from the implementation of a WLAN. At Boeing, a
WLAN delivers documentation and assembly instructions to workers scattered throughout the factory complex,
delivering increased productivity and reducing errors.
The benefits of wireless computing are being reinforced by the development of new applications, as well as the
extension of existing enterprise applications for wireless use. Additionally, some enterprises are using
wireless-specific middleware to extend their own applications and gain immediate benefits.
Non-voice services are beginning to play an increasingly important role in the CMRS industry. Providers have
created and have begun offering a variety of specific mobile data services, some of which are focused on
entertainment, while others are aimed at maintaining a constant yet remote connection to work and office life.
The mobile data services currently available include paging, text messaging, information alerts, ring tones,
games, exchanging digital photos, web browsing, e-mail, and access to files stored on corporate servers. The
following sections discuss these individual mobile data services and include details on what each service
entails.
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Patents and Glossary
Patents
Transmission Security for Wireless Communications
Assignee: Magis Networks, Inc. (San Diego, CA) August 20, 2002
United States Patent 6,438,367
Abstract
A method of transmission level security in a communication system comprising, forming a signal to be
transmitted over a communication medium; and introducing a group delay distortion in the signal, wherein the
group delay distortion will cause sufficient signal energy to be dispersed in time outside of a nominal window
of time corresponding to a signal feature of the signal at a corresponding receiver, wherein frequency bin
splattering will occur in a Fourier transform of the receiver.
The method consists of the steps of, forming a plurality of digital signals representing a symbol to be
transmitted over a communication medium, wherein respective ones of the plurality of digital signals are
modulated onto respective ones of a plurality of subcarriers according to a multiple carrier modulation scheme;
and introducing a group delay distortion in one or more of the plurality of subcarriers, wherein a peak-to-peak
variation of the group delay distortion is greater than a guard time interval corresponding to the symbol, such
that portions of the one or more of the plurality of subcarriers will be received outside of a time window
corresponding to the symbol at a receiver.
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Method of MAC Synchronization in TDMA-Based Wireless Networks
Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Eindhoven, NL) January 21, 2003
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Abstract
A method for synchronizing timestamps in a network (eg, a wireless ATM network) that include a control node
and a plurality of other nodes that communicate with one another over a common channel mediated by a
medium-access control subsystem (eg, one that uses a reservation-based TDMA protocol). At the control node,
when a timestamp command is sent from MAC to PHY over the MAC-PHY interface, the current timestamp
value at the control node is captured from the MAC-PHY interface. The captured timestamp value is then
added by a timestamp update interval, T, and stored to become the timestamp value included in the next
timestamp transmission exactly T seconds later. At each other node, when the timestamp command is received
by PHY and sent to MAC over the MAC-PHY interface, the current timestamp value at the respective other
node is captured from the MAC-PHY interface. The captured timestamp value is then compared with the
timestamp value contained in the timestamp command and the difference, if any, is stored in an offset-register.
This offset value will later be added to the timestamp counter in a non-time-critical manner under software
control before the arrival of the next timestamp command.
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Method for Transmitting Multimedia Wireless Data to a Host System
Assignee: Sejin Electron Inc. (Seoul, KR) April 1, 2003
Abstract
Data entry devices such as keyboard and mouse are widely being used in inputting data to a host system. In
general, both of the keyboard and the mouse are connected to the host system via a cable. As a result of the
host system and the data entry devices being connected by the cable, key or button data can be transferred to
the host system without entailing any loss of data. Unfortunately, however, the use of cable, in addition to
being cumbersome, limits the placement of the data entry devices with respect to the host system to its length.
Accordingly, a wireless data communication between the data entry devices and the host system has been
proposed utilizing electromagnetic waves or infra-reds(IR). The present invention provides a method for
transmitting multimedia wireless data to a host system, which comprises the steps of generating a key signal
corresponding to a selected key; converting the key signal into a series of data symbols, each of the data
symbols having a plurality of chip data, and activating one or more chip data from the plurality of chip data;
and converting each data symbol having the one or more activated chip data into an infrared pulse stream and
transmitting it as the multimedia wireless data. Further, as a result of activating only a portion the plurality of
chip data, the power consumption of the system is lowered.
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Method and Apparatus for Connecting a Wireless LAN to a Wired LAN
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY) April 15, 2003
Abstract
Presently available WLANs communicate by means of infra-red (IR), radio or other signals. The main benefit
being cabling is not required vis a vis wired LANs. This is a particularly useful feature for mobile nodes such
as laptop and notebook computers, PDAs (personal digital assistants), and the like. If appropriately equipped
with an appropriate wireless adapter (which includes a transmitter/receiver and control card), such as an IR
wireless adapter, the mobile nodes can move around and remain connected to the network, provided they do
not move out of range.
One method of implementing a WLAN is similar to a cellular phone network system. In this method wireless
nodes do not communicate directly with each other, but rather send all signals to a central base station, which
then redirects the signals to the destination node. However, in certain situations, it is advantageous to allow
each wireless node to communicate directly with other nodes, as is the case in most wired LANs. In a WLAN
which permits this, the wireless adapter and controlling software transmit data packets which all nodes within
range can hear. This permits transmitting of packets which are received but ignored by all nodes except the
one(s) to which they are addressed. This parallels the packet delivery systems of such wired LAN protocols as
Ethernet referred to as Peer-to-Peer WLAN.
For proper functionality, it is desirable that a WLAN should also be able to connect to a wired LAN. In
WLANs using a base station approach, the Base Station can provide such connectivity. However, there exists a
need for system which can provide internetworking services between a peer-to-peer WLAN and a wired LAN.
In this invention each mobile wireless node is associated with at the most one internetworking node. Each
mobile wireless node selects which internetworking node it will associate with. The internetworking node will
then act for all wireless nodes associated to it in relaying messages between wireless nodes or between a wired
lane and the wireless nodes.
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Wideband Wireless Access Local Loop Based on Millimeter Wave Technology
Assignee: HRL Laboratories, LLC (Malibu, CA) May 6, 2003
Abstract
In accordance with the present invention, architectures and network implementation techniques for a wideband
wireless access local loop using millimeter wave band technology provide a high-speed data transfer link
between customer interface equipment and access interface equipment. This link serves as a gateway to a
network including processing nodes interconnected by a high-transmission rate medium such as fiber optic
cable. System operation is based on the use of millimeter wave transceiver/antenna positioned in a close
proximity of up to a few hundred meters to allow for the wireless transfer of data to and from local structures
without the logistical and financial difficulties associated with rain attenuation, object blockage, multipath
dispersion, and high broadcast power requirements. The network architecture is useful for providing a two-way
high-speed data transfer system to structures without the need for physical wiring. Data transfer within the
network may optionally be either analog or digital, and may be optimized for either two-way communication or
one-way distribution.
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Authentication and Security in Wireless Communication System
Assignee: Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) June 17, 2003
Abstract
The invention provides in one aspect a communication system having a wireless trunk for connecting multiple
phone lines over wireless communication links to a cellular network.
A communication system having a wireless trunk is described for connecting multiple phone lines over
wireless communication links to a cellular network. It comprises a central telephone switch, such as a private
branch exchange or key system, connected through one or more trunk lines to a wireless access communication
unit. The wireless access communication unit comprises a separate subscriber interface for each trunk line from
the central telephone switch. The wireless access communication unit collects data from each of the subscriber
interfaces, formats the data into a format compatible with an over-the-air protocol, and transmits the
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information over one or more wireless channels to a cellular base station. The wireless access communication
unit thereby connects calls received from the central telephone switch's trunk lines over a wireless trunk to a
network. A controller within the wireless access communication unit interfaces the subscriber interfaces with a
radio transceiver, and assists in the conversion of data from a format suitable for wireless transmission.
Authentication is carried out separately for each of the subscriber interfaces, thereby allowing the wireless
access communication unit to represent itself as multiple individual subscribers to the network. Upon each
initial registration, each subscriber interface derives its own ciphering key from a stored user key and uses it
thereafter for encryption and decryption.
*******************
Method and Apparatus for Controlling Transmit Power Thresholds Based on Classification of Wireless
Communication Subscribers
Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) July 15, 2003
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing power control in a closed-loop
communication system.
A base station or base station controller is used to select a method of controlling transmission power to and
from a remote station based on a determination as to whether the remote station is fixed or mobile. In a closedloop communication system, a base station exchanges signals with both fixed location and mobile user stations.
When a user or subscriber initially registers with the base station, the base station determines a status of this
subscriber based on, for example, an electronic serial number transmitted to the base station. The base station
compares the electronic serial number to a database (home location register) which determines whether the user
corresponds to a fixed station or a mobile station. If the user is a fixed station, then the base station lowers
nominal and minimum power level thresholds. Based on the lowered thresholds, the base station thereafter
transmits forward link signals to the fixed station at a lower power level. As a result, the base station can
increase its capacity due to the lower overall power rate. Similarly, the remote station can adjust its thresholds
based on whether it is being operated in a fixed or mobile mode. If the base station determines that the fixed
station has moved from its prescribed location, then the base station can adjust its thresholds accordingly or
restrict communication of the fixed station. As a result, the base station can increase its capacity due to the
reduced power transmission to fixed remote stations.
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Method and Apparatus for Controlling Transmitted Power in a Wireless Communications System
Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (St-Laurent, CA) August 5, 2003
Abstract
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems in general and, more particularly, to an
improved method and apparatus for controlling the power of signals transmitted by base stations and mobile
units operating in a CDMA communications system.
In this the transmit power of a wireless link is adjusted so that link performance meets a target level, the
method including dynamically adjusting the target level as a function of the traffic characteristics of the link.
The method consists of dynamically adjusting the target level as a function of the traffic characteristics of the
link. It may be executed at a base station or mobile unit. To perform the method, the apparatus or storage
medium computes a threshold instantaneous performance parameter as a first function of a measured
instantaneous performance parameter, a measured instantaneous bit rate and at least one target error
performance parameter; and generates a power control command based upon a second function of the measured
instantaneous performance parameter and the threshold instantaneous performance parameter. This provides a
smoothing effect of the interference induced to other users and may result in increased cell capacity. Also this
is used in a closed-loop power control system wherein the transmit power of a source unit communicating with
a destination unit across a wireless link is varied in accordance with measured performance and a target
performance parameter.
*******************
Method and Apparatus for High Data Rate Wireless Communications over Wavefield Spaces
Assignee: WJ Communications (San Jose, CA) August 5, 2003
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for digital communications that provides high data rate
wireless connections with bandwidth efficiency. In particular, the invention provides a high data rate wireless
communication between transceivers using a multi-dimensional technique. The creation of multiple channels
(that share the same time-frequency region) between the transmitter and the receiver is achieved by sampling
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the wavefield space with respect to the spatial domain. The wavefield space is the space spanned by the
channel parameters that characterize the multipath fading environment. At the transmitter, symbols are
simultaneously modulated and transmitted using signals that occupy the same frequency portion of the
spectrum, but are distinguishable because different is their position in the wavefield space. The received
signals are optimally processed to extract the digital information. The optimum demodulator estimates the
wavefield space parameters without any training sequence or signal and performs optimum separation of the
different signals to obtain the multiple streams. The throughput of such communication system is an integer
multiple of the throughput that is achievable at each different position in the wavefield space. Given a perfect
estimate of the wavefield space parameters, the maximum likelihood principle is the optimum strategy for
detection. When the wavefield space parameters are a-priori unknown, the maximum likelihood detector can
not be implemented. The invention describes the use of a focused wavelet-based model in the statistic of the
detector which results in an effective approach to wavefield space demodulation without training signals or
sequences in frequency selective multipath fading with arbitrarily time-varying fading characteristics.
Advantages of the invention include the ability to communicate high data rates from one location to another,
where the data rates are in excess of those conventionally achievable.
*******************
Method and Apparatus for a Carrier Frequency Control in a Wireless Communication System
Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (St. Laurent, CA) August 5, 2003
Abstract
The invention provides a frequency control method and apparatus for efficiently controlling in a wireless
system the carrier frequency of a received signal transmitted over a radio link to counteract carrier frequency
drifts in the received signal and hence maintain link connectivity. In a preferred embodiment, the invention
provides upstream and downstream carrier frequency control in a broadband wireless access (BWA) time
division multiplex access (TDMA) system formed of a base transceiver station (BTS) and multiple customer
premises equipment (CPE) units. At each of the CPE units, the CPE upstream carrier frequency is preemptively
adjusted based on downstream carrier frequency measurements to counteract carrier frequency variations in the
upstream carrier frequency. For downstream communications, the BTS periodically polls all active CPE units
to obtain downstream frequency offset estimates, calculate a frequency correction offset and adjust the
downstream carrier frequency accordingly. According to the invention, any residual offset not cancelled by
preemptive offsetting of the upstream carrier frequency can be advantageously handled by a conventional
carrier recovery loop (CRL) at the BTS.
Another advantage is that the preemptive offsetting of the upstream carrier frequency at each CPE unit ensures
that the BTS can in fact receive upstream signals more reliably. This in turn considerably improves upstream
carrier acquisition performance at the BTS.
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Self-Configurable Wireless Systems: Spectrum Monitoring in a Layered Configuration
Assignee: AT&T Corp. (New York, NY) September 2, 2003
Abstract
A method and system are disclosed for coordinating RF use in primary and adjunct wireless systems which are
overlapped or layered in a common geographic area and which share the same the same RF spectrum. The
adjunct system includes adjunct base stations defining respective adjunct wireless cells and serving adjunct
mobile stations located within the respective adjunct cell. The primary system includes primary base stations
defining respective primary wireless cells and serving primary mobile stations located within the primary
wireless cell. The adjunct base stations monitor all RF channels and partition them into two sets, a set of
channels likely to be interference-free and a set of noisy channels. Once control channels have been assigned to
the base stations, the adjunct mobile stations may also participate in the monitoring step by employing the
MAHO/MACA features of the IS 136 or GSM Air Interface Standard. The adjunct system forms a pool of
interference-free channels for use by all adjunct base stations and mobiles. Channels are assigned to the
adjunct base stations from the interference-free set. The interference-free channels left unassigned serve as
back-up channels for period replacement of the assigned channels and in case the assigned channels become
noisy. A channel not being used by the adjunct system is an non-assigned channel. The spectrum monitoring
procedure by the adjunct base stations for non-assigned channels measures received signal strength. If a
channel has a strong signal above a predetermined threshold, then it is deemed noisy. If a channel has a weak
signal strength, then the adjunct base stations must deduce the likelihood of future interference caused by
activity in nearby cells in the primary system. During the operation phase, each adjunct base station, in
conjunction with mobile units in its respective adjunct cell, continually monitor the channels and their
classification is updated if there is a change in the background noise or in the interference signal strength
indicating a change spectrum use by the primary system.The resulting self-configuring system coordinates RF
use in multiple, collocated wireless systems sharing the same the same RF spectrum in an improved manner.
*******************
High Data Rate CDMA Wireless Communication System Using Variable Sized Channel Codes
Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated (San Diego, CA) September 16, 2003
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Abstract
A novel and improved method and apparatus for high rate CDMA wireless communication is described. In
accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a set of individually gain adjusted subscriber channels are
formed via the use of a set of orthogonal subchannel codes having a small number of PN spreading chips per
orthogonal waveform period. Variable data rates are generated using a set of different encoder, interleaver, and
symbol repetition configurations. An encoder associated with each rate generates a variable number of symbols
during each frame period. This variable number of symbols is repeated as necessary to form a constant number
of symbols equal to a fixed number of symbols that can be then repeated a fixed number of repetitions before
transmission. Where the constant number of symbols is not an integer multiple of the variable number of
symbols for a particular rate, a subset of the variable number of symbols is repeated to fill in the remaining
symbols necessary to equal the constant number of symbols. Thus, a multi-channel, high rate, CDMA wireless
communication system has been described.
*******************
Over-the-Air Programming of Wireless Terminal Features
Assignee: Cellco Partnership (Bedminster, NJ) September 16, 2003
Abstract
Terminal devices for a wireless communication network are manufactured and distributed with predetermined
communication capabilities and a minimal operation capability. Each unit includes a substantial memory for
plug-in feature programming, which initially is empty. A terminal user selects a desired feature or set of
features and contacts a service provider. The provider's equipment downloads software programming
corresponding to the desired feature into the memory of the terminal device. The software takes the form of a
plug-in module, written to the program interface specification of the core software of the terminal device.
When loaded into memory and interfaced through the core software, the module allows the terminal device to
implement the desired feature. This allows for features to be sold in predefined packages or individually. Also
these features can be added, upgraded or replaced at any time by downloading new feature modules into the
memory.
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Wireless Optical Communication System and Wireless Optical Communication Method
Assignee: Sony Corporation (Tokyo, JP) September 23, 2003
Abstract
An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless optical communication system for performing
optical communication between a plurality of nodes using light amplitude-modulated by a modulated signal of
a first frequency band which can reduce the power consumption for light emission in the nodes and suppress
modulated signal components other than the first frequency band among modulated signal components carried
by the light, and a wireless optical communication method for the same.
A wireless optical communication system can reduce the power consumption needed for light emission by a
controlled node and suppress a modulated signal component, other than the modulated signal of input data for
transmission, in the modulated signal components carried by the light output of the controlled node. The
controlled node includes a transmission device for transmitting input data for transmission by an infrared ray
amplitude-modulated by a modulated signal of a first frequency band and a light emission control device for
suspending the light emission by the transmission device for a predetermined period based on a data amount of
the input data for transmission. The light emission circuit generates a light emission control signal and the
transmission device stops or starts the light emission based on the light emission control signal so that the
modulated signal component in the second frequency band other than the first frequency band does not exceed
a maximum allowable value.
*******************
Antenna Control system in a Wireless Communication System
Assignee: Sprint Communications Company, L.P. (Overland, KS) September 23, 2003
Abstract
Antenna structures for the wireless communication systems are sometimes placed in regions of high consumer
density such as cities. Cities offer large consumer populations but also offer many obstacles to transmitting and
receiving data. Antenna structures are not always located where coverage is optimal. Moreover, since the
antenna structures are normally located outdoors, the antenna structures are subjected to extreme weather
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conditions. Unfortunately, communication outages of any duration immediately result in lost revenue to the
service provider. Remotely located antennas compound the duration of an outage. The present embodiment of
the invention solves the problem by providing an antenna control system in a wireless communication system.
A communication interface transfers a control signal to an antenna controller. The antenna controller processes
the control signal. The antenna controller then substitutes an antenna with another antenna based on the control
signal. Advantages of the embodiments include providing a reliable wireless communication system that
decreases the number of lost calls by increasing the availability of antennas. Other advantages include
providing flexible antenna coverage to an area by remotely controlling the antenna through a public
communication network by means of a modem.
*******************
Data Link Protocol for Wireless Systems
Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ) September 23, 2003
Abstract
Often wireless networks are interfaced to one or more wired networks. The various wired networks employ
protocols that are unique to them and are often not appropriate for use in wireless transmission. In particular,
the wireless transmission requires its own protocols to better deal with the variations and unreliability of the
wireless channels. Thus, it is necessary to employ protocol translators to convert between the protocols
employed by the wireless networks and the protocols employed by any wired network to which they interface.
Such wireless protocols should be transparent to the wired network.
The system is able to be employed by systems that utilize dynamic constellation mapping schemes which result
in different time slots for the same user being mapped with different constellations, and so they have different
bit to symbol ratios.This is because such changes in the constellation mapping scheme are handled at the time
slot level, and are not seen at the radio data link packet level. The segmentation of the network layer packets
into radio link packets is independent of the number and size of the time slots which will carry the radio link
packets. Additionally, the system is able to transmit radio link packets without requiring such radio link
packets to be strictly in the same sequence that the data carried by those radio link packets appear in the
network layer packet from which the radio link packets were developed. Thus, the system is robust, transparent
to the wired network, and often minimizes the amount of re-transmission that is required in the face of errors.
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Wireless Portable Information Storage and Retrieval Device
Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc. (Murray Hill, NJ) September 30, 2003
Abstract
This invention provides a user of a cellular telephone terminal with a remotely programmable capability
wherein the ease of data entry and organization provided by personal computer input devices and
telecommunications applications are combined with the general utility of a portable cellular telephone terminal.
In a cellular telephone terminal having increased storage capability, ease of entry and access for data stored
therein is provided through utilization of a computer equipped with a modem, a wired telephone network and
the cellular telephone network. A user utilizes the ease of data entry implicit to modern computers through
dedicated or existing personal information organizers to input data into a database, such as a personal dialing
directory, at the computer. For the entering of data at the cellular telephone terminal, first the terminal, also
equipped with a modem, is configured in a data download mode where data can be received from the computer
and entered into on-board storage. The computer then places a modem telephone call to the terminal, either
directly or through a network translator, and transfers the data into the terminal. The data is then accessible
through standard data recall techniques using a display and interface keys on the telephone terminal.
*******************
Computer Method and System for Management and Control of Wireless Devices
Assignee: Dynamic Mobile Data Systems, Inc. (Somerset, NJ)
September 30, 2003
Abstract
A system and method of operating a computer system that manages and controls wireless devices through a
wireless control subsystem Preferred methods according to this aspect of the invention include the steps of
providing at least one wireless device connected to a computer, providing a multi-tasking operating system
having a base communications API to the computer, providing at least one wireless-related application running
on the computer for enabling wireless communications among the wireless device and wireless-related
application, and providing a wireless control subsystem to the computer. This wireless control subsystem
includes a programming module extending the base communications API through a set of programming objects
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callable by the wireless-related application, and a system module having a plurality of layers of linked
programming objects which propagate information from object to object indicative of an occurrence of system
level events related to the operation and/or status of the wireless device. The method further includes the steps
of communicating the system level events from the wireless device to the system module; propagating
information indicative of the system level events through at least some of the layers of objects within the
system module; and further propagating the information indicative of the system level events from the system
module to the programming module and from the programming module to the wireless-related application.
*******************
Multi-Carrier Receiver for a Wireless Telecommunication System
Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation (Redondo Beach, CA)
October 7, 2003
Abstract
A receiver for a wireless telecommunications system that provides relatively wideband signal processing of
received signals without increased signal distortion so that multiple received signals can be simultaneously
processed. A typical receiver for a wireless telecommunications system is disclosed that provides relatively
wideband signal processing of received signals without increased signal distortion so that multiple received
signals can be simultaneously processed. The receiver includes a specialized LNA, frequency down-converter
and ADC to perform the wideband signal processing while maintaining receiver performance. The frequency
down-converter employs a suitable mixer, BPF, attenuator and transformer that are tuned to provide the desired
frequency down-conversion and amplitude control over the desired wide bandwidth. The down-converter
devices are selected depending on the particular performance criteria of the ADC. A specialized digital
channelizer is included in the receiver that receives the digital signal from the ADC, and separates the signals
into the multiple channels.
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Glossary of Terms
A
A-Band Carrier: In early 1981, the FCC announced that it would approve two licenses in each market a nonwireline company (which became known as the 'A' side carrier), and a wireline company (the B side carrier).
A/B Switch: A feature found on new cellular telephones permitting the user to select either the A (nonwireline) carrier or the B (wireline) carrier when roaming away from home.
Access Fee: A special fee that local phone companies are allowed to charge customers for the right to connect
with the local phone network. The fee is paid by wireless subscribers, as is a federal 3% telephone excise tax.
ADSL: Asymmetric Digital Subscribers Line: Service which allows transmission of high-speed data over
standard phone lines, without interfering with regular phone calls. Asymmetric because it provides much
higher speeds downloading than uploading.
Advanced Intelligent Networks: Systems that allow a wireless user to make and receive phone calls while
roaming in areas outside the user’s home network. These networks rely on computers and sophisticated
switching techniques.
Advanced Messaging: A sophisticated service which allows a wireless user to send, receive and track alphanumeric messages.
Air Time: Actual time spent talking on the wireless telephone. Most carriers bill customers based on how many
minutes of air time they use each month. The more minutes of time spent talking on the phone, the higher the
bill.
Affiliate: Companies that assist larger carriers with building out a nationwide network; the affiliate may use the
primary carrier's brand name, network operations, customer service or other facilities.
Air interface: The standard operating system of a wireless network; technologies include AMPS, TDMA,
CDMA and GSM.
Alphanumeric: A message or other type of readout containing both letters (alphas) and numbers (numerics). In
cellular, alphanumeric memory dial is a special type of dial-from-memory option that displays both the name of
the individual and that individual’s phone number on the wireless phone handset.. The name can also be
recalled by using the letters on the phone keypad. By contrast, standard memory dial recalls numbers from
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number-only locations.
AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service): The term used by AT&T’s Bell Laboratories (prior to the break-up
of the Bell System in 1984) to refer to its cellular technology. The AMPS Standard has been the foundation for
the industry in the United States, although it has been modified in recent years. AMPS-compatible means
equipment designed to work with most cellular telephones.
Analog: The traditional method of modulating radio signals so that they can carry information. AM amplitude
modulation) and FM (frequency modulation) are the two most common methods of analog modulation. Though
most US cellular systems today carry phone conversations using analog, many now offer digital transmission.
ANI: Automatic Number Identification. Feature which electronically delivers information about the originating
number on a call to the receiving switch or carrier. Some of the information may be transmitted to the final
recipient of the call.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute): A US standards group.
Antenna: A device for transmitting and/or receiving signals. The size and shape of antennas are determined, in
large part, by the frequency of the signal they are receiving.
APCO (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International): Trade group headquartered in
South Daytona, Fla., representing law enforcement, fire, emergency services and other public-safety agency
dispatchers and communications employees.
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode): A high-speed, high-bandwidth transmission technology.
Authentication: A fraud prevention technology that takes a number of values--including a 26-character handset
identifier or A-Key, not sent over the air--to create a shared secret value used to verify a user's authenticity.
B
B-Band Carrier: In early 1981, the FCC announced that it would approve two licenses in each market—a nonwireline company (which became known as the A side carrier), and a wireline company (the B side carrier).
Bandwidth: A relative range of frequencies that can carry a signal without distortion on a transmission
medium. Sometimes referred to as a pipe.
Base Station: The central radio transmitter/receiver that maintains communications with mobile radiotelephone
sets within a give range (typically a cell site).
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Bent Pipe Technology: Satellite technology to transmit calls from one point on Earth to a satellite and back
down to another point.
Big LEO: Low-earth orbit satellite system that will offer voice and data services; eg., Iridium, Globalstar.
Blocking or Blockage: A condition where congestion within a radiocommunications system or network is so
great, due to excess demand from users, that new calls cannot be completed without delay. A busy signal.
Bluetooth: The code name for a new wireless technology being developed by Ericsson Inc., Intel Corp., Nokia
Corp., Toshiba and IBM. The technology enables data connections between electronic devices such as desktop
computers, wireless phones, electronic organizers and printers in the 2.4 GHz range. Bluetooth depends on
mobile devices equipped with a chip for sending and receiving information. The founding members listed
above have been joined in development by over 700 members including Compaq, Dell, Motorola, Qualcomm,
BMW and Casio.
Bps: Bits per second is an indicator of transmission speed over a digital system or medium.
Broadband: Using a wide-bandwidth channel for voice, data and/or video services.
Broadband PCS: Synonymous with personal communications services created in the A- through F-Block
auctions and used for voice and data.
BTA (Basic Trading Area): A service area designed by Rand McNally and adopted by the FCC to promote the
rapid deployment and ubiquitous coverage of Personal Communications Services (PCS) and a variety of other
services and providers. BTAs are usually composed of several contiguous counties. There are 493 BTAs in the
United States.
Bundling: Grouping various telecommunications services--wireline and/or wireless--as a package to increase
the appeal to potential customers and reduce advertising, marketing and other expenses associated with
delivering multiple services. For example, a bundled package could include long distance, cellular, Internet and
paging services.
C
CALEA (Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act): A 1994 law granting law enforcement
agencies the ability to wiretap new digital networks and requiring wireless and wireline carriers to enable
eavesdropping equipment use in digital networks. (See Issues Section)
Calling Party Pays: This service bills the originator of a call to a wireless device rather than the receiver and is
more common in other countries than in the United States. However, many US carriers are pushing for calling
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party pays, since it would probably increase minutes of use.
Call Quality: A measure of the total quality of a call including the ability to accurately reproduce a users voice,
as well as the systems ability to limit impairments during the course of a conversation.
Capacity: A measure of the total number of subscribers that can be supported on a wireless network.
Carrier: A company which owns or operates transmission facilities and offers telecommunication services to
the general public.
CATV Means cable television.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access):A spread spectrum approach to digital transmission. With CDMA,
each conversation is digitized and then tagged with a code. The mobile phone is then instructed to decipher
only a particular code to pluck the right conversation off the air. The process can be compared in some ways to
an English-speaking person picking out in a crowded room of French speakers the only other person who is
speaking English..
CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data): An enhanced system overlay for transmitting and receiving data over
cellular networks. Technology that allows data files to be broken into a number of packets and sent along idle
channels of existing cellular voice networks.
Cell: The basic geographic unit of a cellular system. Also, the basis for the generic industry term cellular."A
city or county is divided into smaller cells, each of which is equipped with a low-powered radio
transmitter/receiver. The cells can vary in size depending upon terrain, capacity demands, etc. By controlling
the transmission power, the radio frequencies assigned to one cell can be limited to the boundaries of that cell.
When a wireless phone moves from one cell toward another, a computer at the Mobile Telephone Switching
Office (MTSO) monitors the movement and at the proper time, transfers or hands off the phone call to the new
cell and another radio frequency. The handoff is performed so quickly that it’s not noticeable to the callers.
Cell Site: The location where the wireless antenna and network communications equipment is placed.
Cell Splitting: A means of increasing the capacity of a cellular system by subdividing or splitting cells into two
or more smaller cells.
Cellemetry: Brand name for Cellemetry LLC's telemetry service, which uses the cellular network to carry data
messaging used for remote services such as utility meter reading, vending machine status and vehicle or trailer
tracking.
Channel: A path along which a communications signal is transmitted.
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Churn: A measure of the number of subscribers who leave or switch to another carrier's service.
CISC: CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee. CRTC- created multi-carrier body which negotiates issues
related to network interconnection.
ClassLink: A program of the CTIA Foundation providing wireless phones to schools for teacher use and
student Internet access.
CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier): A new entrant providing local wireline phone service.
Cloning: A wireless phone programmed with stolen or duplicated electronic serial and mobile identification
numbers. At the urging of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, President Clinton signed into
law in April of 1998 the Wireless Telephone Protection Act (PL 105-172). The legislation amends the Federal
criminal code to prohibit knowingly using, producing, trafficking in, having control or custody of, or
possessing hardware or software knowing that it has been configured to insert or modify telecommunication
identifying information associated with or contained in a telecommunications instrument so that such
instrument may be used to obtain telecommunications service without authorization.
CMRS (Commercial Mobile Radio Service): An FCC designation for any carrier or licensee whose wireless
network is connected to the public switched telephone network and/or is operated for profit.
Collocation: Placement of multiple antennas at a common physical site to reduce environmental impact and
real estate costs and speed zoning approvals and net work deployment. Collocation can be affected by
competitive and interference factors. Some companies act as brokers, arranging for sites and coordinating
several carriers' antennas at a single site.
Cost Recovery: Reimbursement to CMRS providers of both recurring and nonrecurring costs associated with
any services, operation, administration or maintenance of wireless E911 service. Costs include, but are not
limited to, the costs of design, development, upgrades, equipment, software and other expenses associated with
the implementation of wireless E911 service.
Coverage: The combined geographic footprint of all the cell sites that comprise a wireless system.
CPE (Consumer Premise Equipment): Telephones, PBXs and other communications devices located in the
home or office.
CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information): The carrier's data about a specific customer's service and
usage. The FCC restricts CPNI use in marketing, banning win-back efforts specifically aimed at high-usage
customers who have quit a network. (See Issues Section)
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CRTC: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which regulates Canadian
telecommunications service providers.
CSA: Canadian Standards Association. Organization which develops standards for communications.
D
Dual Band: Describes a handset that works on 800 MHz cellular and 1900 MHz PCS frequencies.
Dual Mode: Describes a handset that works on both analog and digital networks.
DBS: Direct Broadcast Satellite. See DTH.
Digital: Describes a method of storing, processing and transmitting information trough the use of distinct
electronic or optical pulses that represent the binary digits 0 and 1. Digital transmission and switching
technologies employed a sequence of discrete, distinct pulses to represent information, as opposed to the
continuously
variable
analog
signal.
Digital
transmission
generally
enhances
the
privacy
of
radiocommunications and facilitates data transmission.
Dispatch: Push-to-talk one-to-many communications. A service provide to customers (typically operators of
fleets or groups of mobile workers) who want to transmit and receive short messages to and from group of
mobile or portable radios within range of a dispatch system.
DS-0: Digital Service, Level 0. 64000 bits per second. One standard voice channel.
DTH: Direct to Home. Satellite service which broadcasts directly to end-users.
Dual-band: A term that describes a wireless device or system that can operate in two different frequency
ranges, for example 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz.
Dual-Mode: A term that describes a wireless device or system that can support two different protocols, for
example PCS and analogue cellular.
Dual-Mode, Dual-Band A term that describes a wireless device or system that can support two different
protocols on two different frequency ranges.
E
Electromagnetic Compatibility: The ability of equipment or systems to be used in their intended environment
within designed efficiency levels without causing or receiving degradation due to unintentional
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electromagnetic interference. Proper shielding of devices reduces interference.
Encryption: The process of scrambling a message such as a digital phone signal to prevent it from being read
by unauthorized parties.
Enhanced Dispatch: Dispatch utilizing digital technology which improves the quality of conventional dispatch
and adds additional features including seamless wide area coverage, fast access as well as data transmission
and inter-connect capabilities..
ESMR (Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio): Digital SMR networks, usually referring to Nextel
Communications Inc., which provide dispatch, voice, messaging and data services.
ESN (Electronic Serial Number): The unique identification number embedded in a wireless phone by the
manufacturer. Each time a call is placed, the ESN is automatically transmitted to the base station so the
wireless carrier's mobile switching office can check the call's validity. The ESN cannot be altered in the field.
The ESN differs from the mobile identification number, which is the wireless carrier's identifier for a phone in
the network. MINs and ESNs can be electronically checked to help prevent fraud.
Ex Parte: Statements, meetings or filings that are made outside of an official comment-and-replay period. They
must be reported and a summary of them made available in the public record.
F
FCC:
Federal
Communications
Commission.
The
government
agency
responsible
for
regulating
telecommunications in the United States.
FHMA: Frequency Hopping Multiple Access. A digital transmission technology using frequency hopping in
combination with TDMA and low rate digital speech processing to create multiple access trunking.
FNPRM (Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking): A document issued by the FCC to spur additional comment
on a future commission action.
Frequency: A specified band or range within the overall spectrum of electromagnetic radio waves to be used as
a channel for sending or receiving communications. In practice, the term is used to describe the rights granted
by license from Industry Canada to operate a radio-communications system using that band in a specified
geographic location.
Frequency Reuse: The use of many low-elevation antenna and/or low-power sites, so that the same frequencies
can be reused in numerous sites separated by a defined distance without causing interference. Thus frequencies
re-use systems can increase capacity and reuse frequencies more often.
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FWA (Fixed Wireless Access): Also known as wireless local loop.
F-TDMA: Narrowband TDMA technology that combines TDMA and frequency division. The mode of channel
multiplexing used in Prism using two-times TDMA technologies on 12.5 KHz channel bandwidth.
G
GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit. Until 1997, most communication satellites have been Geosynchronous,
orbiting 42,000 km above the earth at the same speed as the earth rotates, so they appear to be stationary above
one point on the surface.
GHz: GigaHertz. Is one billion hertz in the frequency spectrum for RF communications.
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service): A GSM data transmission technique that does not set up a continuous
channel from a portable terminal for the transmission and reception of data, but transmits and receives data in
packets. It makes very efficient use of available radio spectrum, and users pay only for the volume of data sent
and received.
GPS (Global Positioning System): A series of 24 geosynchronous satellites that continuously transmit their
position. Used in personal tracking, navigation and automatic vehicle location technologies.
GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications. A TDMA-based digital communication standard, which has
been widely deployed in Europe and around the world in the 900 MHz band. A variant called PCS 1900 has
been widely developed in the 2.0 GHz frequency range for PCS in North America.
H
Hand-Off: The process occurring when a wireless network automatically switches a mobile call to an adjacent
cell site.
HandsFree: A feature for mobile phones that allows the driver to use their car phone without lifting or holding
the handset to their ear. An important safety feature.
Hz: Hertz. The dimensional unit for measuring the frequency with which an electromagnetic signal cycles
through the zero-value state between lowest and highest states. One Hertz equals one cycle per second. KHz
(kiloHertz) stands for thousands of Hertz; MHz (megaHertz) stands for millions of Hertz; and GHz (gigaHertz)
stands for billions of Hertz.
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I
iDEN: Utilizing existing 800 MHz SMR frequencies, iDEN converts the analogue SMR channel to an ESMR
digital network. The digital signals, resistant to interference and dropped calls, are more easily manipulated for
enhanced system capacity. Developed by Motorola, iDEN systems employ up to six-times TDMA digital
transmission technology.
ILEC: Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. The traditional phone company, operating as a provider of local
telephone service.
Immunity: Immunity has special meaning in a 911 context. No CMRS or 911 provider, its employees, officers
or agents is criminally liable or liable for any damages in a civil action for injuries, death or loss to person or
property resulting from any act or omission in connection with the development, adoption, implementation,
maintenance, enhancement or operation of E911 service, unless such damage or injury was intentional or the
result of gross negligence or willful or wanton conduct.
IMT-2000: The International Telecommunication Union's name for the new 3G global standard for mobile
telecommunications.
Interconnection: The connecting of one network with another, e.g. a cellular carrier's wireless network with the
local exchange.
Interoperability: The ability of a network to operate with other networks, such as two systems based on
different protocols or technologies.
IS (Interim Standard): A designation of the American National Standards Institute--usually followed by a
number that refers to an accepted industry protocol; e.g, IS-95, IS-136, IS-54.
IS-41: The network standard that allows all switches to exchange information about subscribers.
IS-54: The first generation of the digital standard time division multiple access technology.
IS-95: The standard for code division multiple access.
IS-136: The latest generation of the digital standard time division multiple access technology.
IS-661: North American standard for 1.9 GHz wireless spread spectrum radio-frequency access technology
developed by Omnipoint Corp. IS-661, for which Omnipoint was awarded a pioneer's preference license for the
New York City market, is based on a composite of code division multiple access and time division multiple
access technologies. The company says IS-661 reduces infrastructure costs and allows higher data speeds than
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mainstream GSM or TDMA platforms.
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network: A service which allows the simultaneous transmission of voice and
data conversation over a single connection.
ITU: International Telecommunications Union. Special agency of the United Nations, responsible for
negotiated international telecom standards and policies.
K
Ka-Band: Radio spectrum in the 18 GHz to 31 GHz range used by satellite communications systems.
Ku-Band: Radio spectrum in the 10.9 GHz to 17 GHz range used by satellite communications systems.
L
LEC (Local Exchange Carrier): A wireline phone company serving a local area.
LEO (Low-Earth Orbit): A mobile communications satellite between 700 kms and 2,000 kms above the earth.
LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service): Located in the 28 GHz and 31 GHz bands, LMDS is a
broadband radioservice designed to provide two-way transmission of voice, high-speed data and video
(wireless cable TV). FCC rules prohibit incumbent local exchange carriers and cable TV companies from
offering in-region LMDS.
LNP (Local Number Portability): The ability of subscribers to switch local or wireless carriers and still retain
the same phone number, as they can now with long-distance carriers. Wireless carriers don't have to offer LNP
until March 2000 and want the deadline further postponed.
Local Calling Area: The region across which the call is truly local, involving no toll charges.
LSGAC (Local-State Governmental Advisory Committee): An FCC-established group that is working on an
antenna-siting solution. The LSGAC will advise carriers and communities on antenna siting.
Land Line: The traditional telephone services provided over wired facilities.
LEC: Local Exchange Carrier. A company which provides local switched telephone service.
LEO: Low Earth Orbit. LEO satellites orbit 700-1,500 km above the earth allowing them to provide delay-free
communication to low-powered telephones. The first LEO services are scheduled to begin late in 1998.
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LMCS: Local Multipoint Communication Systems. High Bandwidth wireless services operating at the 28 GHz
band. Industry Canada has licensed three LMCS carriers to serve non- overlapping areas across Canada.
LMDS: Local Multipoint Distribution Service. U.S. term for LMCS.
LMS: Local Measured Service. Pay-as-you-go local telephone service.
LNP: Local Number Portability. With LNP, you'll be able to keep your phone number if you change Local
Exchange Carriers.
M
Macrocell: Describes a physically large communications coverage area (5-20 km in diameter).
MCS: Multipoint Communications Systems. Applications licensed at 2500 MHz in Canada. A wide variety of
applications are possible including one-way and two-way transmission and a diversity of distribution
capacities.
MDS: Multipoint Distribution Service. High bandwidth wireless communication service, primarily viewed as
an alternative to cable TV. The CRTC has granted MDS licenses in some parts of Canada
MEO: Medium Earth Orbit. MEO satellites orbit about 10,000 km above the earth.
Message Alert: (also called a call-in-absence indicator) A light or other indicator on a wireless phone that
notifies a user that a call has come in. A useful feature especially if the wireless subscriber has voice mail.
MHz: MegaHertz is one million hertz in the frequency spectrum of RF communications.
Microcell: Describes a physically midsize communications coverage area (0.5 + 5 km in diameter).
MIN: Mobile Identification Number. A mobile telephone number.
MIN/ESN: Combination of MIN and ESN. Which identifies a mobile phone and its billing number.
MIPS (Millions of Instructions per Second): Used in defining digital signal processing capabilities.
Mobile Satellite Service: Communications transmission service provided by satellites. A single satellite can
provide coverage to the whole United States.
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Mobile Data: A wireless service involving the transmission and/or receipt of data between computers or fax
machines.
Mobile Radio: A powerful (maximum 30 watts) radio permanently installed in a vehicle.
MTSO (Mobile Telephone Switching Office): The central computer that connects a wireless phone call to the
public telephone network. The MTSO controls the entire system’s operations, including monitoring calls,
billing and handoffs.
MUX: Multiplexer. A device which combines multiple transmissions over a smaller number of
communications channels.
N
NAM: Number Assignment Module. The NAM is the electronic memory in the wireless phone that stores the
telephone number and an electronic serial number.
NAMPS (Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone System): NAMPS combines cellular voice processing with
digital signaling, increasing the capacity of AMPS systems and adding functionality.
NANC (North American Numbering Council): The FCC advisory group formerly responsible for administering
the North American Numbering Plan that oversees assignment of area codes, central office codes and other
numbering issues in the United States, Canada, Bermuda and part of the Caribbean. NANP administration
responsibility was transferred to Lockheed Martin.
NANP: North American Numbering Plan. The overall telephone numbering plan for Canada, the U.S., and
most of the Caribbean. The NANP defines area codes, telephone number formats, etc.
Narrowband PCS: Advanced paging that will provide two-way text transmission and one-way digital voice
service.
NENA (National Emergency Numbering Association): NENA's mission is to foster the technological
advancement, availability and implementation of a universal emergency telephone number system.
NOI (Notice of Inquiry): Often the predecessor to an FCC rulemaking, the NOI takes public comment on a
general topic. For instance, an NOI would ask "Do interconnection rates need regulation?" The subsequent
proposed rulemaking, if any, would offer a specific regulatory scheme and again be put to public comment.
NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration): The federal government's spectrum
management authority.
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Number Pooling: Increasingly popular tactic for conserving phone numbers. Numbers are returned by all
carriers to a central authority, which puts them in a pool, from which carriers receive numbers in lots of 1,000,
not 10,000 as was originally done. It relies on local number portability.
O
Off-Peak: The periods of time after the business day has ended during which carriers offer discounted airtime
charges.
One-Stop Shop: Describes the all-in-one store where carriers sell wireless, long-distance, Internet access and
any other services they are able to sell in that market.
Overlay Area Code: A solution to the scarcity of new phone numbers, overlays involve issuance of new 10digit phone numbers for use alongside an area's existing seven-digit numbers, which have a different area code.
P
Paging: A one-way messaging service (pagers).
Partitioning: Parceling a spectrum license into two or more geographic areas.
PCS: Personal Communications Services. Mobile communications system interconnected with the PSTN.
PCTN: Public Cordless Telephone Network.
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant): A portable computing device capable of transmitting data. These devices
make possible services such as paging, data messaging, electronic mail, computing, facsimile, date book and
other information handling capabilities.
PIN (Personal Identification Number): A code used by a mobile telephone number in conjunction with an SIM
card to complete a call.
Peak: That part of the business day in which cellular customers can expect to pay full service rates.
Picocell: Describes a physically small communications coverage area (less than 0.5 km in diameter).
PMR: Private Mobile Radio. PMR refers to private dispatch communications systems which belong to
organizations operating with their own system and Industry Canada license. Industry Canada will license a
PMR organization, based on need and spectrum availability. Typically, in urban areas, only systems with more
than 35 mobile and/or portable radios will be granted a license.
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Pool Consolidation: The restructuring of 20 private land mobile services into two pools--public safety and
industrial/business--during the commission's ongoing refarming proceeding.
POPs: A shorthand abbreviation for population. A POP refers to one person living in a population area, which,
in whole or in substantial part, is included in the coverage areas.
Portable Radio: A compact hand-held radio (maximum five watts).
Pre-Emption: A federal agency voiding a local ordinance or state law, asserting that the federal government,
not the state or locality, has ultimate jurisdiction on the matter.
Prepaid Cellular: A system allowing subscribers to pay in advanced for wireless service. Prepaid is generally
used for credit-impaired customers or those who want to adhere to a budget.
Protocol: A standard that describes the control functions, tuning and methodology used to operate a
communication system. The protocol ensures the compatibility of all systems.
PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network. The regular telephone network.
PSAP (Public-Safety Answering Point): The dispatch office that receives 911 calls from the public. A PSAP
may be local fire or police department, an ambulance service or a regional office covering all services.
PUC (Public Utility Commission): The general name for the state regulatory body charged with regulating
utilities including telecommunications.
Punch list: The list of sophisticated wiretapping function that the FBI wants common carriers to provide under
the 1994 digital wiretap law, but which the carriers say is too costly and may exceed the law's scope. The FCC
has been asked to decide whether the industry's standard is sufficient. (See Issues Section)
R
Radio-Frequency Fingerprinting: A process that identifies a cellular phone by the unique fingerprint that
characterizes its signal transmission. RF fingerprinting is one process used to prevent cloning fraud, since a
cloned phone will not have the same fingerprint as the legal phone with the same electronic identification
numbers.
Rate Center: The geographic area used by local exchange carriers to set rate boundaries for billing and for
issuing phone numbers. Wireless industry groups decry the rate center concept as wasteful of phone numbers
because the concept is issued over larger areas.
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RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company): The list of such companies includes Bell Atlantic, US West,
Ameritech, Southwestern Bell and BellSouth.
Refarming: An FCC initiative to promote more efficient use of the frequency bands below 512 MHz, allocated
to private land mobile radio services.
Repeater: A base station which "repeats" a transmission over a determined coverage area.
Roaming: A service offered by mobile communications network operators which allows a subscriber to use
his/her radio or phone while in the service area of another carrier. Roaming requires an agreement between
operators of technologically compatible systems in individual markets to permit customers of either operator to
access the other's systems.
RSA (Rural Service Area): One of the 428 FCC designated rural markets across the United States.
RCC: Radio Common Carrier. Company licensed to provide radio transmission services to others.
RF: Radio Frequency
S
Seamless Wide Area Coverage: Communications over a wide geographic area spread across multiple sites with
automatic routing of calls from site to site without user intervention.
Service Charge: The amount you pay each month to receive wireless service. This amount is fixed, and to paid
monthly regardless of how much or how little you use your wireless phone.
Site: The geographic location of a single base station or repeater in a radiocommunications system. Multiples
sites may be used to provide extended system coverage. In a multi-site configuration with call hand-off
between base stations, base stations are located so that the coverage areas of individual stations overlap in
order to facilitate continuous coverage over a wide coverage area.
Slamming: The unauthorized switching of a customer's phone service to another carrier.
Smart Antenna: An antenna system whose technology enables it to focus its beam on a desired signal to reduce
interference. A wireless network would employ smart antennas at its base stations in an effort to reduce the
number of dropped calls, improve call quality and improve channel capacity.
Smart Phone: A class of wireless phones typically used to describe handsets with many features and often a
keyboard. What makes the phone smart is its ability to handle data, not only voice calls.
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SMR: Specialized Mobile Radio. SMR refers to commercial dispatch communications networks whereby a
number of subscribers use mobile radios in vehicles and/or portable radios which operate on a network of
repeaters over a determined coverage area. A message can be sent by one user to all the other users at the same
time (ie. one to many communication). This communication format is well suited to the dispatch market.
SMS: Smart Messaging Service. A wireless messaging service that involves the transmission of a short text
message and its receipt by a wireless terminal, with the wireless system registering an acknowledgment that the
message has been received.
Soft Handoff: Procedure in which two base stations-one in the cell site where the phone is located and the
other in the cell site to which the conversation is being passed- both hold onto the call until the handoff is
completed. The first cell site does not cut off the conversation until it receives information that the second is
maintaining the call.
Spectrum: A term generally applied to radio frequencies.
Spectrum Allocation: Federal government designation of a range of frequencies for a category of use or uses.
For example, the FCC allocated the 1900 MHz band for personal communications services. Allocation,
typically accomplished in years-long FCC proceedings, tracks new technology development. However, the
FCC can shift existing allocations to accommodate changes in spectrum demand. As an example, some UHF
television channels were recently reallocated to public safety.
Spectrum Assignment: Federal government authorization for use of specific frequencies or frequency pairs
within a given allocation, usually at stated a geographic location(s). Mobile communications authorizations are
typically granted to private users, such as oil companies, or to common carriers, such as cellular and paging
operators. Spectrum auctions and/or frequency coordination processes, which consider potential interference to
existing users, may apply.
Spectrum Cap: A limit to the allocated spectrum designated for a specific service.
Spread Spectrum: Jamming-resistant and initially devised for military use, this radio transmission technology
spreads information over greater bandwidth than necessary for interference tolerance and is now a commercial
technology.
Standby Time: A measure of the maximum amount of time a wireless handset can remain on monitoring for
incoming calls before the batteries need recharging
Subscriber Fraud: A deception deliberately practiced by an impostor to secure wireless service with intent to
avoid payment. This is in contrast to bad debt, which occurs when a known person or company has a payment
obligation overdue and the debt cannot be collected.
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Switching: The telecommunications computer at the core of the wireless network, where calls are automatically
controlled, monitored and handed off from one cell site to another, and in which calls are interconnected with
the land line network or other wireless networks.
T
T-1: Digital carrier system that supports 24 standard voice channels. Often used as a synonym for DS-1.
T-3: Digital carrier system that supports 672 standard voice channels. Often used as a synonym for DS-3.
Talk Time: A measure of the maximum amount of time a wireless handset can be involved in an active
conversation before the batteries need recharging.
TDM: Time Division Multiplexing. Simultaneous transmission of multiple signals over one channel, by rapidly
interleaving samples.
TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access. Time Division Access is a digital wireless transmission methodology
used in cellular telephone communications, ESMR, PCS and other wireless communications systems. TDMA
assigns unique time-slots in the digital data stream to each user's communication allowing separation and
reconstruction of that communication at the receiving end of the transmission link. IDEN, GSM and PCS-1900
(a GSM variant) are all examples of TDMA systems.
Telecommunications Act of 1996: Legislation designed to spur competition among wireless and wireline
carriers. Signed into law by President Clinton Feb. 8, 1996. (See Regulatory Trends)
Telematics: The integration of wireless communications, vehicle monitoring systems and location devices.
Termination Charges: Fees that wireless telephone companies pay to complete calls on wireline phone
networks or vice versa.
Text Messaging: A wireless service that involves the transmission of a short text message and its receipt by a
wireless handset pager.
3G Wireless: 3G. The next generation of wireless phones based upon a common worldwide standard for
broadband mobile communications. Analog cellular and digital PCS are considered to be the first and second
generations of wireless telecommunications.
The next generation of wireless technology beyond personal communications services. The World
Administrative Radio Conference assigned 230 megahertz of spectrum at 2 GHz for multimedia 3G networks.
These networks must be able to transmit wireless data at 144 kilobits per second at mobile user speeds, 384
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kbps at pedestrian user speeds and 2 megabits per second in fixed locations. The International
Telecommunication
Union
seeks
to
coordinate
3G
standards
through
its
International
Mobile
Telecommunications-2000 project. In early July, the ITU received 10 proposals for 3G systems and iscurrently
holding a series of meetings to evaluate the specifications.
Triangulation: The lengthy process of pinning down a caller's location using radio receivers, a compass and a
map.
Tri-Mode Handset: Phones that work on three frequencies, typically using 1900 MHz, 800 MHz digital or
reverting to 800 MHz analog cellular when digital is not available.
Triple band: A network infrastructure or wireless phone designed to operate in three frequency bands.
Trunk(ing): A method which allows for the utilization of frequencies by a larger number of users. A trunked
system assigns customer calls to the first available frequency thereby providing faster access to the system and
reducing the likelihood of blockage.
UULS (Universal Licensing System): The new Wireless Telecommunications Bureau program under which
electronic filing of license applications and reports of changes to licenses creates a database that can be
accessed remotely for searches. Using ULS, for example, the user can learn all the specialized mobile radio
licenses in a given region.
UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System): Europe's approach to standardization for thirdgeneration cellular systems.
Universal Service: The government's aim, starting in the 1930s, of providing phone service to all, regardless of
distance from the switch or ability to pay. Today, universal service encompasses those aims, plus a subsidy to
public schools, libraries and rural health care facilities for telecom services.
V
Voice Activation: A feature that allows a subscriber to dial a phone by spoken commands instead of punching
the numbers in physically. The feature contributes to convenience as well as safe driving.
Voice Recognition: The capability for cellular phones, PCs and other communications devices to be activated
or controlled by voice commands.
Voice Coder: A computer based software algorithm modeled after the human vocal cords which converts
speech to a digital signal for transmission over a wireless network.
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Voice Quality: A measure of the capability of a system to reproduce a subscribers voice signal with clarity and
intelligibility.
VSAT: Very Small Aperture Terminal. Satellite dish used primarily for data communications.
W
W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access): The 3G standard offered to the International
Telecommunication Union by GSM proponents.
WCS (Wireless Communications Services): Frequencies in the 2.3 GHz band designated for general fixed
wireless use.
WIN (Wireless Intelligent Network): The architecture of the wireless switched network that allows carriers to
provide enhanced and customized services for mobile telephones.
Wireless: Using the radio-frequency spectrum for transmitting and receiving voice, data and video signals for
communications.
Wireless Broadband: Transmission facilities that have bandwidth or capacity greater than that of a voice line.
Capable of carrying numerous voice, video and data channels simultaneously.
Wireless Internet: An RF-based service that provides access Internet e-mail and/or the World Wide Web.
Wireless IP: The packet data protocol standard for sending wireless data over the Internet.
Wireless IT (Wireless Information Technology): The monitoring, manipulating and troubleshooting of
computer equipment through a wireless network.
Wireless Intelligent Networks: WIN. A sophisticated computer based network which, in conjunction with the
switching system, allows for the rapid development of enhanced subscribers features and services.
Wireless LAN (Local Area Network): Using radio frequency (RF) technology, wireless LANs or WLANs
transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. Thus, WLANs combine data
connectivity with user mobility. WLANs are essentially networks that allow the transmission of data and the
ability to share resources, such as printers, without the need to physically connect each node, or computer, with
wires. WLANs offer the productivity, convenience, and cost advantages over traditional wired networks.
Wireless PBX: Equipment that allows employees or customers within a building or limited area to use wireless
handsets connected to an office's private branch exchange system. WPBX systems, for example, include a
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wireless handset that is programmed to ring simultaneously with the desk phone.
WLL (Wireless Local Loop): WLL is a system that connects subscribers to the public switched telephone
network (PSTN) using wireless technology coupled with line interfaces and other circuitry to complete the last
mile between the customer premise and the exchange equipment. Wireless systems can often be installed in far
less time and at lower cost than traditional wired systems.
WSP: Wireless Service Provider. Any company that provides wireless service but which is not defined (for
regulatory purposes) as a CLEC.
X
xDSL: Designation for digital subscriber line technology enabling simultaneous two-way transmission of voice
and high-speed data over ordinary copper phone lines.
Y
Y2K (The Year 2000): Often used when describing the upgrade of computer systems that must acknowledge
the new millennium for billing customers and for other purposes.
Wireless Security Glossary
IEEE 802.1X: A security standard featuring a port-based authentication framework and dynamic distribution
of session keys for WEP encryption. A RADIUS server is required.
IEEE 802.11i: An upcoming security standard currently being developed by the IEEE that features 802.1X
authentication protections, and adds advance
encryption standard (AES) for encryption protection along
with other enhancements.
WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access is an Wi-Fi Alliance security standard that solves the encryption issues of WEP
by utilizing TKIP, which wraps around WEP and closes the security holes of WEP. WPA also includes the
authentication benefits of 802.1X.
EAP: Extensible authentication protocol (EAP) is a point-to-point protocol that supports multiple
authentication methods. The support for EAP types depends on the OS being supported.
TKIP: Temporal key integrity protocol is utilized by the 802.1X and WPA standards for authentication.
Designed by top cryptographers it provides a wrap around WEP, which closes the security holes of WEP.
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WEP: Wired equivalent privacy is the original 802.11 security protocol for wireless networks.
VPN: Virtual private network technology offers additional WLAN protection, which is important for critical
data. This protects a WLAN by creating a tunnel that shields the data from the outside world.
RADIUS: Remote authentication dial-in user service is a backend server performing the authentication using
EAP. This is required by the IEEE 802.1X security standard.
Participating Companies
Company Listing
Actisys Corporation
ACTiSYS Corp is a leading supplier of wireless IrDA and ASK-IR protocol software, adapters and tester for
115.2k to 4M bps, since 1989. ACTiSYS also provides the USB to IrDA adapters.
Details: ACTiSYS Corporation, 48511 Warm Springs Blvd., # 206, Fremont, CA 94539. Phone: 510-4908024, Fax: 510-623-7268 URL: www.actisys.com
Agere Systems
Agere Systems is a premier provider of advanced integrated circuit solutions for wireless data, high-density
storage and multiservice networking applications. Agere's wireless data portfolio enables seamless network
access and Internet connectivity through its GPRS offering for data-capable cellular phones, as well as WiFi/802.11 solutions for WLANs and computing applications. The company is the market leader in providing
integrated circuits for the hard disk drive market, with number one positions in sales of system-on-a-chip
solutions and preamplifiers. Agere also provides custom and standard multiservice networking solutions to
move information across wired, wireless and enterprise networks. Agere's customers include the leading PC
manufacturers, wireless terminal providers, network equipment suppliers and hard-disk drive providers.
Details: Agere Systems, 1110 American Parkway NE, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18109. Phone: 610-712-1728.
URL: www.agere.com
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Agilent Technologies
Agilent is a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, information
processing, imaging, optical positioning, and solid state lighting.
Agilent Technologies' Wireless Test Solutions can help you get to market first with your next generation
wireless devices. Agilent provides a broad range of innovative wireless test solutions, wireless services, and
support for component, wireless device and base station test. Our wireless test solutions enable component and
wireless device designers and manufacturers to speed their time to market, and allow wireless service providers
to maximize their return-on-investment, while accelerating the delivery of next-generation wireless networks.
Details: Agilent Headquarters, 395 Page Mill Rd., P.O. Box #10395, Palo Alto, CA 94303. Phone: 650-7525000. Fax: 650 752 5300 URL: www.agilent.com
AirDefense
AirDefense is a thought leader and innovator of WLAN security and operational support solutions. Founded in
2001, AirDefense pioneered the concept of 24x7 monitoring of the airwaves and now provides the most
advanced solutions for rogue WLAN detection, policy enforcement, intrusion protection and monitoring the
health of WLANs. As a key element of WLAN security, AirDefense complements wireless VPNs, encryption
and authentication. Based on a secure appliance and remote sensors, AirDefense solutions scale to support
single offices, corporate campuses or hundreds of locations. Blue chip companies and government agencies
rely upon AirDefense solutions to secure and manage WLANs around the globe
Details: AirDefense, 11475 Great Oaks Way, Suite 200, Alpharetta, GA 30022. Phone: 770-663-8115. Fax:
770-453-9601. URL: www.airdefense.net
AirLink Communications, Inc
Founded in 1993, AirLink is a recognized leader in the wireless data industry. AirLink Communications, Inc.,
builds solutions that enable enterprises to control and collect data wirelessly from remote assets. AirLink’s
core products are the AirLink Embedded Operating System (ALEOS), end-user software for data acquisition
and management, and a family of wireless communications platforms. AirLink solutions serve police cars in
Maine, tour buses in Hawaii, point-of-sale in New Jersey, gas wells in Oklahoma and remote site security in
California, providing two-way management and control of remote assets in real time.
Details: AirLink Communications, Inc. , 472 Kato Terrace, Fremont, CA 94539. Phone: 510-226-4200. Fax:
510-226-4299.URL: www.airlink.com
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Alcatel
As a world leader in the high speed access and transmission market, Alcatel is a major player in the area of
telecommunications and the Internet. Alcatel provides end-to-end communications solutions, enabling carriers,
service providers and enterprises to deliver content to any type of user, anywhere in the world. Leveraging its
long-term leadership in telecommunications networks equipment as well as its expertise in applications and
network services, Alcatel enables its customers to focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue
streams. With sales of EURO 16.5 billion in 2002, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.
Details: Alcatel, 54, rue La Boétie, 75008 Paris, France. Tel.: +33-0-1-40-76-10-10, Fax: +33-0)-40-76-14-00.
URL: www.alcatel.com
AT&T
Voice and data communications company, serving more than 80 million customers, including consumers,
businesses and government. AT&T Wireless operates one of the largest wireless networks in the United States,
offering digital voice services in each of the top 50 markets and wireless data services in over 3,000 cities.
Details: AT&T Wireless, P. O. Box 68055, Anaheim Hills, CA 92817-8055. Phone: 877-882-5256 URL:
www.attwireless.com
Atheros Communications, Inc.
Atheros Communications is a leading developer of networking technologies for secure, high-performance
wireless local area networks. As an innovator in advanced multi-mode wireless solutions compliant with the
IEEE 802.11 specifications, Atheros is driving transparent connections among electronic devices in the office,
home and on the road.
Details: Atheros Communications, Inc., 529 Almanor Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94085-3512. Phone: 408-7735200. Fax: 408-773-9940. URL: www.atheros.com
Bermai, Inc.
Founded in March 2001, Bermai is pioneering high performance, ultra-integrated chipsets for applications from
WLAN to wireless multimedia. Named one of the top 10 private wireless companies most likely to succeed by
Technologic Partners, Bermai is delivering a complete product portfolio of innovative single and dual-band
systems that support the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Bermai's designs offer unmatched integration and
are optimized to deliver extended range and performance, power efficiency, and flexibility at a significant cost
advantage. These ultra-integrated solutions greatly simplify product development and enable wireless
equipment manufacturers to build high-performance products faster and with dramatic cost efficiencies
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Details: Bermai, Inc., 410 Cambridge Avenue, Second Floor, Palo Alto, California 94306. Phone: 650-3318700. Fax: 650-330-2340. URL: www.bermai.com
British Telecom
BT is one of Europe's leading providers of telecommunications services in UK and elsewhere in Europe. Its
principal activities include local, national and international telecommunications services, higher-value
broadband and internet products and services, and IT solutions. In the UK, BT serves over 20 million business
and residential customers with more than 29 million exchange lines, as well as providing network services to
other licensed operators.
BT consists principally of three lines of business: BT Retail, serving businesses and residential customers. BT
Wholesale, providing network services and solutions within the UK and BT Global Services, BT's managed
services and solutions provider, serving multi-site organizations worldwide.
Details: BT Group plc, BT Centre, 81 Newgate St., London, EC1A 7AJ, United Kingdom. Phone: +44-207356-5000. Fax: +44-20-7356-5520. URL: www.bt.com
Cavium Networks
Cavium Networks is a semiconductor company that is delivering the industry's largest family of network
security processors. Cavium's award winning NITROX family of security processors are single chip solutions
that deliver 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps of encryption bandwidth with 1 K to 40 K RSA/DH operations per second.
Cavium's highly integrated, feature rich NITROX families of Security Macro Processors deliver unprecedented
performance in wired and wireless IPsec based network security applications and SSL based secure e-Business
while significantly reducing the cost and complexity of deployment.
Details: Cavium Networks, 2610 Augustine Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Phone: 408-844-8420 Fax: 408844-8418. URL: www.cavium.com
CIBERNET corporation
CIBERNET is the only company in the wireless marketplace offering independent, comprehensive financial
services to simplify all aspects of a wireless service provider's roaming obligations. Cibernet is the global
leader for Mobile Transaction Management Solutions, and has provided inter-company billing protocols and
financial settlement services for the wireless industry since 1988. Cibernet serves over 300 mobile operators in
more than 80 countries and settles $7 billion in wireless transactions annually. Cibernet’s transaction
management solutions are designed for mobile Internet and m-Commerce partner relationship management,
wholesale billing exchange, revenue sharing, and settlement.
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Details: CIBERNET Corporation, 4600 East-West Highway, Suite 620. Phone: 301-961-0810. Fax: 301-9610811. URL: www.cibernet.com
CSR
Based out of UK, this Cambridge based company CSR provides single-chip radio devices for Bluetooth
wireless communication. CSR offers developed hardware/software packages based around its flagship product
named BlueCore. It is a fully integrated 2.4 GHz radio, baseband and microcontroller. The technology features
in about 60 percent of all Bluetooth qualified end products and modules with international names such as
Microsoft Corp, Nokia, Dell, Panasonic, Audi, NEC, Toshiba, Samsung and Sony.
Details: CSR, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 692000.
Fax: +44 (0)1223 692001. URL: www.csr.com
Delphi Communication Systems
Leader in embedded software and hardware designs for wireless applications including high performance
physical layer algorithms for 2.5G and 3G applications supporting GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, and
CDMA2000. Delphi Communication Systems is a world leader in embedded software for wireless applications
providing superior PHYsical layer solutions for 2.5G and 3G. Delphi’s wireless DSP software supports
GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS and CDMA2000 for Base Station and Terminal side solutions. Delphi also offers
hardware design services and protocol integration and optimization enabling customers to rapidly complete 3G
wireless designs. Delphi’s comprehensive library of wireless software, voice coders and related products are in
use by customers worldwide.
Details: Delphi Communication Systems, Two Clock Tower Place, Suite 310, Maynard, Massachusetts 01754.
Phone: 978-897-5650. Fax: 978-461-1725 URL: www.delcomsys.com
Envara
Envara, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, develops and markets a suite of complete multi-mode Wireless
Local Area Networking (WLAN) chipset solutions for the residential, enterprise and public access markets.
Envara's solutions operate transparently in all internationally allocated 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WLAN frequency
bands. The company's solutions include WiND502, a two-chip, multi-mode WLAN solution supporting IEEE
802.11a/g wireless standards; and the WiND512 IEEE 802.11g/b chipset. Envara's solutions enable PC and
PC-peripherals manufacturers, wireless networking ODMs, and Consumer Electronics manufacturers to benefit
from low cost, low power and high-performance solutions, reduced BOM costs and accelerated time to market.
Details: Envara, Inc., Millennium Building, 6th floor, Hatidhar 3 Ra'anana, 43000. Tel: +972-9-7766200, Fax:
972-9-7766225. URL: www.envara.com
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Ericsson
World leading supplier in the growing telecommunications and data communications industry. Ericsson is the
largest supplier of mobile systems in the world. The world’s ten largest mobile operators are among Ericsson’s
customers and some 40% of all mobile calls are made through Ericsson systems. Ericsson provides total
solutions covering everything from systems and applications to services and core technology for mobile
handsets.
Details: Ericsson, URL: www.ericsson.com
Flarion
Flarion Technologies is mobilizing the Internet with its innovative mobile communications network
technology. Flarion's FLASH-OFDM technology, which originated in Bell Labs, enables licensed mobile
operators to profitably offer broadband services with ubiquitous cellular coverage. Flarion's RadioRouter base
station product easily overlays onto an operator's existing network and radio spectrum, and provides a seamless
routing interface to the operator's existing core IP network. Flarion's FLASH-OFDM-enabled devices provide
people with a true broadband mobile Internet access experience.
Details: Flarion Technologies, Inc., Bedminster One, 135 Route 202/206 South, Bedminster, NJ 07921,. Phone:
908-947-7000, Fax: 908-947-7090. URL: www.flarion.com
Infoclarus
Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, InfoClarus is a mobile solutions company that enables enterprises
to use wireless and multi-media technologies to significantly enhance business performance. InfoClarus
leverages standards-based technology, applications and industry-leading expertise to help enterprise
professionals make business decisions quickly and effectively.
Details: InfoClarus, 71 Second Avenue, 3rd Floor, Waltham, MA 02451 Phone: 781-622-5050, Fax: 781-6225060. URL: www.infoclarus.com
IPWireless, Inc.
IPWireless develops an advanced standards-based broadband wireless technology that will drastically improve
the way people around the world connect and communicate at home, at the office, or on the road. With a full
range of commercial network solutions and devices, IPWireless allows operators to offer a spectrum of fixed,
portable, or completely mobile wireless services with unmatched economics and broadband performance.
IPWireless has quickly established itself as a leader in the market, with commercial deployments in service for
more than a year, trials with ten of the top twenty global wireless operators, and strategic partnerships and
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relationships with industry leading companies.
Details: IPWireless, 1001 Bayhill Drive, 2nd Floor, San Bruno, CA 94066. Phone: 650-616-4062 Fax: 650616-4017. URL: www.ipwireless.com
Lucent
Lucent is the leader in building 3G networks.Lucent's Mobility Solutions Group is totally dedicated to meeting
the needs of the world's largest and most innovative mobile service providers, including incumbent wireless
carriers and emerging 3G mobile operators worldwide.
Details: Lucent Technologies, Mobility Solutions and Network Operations Software, Phone: 908-582-4332,
Fax: 908-582-1442. URL: www.lucent.com
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
With 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general
consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a recognized world leader in the manufacture,
marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications,
space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy,
transportation and construction.
Details: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan), 5665 Plaza Drive, P.O. Box 6007, Cypress, CA 90630--0007.
Phone: +81-3-3218-2346. URL: www.mitsubishiwireless.com
Motorola
The Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS) delivers the infrastructure, network services and software that
meet the needs of operators worldwide today, while providing a migration path to next-generation networks
that will enable them to offer innovative, revenue-generating applications and services to their customers.
Details: Global Telecom Solutions Sector, 303 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196. Phone: 512
895-1654. URL: www.motorola.com
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Nokia Corporation
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness
and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of
mobile, fixed broadband and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet, Nokia creates new opportunities
for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people.
Details: Nokia, Keilalahdentie 2-4, P.O. Box 226, Finland-00045. Phone: +358-7180-08000. URL:
www.nokia.com
NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
NTT DoCoMo is the world's leading mobile communications company with more than 47 million customers.
The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services. These include i-mode®, the
world's most popular mobile internet service, which provides e-mail and Internet access to over 39 million
subscribers, and FOMA, launched in 2001 as the world's first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In
addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North and South America, the company is expanding its
global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific and the
Americas.
Details: NTT DoCoMo, Tel: +81-3-5563-7045, Fax: +81-3-5572-6646. URL: www.nttdocomo.com
Qualcomm Incorporated
Develops and enables innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the
company's digital technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and
delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA
digital technology.
Details: Qualcomm Incorporated, 5775 Morehouse Drive, San Diego, CA 92121. Phone: 858-587-1121 Fax:
858-658-2100. URL: www.qualcomm.com
Research in Motion limited
Research in Motion Limited (RIM) provides a palm-sized wireless handheld with integrated support for its
BlackBerry wireless e-mail software, Internet, paging, and organizer features. Research In Motion is a leading
designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile
communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support
multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-
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sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM
technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products
and services with wireless connectivity.
Details: Research In Motion, 295 Phillip Street, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3W8. Phone: 519-888-7465.
Fax: 519-888-7884. URL: www.rim.net
Sprint
Total communications company for personal, business, home office and college. Sprint is a global integrated
communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately
70,000 employees worldwide and nearly $27 billion in annual revenue, Sprint is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first
nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides
local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100% digital,
nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States.
Details: Sprint Corporation, 6200 Sprint Parkway, Overland Park, KS 66251, 800-829-0965. URL:
www.sprint.com
Staccato Communications
Staccato Communications Inc., a fabless semiconductor company based in San Diego, is devoted to developing
innovative Ultrawideband (UWB) technology. Founded in 2002 by industry veterans who have been
pioneering UWB technology since 1996, Staccato has an experienced engineering team that has built several of
the only high-speed CMOS RF silicon devices shipping in volume today. The company is leading industry
development of the first UWB silicon in all-CMOS to enable universal wireless connectivity of high-speed
devices using available UWB spectrum.
Details: Staccato Communications, Inc, 5893 Oberlin Drive, Suite 105, San Diego, California 92121. Phone:
858-642-0111. Fax: 858-642-0161. URL: www.staccatocommunications.com
TTPCom
TTP Communications plc, world leading independent supplier of digital wireless communications technology.
Details: TTPCom Ltd Head Office, Melbourn Science Park, Cambridge Road, Melbourn, Royston, Herts SG8
6HQ,UK. Phone: +44-1763-266266, Fax: +44-1763-261216.URL: www.ttpcom.com
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Wisair
Wisair develops and markets chipsets and solutions based on the UWB technology for high performance
wireless communication. Wisair is a privately held company founded in May 2001 as part of the RAD Group
with their seed investment.
Details: Wisair Ltd., 24 Raoul Wallenbereg St., Ramat Hachayal, Tel-Aviv 69719, ISRAEL. Phone: +972-37676606 fax: +972-3-6477608. URL: www.wisair.com
Xilinx
Xilinx is the worldwide leader in complete programmable logic solutions. Xilinx leads one of the fastest
growing segments of the semiconductor industry, programmable logic devices. Xilinx develops, manufactures,
and markets a broad line of advanced integrated circuits, software design tools and intellectual property.
Customers use the automated tools and intellectual property--predefined system-level functions delivered as
software cores--from Xilinx and its partners to program the chips to perform custom logic operations.
Details: Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, CA 95124-3400, Phone: 408-559-7778. Fax: 408-559-7114.
URL: www.xilinx.com
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Contact Details
Arun
Bhikshesvaran,
Director,
Strategic
Planning,
Ericsson.
Phone:
972-583-0982.
e-mail:
[email protected]
Ivo Bolsens, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Xilinx, Phone: 510-600-8750 E-mail:
[email protected]
Gideon Barak, Chairman, Envara. Phone: 650-632-4252. e-mail: [email protected]
Mike Doheny, Director, Global Industry Analyst Relations,Motorola. Phone: 847-435-3371. e-mail:
[email protected]
Craig
Barratt,
President
and
Chief Executive Officer, Atheors. Phone: 408-773-5200 e-mail :
[email protected]
Sohail A. Khan, Executive Vice President, Agere Systems.Phone: 610-712-6737. e-mail :[email protected]
John Pavelich, Entrust Security Consultant, Entrust. Phone: 613-270-3666. e-mail : [email protected]
Steve Timmerman, VP Marketing and Business Development, Bermai. Phone: 650-331-8700. e-mail:
[email protected]
Ronny Haraldsvik, Sr. Director of Marketing, Flarion Technologies. Phone: 831-648-1214 Ee-mail:
[email protected]
Jim Lansford, Chief Technology Officer, Mobilian Corporation, Phone: 405-377-6170. e-mail :
[email protected]
Jon
Hambidge,
Senior
Director
Marketing,
IPWireless,
Phone:
650-616-4263.
e-mail
:
[email protected]
Mark Bowles, VP of Marketing and Business Development, Staccato communications. Phone: 858-642-0111
ext. 12. e-mail : [email protected]
Mike
Scruggs,
Product
Manager,
Cavium
Networks.
Phone:
408-844-8420
ext:
205.
e-mail
[email protected]
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:
Serdar Yurdakul, Dir., Business Development and Marketing, US, Phone: 408-399-7747. e-mail :
[email protected]
Vijay Thakur, VP Marketing, Infoclarus. Phone: 978-314-8484. e-mail : [email protected]
Ji Hong Chen, Researcher, Lucent Technologies. Phone: 908-582-4332. e-mail : [email protected]
Fred Tanzella, Chief Security Officer, AirDefense. Phone: 770-663-8115 e-mail : [email protected]
Bernard
Aboussouan,
VP
of
Marketing,
Beamreachnetworks.
Phone:
408-869-8780.
e-
mail:[email protected]
Steven Glapa, Communications, ArrayComm, Phone: 408-428-9080. e-mail : [email protected]
Venkat Rao, Professor, Ind. Material Vetenskap-Tmfy-MSE, KTH, Brinellvagen 23, Stockholm SE-100 44,
Sweden. Phone: +46-8-790-7771. Fax: +46-8-790-7771. E-mail: [email protected]
Mark G Allen, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332.Phone: 404 385 2174.Email: [email protected].
Dale Gary, Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ
07102-1982. Phone: 973-642-7878. E-mail: [email protected].
Nick Colaneri, Director, New Technology, UNIAX Corporation, 6780 Corotna Drive, Santa Barbara, CA
93117. Phone: 805-562-5305. Fax: 805-562-9144. E-mail: [email protected].
Bart Kosko, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 900892564. Phone: 213-740-6242. Fax: 213-740-4651. E-mail: [email protected]
Ron Gilgenbach, Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences Dept, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
48109-2104. Phone: 734-763-126. Fax: 734-763-4540. E-mail: [email protected].
Kenneth K. O, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Florida, 216 Larsen Hall, PO
Box 116200, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA. Phone: 352-392-6618. Fax: 352-392-8381. E-mail: [email protected].
Tan Kok Kiong, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University
of Singapore, E4 08-16, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576. Phone +65-68742110. Fax: +65-67791103.
E-mail: [email protected]
Peter Burke, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS),
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173
University of California at Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA 92697. Phone: 949-824-9326. Fax: 949-824-3732. E-mail:
[email protected]
Moungi Bawendi, Department of Chemistry and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Massachusetts 02139, USA. Phone: 617-2539796. Fax 617-253-7030.E-mail: [email protected].
Peter Corke, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology, PO Box 883,
Kenmore,
Queensland
4069,
Australia.
Phone:
+61-7-3327-4584.
Fax:+61-7-3327
4455.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Steven Arms, President, MicroStrain, Inc., 310 Hurricane Lane, Suite 4, Williston, VT 05495-2082. Phone:
802-862-6629 Ext 11, Fax 802-863-4093, E-mail: [email protected]. URL: www.microstrain.com
Roger Green, School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. Phone: 44-247-6523133. Fax: 44-24-76-418922. E-mail: [email protected].
Paul Berger, Department of Electrical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 205 Dreese Laboratory, 2015
Neil
Avenue,
Columbus,
OH
43210
USA
.
Phone:
614-247-6235.FAX:
614-292-7596.
Email:
[email protected].
Milton Feng, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 325 Microelectronics Laboratory, 208 North Wright
Street, Urbana, IL 61801. Phone: 217-333-8080.E-mail: [email protected].
Jay Browne, Managing Director, btechcorp, 8395 Greenwood Drive, Longmont, CO 80503. Phone: 303-6526418. Fax: 303-652-6422. E-mail: [email protected].
Robert W. Boyd, Wilmot 308, University of Rocheste, Rochester, NY 14627. Phone: 585-275-2329. Fax: 585244-4936. E-mail: [email protected]
Flavius Gruian, Guest Teacher, Department of Computer Science, Lund University Box 118 S-221 00, Lund,
Sweden. Phone: +46-46-222-46-73. Fax: +46-46-13-10-21. Email: [email protected].
174
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Frost & Sullivan 2004 Science and Technology
Awards
Excellence In Technology
Introduction
Award Description
Frost & Sullivan’s Excellence in Technology Award is bestowed upon the company that has pioneered the
development and introduction of an innovative technology into the market; a technology that has either
impacted or has the potential to impact several market sectors. This award recognizes a company’s successful
technology development that is expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption,
change, and competitive posture. It also recognizes the overall technical excellence of a company and its
commitment toward technology innovation.
Research Methodology
To choose the award recipient, Frost & Sullivan’s analyst team tracks technology innovation in key hi-tech
markets. The selection process includes primary participant interviews and extensive primary and secondary
research via the bottom-up approach. The analyst team shortlists candidates on the basis of a set of qualitative
and quantitative measurements. The analyst also considers the pace of technology innovation, the potential
relevance or significance of the technology to the overall industry. The ultimate award recipient is chosen after
a thorough evaluation of this research.
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175
Measurement Criteria
In addition of the methodology described above, there are specific criteria used to determine the final rankings.
The recipient of this award has excelled based on one or more of the following criteria:
•
Number of new technologies developed or introduced
•
Significance of a technology/ technologies in the industry
•
Competitive advantage of technology/ technologies vis-à-vis competing ones
•
Ease of adoption of new technology/ technologies
•
Potential of technology/ technologies to become an industry standard
•
General impact of technology in terms of shifting R&D focus
Award Recipient
Wisair Ltd. is the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2004 Award for Excellence in Technology for its pioneering
efforts in the development of Ultra wide band (UWB) technology and in the promotion of the UWB
standardization & regulation. Wisair is part of the RAD group, a large Israeli Technology Group that consists
of independent companies that collectively cater to the networking and telecommunications industry. Each
company under this group operates independently and is guided by RAD Group founders under a strategic
umbrella.
Consumer electronics items generally require 100 kbps and USB applications go as high as 12 mbps. HDTV
and multi-streaming HDTV each require anywhere between 6 mbps to 20 mbps. This new wireless technology
enables short-range wireless connection between devices at speeds of 480 mb/sec, and 100 times faster than its
arch rival Bluetooth. As UWB transceivers use low-power short-burst radio waves, they are much simpler to
build and cheaper.
In fact, the industry started pursuing 802.15.3a when it became clear that the existing pulse-based radio scheme
was impractical because of the high data rates required for HDTV and other data rich applications. At the time
the choices were limited to OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) and the Multiband-based
approaches. Multiband was simpler and better cost wise too, but did not remedy all problems. Wisair is
cofounder of the ‘Multi Band’ coalition along with Intel, Time Domain, General Atomic, Philips, Staccato
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Communications. This coalition discovered that when they combined 802.15.3a with Texas Instruments’
OFDM technology, it afforded a much superior solution that also addressed deficiencies in range, scalability
and multi-usability. The OFDM proposal encodes data with the same standard used for 802.11a and 802.11g
and divides the available spectrum into several bands that can be used simultaneously to provide interference
robustness.
The UWB chipsets developed by Wisair are cost competitive and suitable for high bit rate applications. Since
the consumption of power is very little it is ideal for small devices such as cell phones and personal digital
assistants. Also, since it operates at such low power, it has very little interference impact on other systems.
UWB appears to be the best solution currently available for electronic-gadget-rich homes as it allows wireless
connectivity between most multimedia devices that require transfer of humongous amounts of data. Wisair has
hands-on experience with complete understanding of the practical problems of UWB signal transmission and
reception, and with OFDM technology likely to obtain regulatory approvals by mid-2004; and a fully ratified
802.15.3a by late 2004 or early 2005, the company seems to be forerunner in exploiting the burgeoning market.
For the PC industry, which has been clamoring for high-speed, short-range cable replacement technology,
UWB is a perfect solution. It is likely that the personal computers and peripherals industry may provide bulk
demand for the UWB-enabled devices.
Frost & Sullivan’s Excellence in Technology Award thereby, recognizes Wisair’s outstanding contributions to
the development of UWB technology and standards, which will lay the groundwork for the technology’s likely
mass acceptance.
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Technology Leadership
Introduction
Award Description
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Leadership is presented each year to the company that has
demonstrated excellence in technology leadership within its industry. The recipient company should have
demonstrated technology leadership by excelling in all stages of the technology lifecycle--incubation,
adaptation, take-up and maturity--to ensure a continuous flow of improvements. By creating leading-edge
concepts, the company should have pioneered client applications.
Research Methodology
To choose the recipient of this award, analysts track all emerging technologies and ongoing research and
development projects within the industry. This process includes interviews with leading developers and
industry participants and extensive secondary research. Elements such as feasibility of product launch,
likelihood of customer acceptance and acceptance rates, and estimated time-to-market are also considered.
Competitors are then compared and ranked for their relative positions. The company chosen to receive the
award should have received the number one technological ranking.
The general methodology for producing Frost and Sullivan reports includes the following steps:
1. Perform a review of patents to become familiar with the major developers and commercial players and their
processes.
2. Building on the patent search, analysts review abstracts and identify key scientific papers. The scientific
papers help us analyze the key players and become more familiar with technical processes.
3. Analysts interview university and national laboratory researchers not involved with the major commercial
players to find out about the advantages and disadvantages of processes and the drivers and challenges behind
technologies, and to round out the list of key players.
4. Armed with knowledge from patents, papers, and academic interviews, the analysts call the principal
companies, developers, researchers, engineers, and marketing experts and ask them questions commensurate to
the requirements of the research.
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Measurement Criteria
In addition to the methodology described above, there are specific criteria used in determining the final ranking
of competitors in this industry. The recipient of this award should have excelled based on one or more of the
following criteria:
•
Significance of the technology in the industry
•
Number of competitors having similar technology (competitive factor)
•
Technology innovation compared with that of competitors
•
Significance of new products within the general context of scientific and technological development
•
Competitive advantage, current and/or potential, of new products
Award Recipient
AirDefense, Inc. is the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2004 Award for Technology Leadership in recognition
of the company’s leadership in introducing a set of truly breakthrough technologies--an enterprise-class
solution based on a secure appliance and distributed smart sensors--in the wireless security arena. These
solutions easily scale to support single offices, corporate campuses or hundreds of other locations.
Network security remains a key vulnerability for enterprises looking to deploy wireless networks. Surveys
indicate that rogue users and access points remain major concerns for organizations planning to install wireless
LAN connections. More and more companies and governmental organizations are increasingly deploying
AirDefense's solutions. As a result the company is now securing and managing more than 3,500 wireless LANs
worldwide. AirDefense has shown leadership and contributed rapidly to this industry in its relatively short
existence (it was founded in 2001). It pioneered the concept of 24x7 monitoring of airwaves and has twelve
patents pending.
Wireless hotspots are mushrooming and most of the operators have a model in place and they charge a fee for
the same from the users. To do that in a profitable mode without any theft of service, authentication of the
users is required, one which is a strong scalable authentication. Also the users in turn require certain amount of
confidentiality from these hot spots. None of them, other than digital certificates are available at a scalable
mechanism right now, at a low cost. This is where AirDefense comes into picture. The company now provides
the most advanced solutions for rogue WLAN detection, policy enforcement, intrusion protection and WLAN
health monitoring.
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179
The AirDefense WLAN security platform features a Linux-based central server appliance and remote smart
sensors that monitor WLAN traffic. The AirDefense security product can push configuration changes to remote
access points. The product sits on top of wireless VPNs and encryption technology, and allows administrators
to survey wireless access points and client machines across their networks. With a server appliance and a
distributed network of sensor appliances, AirDefense lets customers monitor all activities on their WLANs
from a centralized management interface. The intuitive visualization feature of the product makes it easy to
monitor the health of access points that constitute a wireless network.
The platform consists of two modules: AirDefense RogueWatch, which provides monitoring features and spots
unauthorized access points; and the AirDefense Guard, which includes network intelligence and security,
features. For the RogueWatch module, AirDefense introduced a network-mapping feature that graphically
depicts all WLANs detected by the AirDefense sensors. Administrators can drill down to view each access
point and wireless workstation, even viewing the signal strength and data transmission between wireless clients
at a given access point, the company said. For the Guard module, AirDefense added a policy enforcement and
management feature that enables security policies and configuration changes to be pushed down to access
points.
The advantage of this WLAN security system is that it has dual radios that can monitor all three WLAN
standards simultaneously: 802.11a on the 5 GHz frequency spectrum as well as 802.11b and 802.11g on the 2.4
GHz spectrum. This allows companies to prevent employees and contractors from setting up unauthorized
wireless access points on the company's network. It also enables administrators to view access points that are
communicating with the wireless workstations. One can then determine whether there is unauthorized policy
set on those devices, or whether there are any security or performance issues.
AirDefense solutions complement wireless VPNs, encryption and authentication. Not only has AirDefense
succeeded in applying the technology to large-scale processes, there is every reason to expect the technology
can be successfully manufactured at low cost and in large volumes. It is because of this leadership and in
recognition of such high potential that AirDefense, Inc. has been bestowed with the Frost & Sullivan
Technology Leadership Award.
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Telecom Investments
Telecom Investments by Country
Frost & Sullivan's Communication & IT Decision Support Database Service offers a valuable collection of
tables that provide historic and forecast data for investments in the telecom market.
Table 10-1 Yearly investments in billions of dollars, from 1996 to 2004.
Decision Support Database
Table 10-1. Telecommunication Investment (Billion USD)
Country
North America
Canada
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
CAGR %
(2001 2004)
3.0
4.4
4.0
5.2
5.3
5.9
6.4
7.2
8.4
12.83
22.4
23.2
24.2
26.6
29.8
33.7
38.4
44.6
52.6
15.99
Mexico
0.7
1.1
1.6
1.9
2.5
3.0
3.4
4.1
5.0
19.43
TOTAL
26.1
28.8
29.9
33.7
37.7
42.5
48.2
55.9
66.0
15.81
United States
Latin America
Argentina
1.7
1.4
1.5
1.3
1.4
1.5
0.9
1.0
1.2
Brazil
6.8
6.9
8.0
10.9
11.5
12.3
13.5
15.1
17.4
12.31
(7.41)
Chile
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.5
1.7
1.9
11.66
Peru
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
10.01
Venezuela
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
6.97
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
10.4
10.3
11.6
14.4
15.3
16.5
17.4
19.5
22.2
10.45
12.33
-
Asia-Pacific
Australia
3.5
3.7
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.9
3.4
Malaysia
1.9
2.2
2.3
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.4
3.8
9.65
Philippines
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.9
15.98
China
11.0
12.7
21.2
26.1
30.0
34.5
39.0
44.8
51.1
14.00
India
2.4
2.4
5.1
6.1
6.9
8.0
9.5
11.4
13.4
18.66
Indonesia
2.1
1.5
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.8
16.99
37.9
35.4
37.2
39.8
43.8
49.0
55.7
64.1
75.0
15.23
New Zealand
0.7
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.8
1.0
1.1
1.3
16.69
Singapore
0.4
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.1
15.99
South Korea
5.8
8.1
6.6
7.0
7.9
8.5
9.2
9.7
10.4
7.00
Taiwan
1.8
1.5
2.4
2.5
2.8
3.1
3.4
3.7
4.1
9.90
Japan
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181
Others
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.9
2.3
18.67
TOTAL
69.0
70.7
80.5
90.2
100.9
113.6
128.5
147.2
169.6
14.28
Western Europe
Austria
0.9
1.2
1.3
1.5
1.7
2.0
2.2
2.4
2.8
12.31
Belgium
1.1
1.5
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.7
2.0
17.65
Denmark
0.7
0.9
1.3
1.5
1.7
2.0
2.4
2.6
2.8
11.27
Finland
0.8
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.6
11.66
France
4.9
5.7
6.5
7.1
7.8
8.8
10.0
11.5
13.3
14.67
11.7
8.9
8.8
9.3
10.2
11.4
12.9
14.7
16.9
14.00
Greece
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.3
12.64
Iceland
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
9.06
Ireland
0.4
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
16.67
Italy
5.9
6.7
7.2
8.0
8.9
10.2
11.7
13.7
15.8
16.00
Luxembourg
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
6.89
Netherlands
1.6
1.6
1.9
2.3
2.8
3.4
4.1
4.7
5.4
16.95
13.34
Germany
Norway
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.6
1.9
Portugal
1.1
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2.1
2.3
8.34
Spain
2.8
2.4
2.0
2.1
2.3
2.6
3.0
3.2
3.5
10.93
Sweden
1.0
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.5
1.7
1.9
12.00
Switzerland
1.8
1.6
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.6
1.8
12.00
United Kingdom
5.9
6.9
8.9
12.8
14.4
16.5
18.9
21.7
24.3
13.66
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
42.5
42.7
45.2
52.6
58.8
66.7
76.0
86.9
98.9
14.01
Czech Republic
1.1
1.0
1.3
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.9
2.2
2.5
14.33
Hungary
0.2
0.2
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
14.01
Poland
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.3
1.5
1.8
2.1
2.4
2.9
16.99
Russia
1.3
1.5
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.4
1.6
10.83
Turkey
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.9
0.9
5.29
Others
1.5
1.7
1.8
2.0
2.2
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.2
18.32
TOTAL
5.7
6.3
6.6
7.3
7.9
8.6
9.6
11.2
13.1
14.86
-
Eastern Europe
Middle East
Egypt
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.4
5.69
Israel
1.0
0.9
1.1
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
4.24
Saudi Arabia
1.2
1.1
1.5
1.6
1.9
2.0
2.0
2.2
2.4
6.59
Others
1.2
1.2
1.9
2.1
2.4
2.7
3.2
3.7
4.4
17.67
TOTAL
3.6
3.4
4.7
5.0
5.6
6.1
6.6
7.4
8.5
11.39
South Africa
0.9
1.5
2.7
2.9
3.2
3.5
2.9
3.1
3.2
(2.14)
Others
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.8
9.33
TOTAL
1.5
2.1
3.3
3.5
3.8
4.1
3.6
3.8
4.0
(0.26)
158.8
164.3
181.6
206.6
229.9
258.2
290.0
331.8
382.3
Africa
WORLD TOTAL
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13.98
Definition
The total annual investment for telecom switching equipment such as local, national (trunk) and international exchanges by telecom service
providers
Base Year for Forecast
2001
Note
1. Figures for 2000 and 2001 are Frost & Sullivan Estimates.
2. Hyphen indicates non-availability of data
3. The data provided for some of the Western European countries also include foreign direct investment in the telecom infrastructure sector
3. Countries included under "Others"
Asia-Pacific : Pakistan, Thailand
Eastern Europe : Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia
Middle East : Cyprus, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, UAE
Africa : Algeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe
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Telecom Spending
Telecom Spending by Country
tables that provide historic and forecast data for Telecom Spending.
Table 10-2. Yearly telecommunication service spending in billions of dollars, from 1996 to 2004.
Table 10-2. Telecommunication Service spending (Billion USD)
Country
North America
Canada
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
CAGR % (2001
- 2004)
15.2
16.6
17.3
19.2
20.4
21.3
21.3
22.1
23.7
209.6
220.1
231.1
242.6
252.3
266.0
276.6
298.7
325.6
6.98
Mexico
7.9
8.4
8.1
8.9
10.2
10.8
11.8
13.0
14.4
10.00
TOTAL
232.6
245.1
256.4
270.8
282.9
298.0
309.6
333.8
363.7
6.86
United States
3.64
Latin America
Argentina
6.7
6.8
6.9
7.0
7.4
7.6
4.3
4.8
5.4
(10.84)
Brazil
13.9
20.1
22.6
30.3
31.4
31.7
32.0
35.2
38.4
6.59
Chile
1.9
2.3
2.6
3.2
3.8
4.0
4.1
4.4
4.8
6.29
Peru
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.9
1.9
2.1
2.6
2.7
2.9
3.2
3.8
4.6
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
24.4
31.1
34.1
43.1
45.2
46.2
43.6
48.3
53.3
4.85
Australia
15.4
16.9
16.9
17.6
17.7
18.4
18.9
19.9
21.7
5.64
Malaysia
2.8
2.8
3.0
3.1
3.4
3.5
3.7
4.1
4.5
8.51
Philippines
1.2
1.3
1.2
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
2.0
2.2
10.31
China
18.5
18.9
29.1
35.2
39.4
44.0
49.1
55.0
61.6
11.83
India
3.8
4.6
9.6
11.3
12.1
12.5
13.8
15.4
17.2
11.16
Indonesia
3.0
3.4
1.4
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.5
2.7
3.1
10.44
128.9
152.1
164.6
192.7
208.8
225.8
229.6
234.2
237.7
1.73
New Zealand
2.5
2.8
2.9
3.1
3.5
3.8
3.8
4.0
4.3
3.98
Singapore
3.2
3.7
4.0
4.2
4.5
4.7
4.9
5.3
5.7
6.98
16.6
15.7
12.9
13.5
14.8
16.1
16.9
17.6
18.4
4.50
Taiwan
6.5
7.8
9.0
10.3
10.9
11.3
12.1
12.9
14.0
7.33
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
202.5
230.0
254.6
294.5
318.9
344.1
357.0
373.0
390.4
Venezuela
17.42
-
Asia-Pacific
Japan
South Korea
184
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4.30
Western Europe
Austria
4.2
4.1
4.2
4.4
5.1
5.4
5.6
5.8
6.1
4.13
Belgium
6.0
5.8
5.9
6.2
6.7
7.2
7.5
7.8
8.3
4.82
Denmark
3.6
3.7
3.9
4.4
5.1
5.4
5.6
5.9
6.2
4.33
Finland
3.1
2.9
3.0
3.1
3.2
3.4
3.5
3.8
4.1
6.82
France
32.7
31.2
32.1
33.2
36.4
39.3
40.1
41.3
43.0
3.00
Germany
51.8
47.5
48.2
49.6
52.8
56.4
56.9
57.6
60.2
2.22
Greece
3.6
3.7
3.9
4.3
4.7
4.9
5.2
5.5
5.9
6.33
Iceland
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ireland
2.4
2.6
2.6
2.8
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.8
4.2
10.33
2.88
Italy
-
27.5
27.2
28.0
29.0
31.0
32.1
32.7
33.0
35.0
Luxembourg
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Netherlands
3.8
4.6
9.6
11.3
12.1
12.5
12.9
13.5
14.1
3.90
-
Norway
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.8
4.0
4.1
4.4
4.7
6.04
Portugal
3.5
3.5
3.6
3.8
4.3
4.1
4.4
4.7
5.0
7.00
13.7
12.6
13.0
13.7
14.5
15.2
15.7
16.3
17.1
4.06
Sweden
6.7
6.3
6.3
6.5
7.2
7.4
7.6
8.0
8.5
4.99
Switzerland
8.0
7.3
7.6
7.9
8.4
8.9
9.5
9.8
10.3
4.73
31.7
35.5
37.3
38.3
42.5
46.4
47.9
50.7
54.3
5.39
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
206.1
201.9
212.5
222.0
240.6
255.8
262.6
271.8
287.1
3.91
Czech Republic
1.3
1.3
1.6
2.0
2.2
2.2
2.5
2.7
2.9
9.15
Hungary
0.7
0.7
2.0
2.3
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.2
3.4
8.00
Poland
1.2
1.3
4.4
5.4
5.9
6.5
7.0
7.6
8.4
9.00
Russia
3.0
3.3
3.6
4.0
4.4
4.7
5.0
5.2
5.4
4.99
Turkey
2.9
3.6
4.7
6.3
6.9
7.4
8.6
10.9
12.6
19.74
Spain
United Kingdom
-
Eastern Europe
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
9.1
10.2
16.4
20.1
21.9
23.4
26.0
29.6
32.7
11.78
-
Middle East
Egypt
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.7
7.63
Israel
2.5
2.9
3.3
4.1
4.1
4.1
4.3
4.6
5.0
6.16
Saudi Arabia
2.4
2.7
3.0
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.5
3.9
5.83
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
5.7
6.5
7.3
8.7
8.7
8.8
9.0
9.7
10.5
6.27
(3.72)
-
Africa
South Africa
4.2
4.1
3.7
3.9
4.2
4.5
3.7
3.7
4.0
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
4.2
4.1
3.7
3.9
4.2
4.5
3.7
3.7
4.0
684.5
729.1
785.1
862.9
922.4
980.8
1,011.7
1,069.9
1,141.5
WORLD TOTAL
(3.72)
5.19
Definition
Total spending by a country on telecommunication services which include- telephone services, mobile telephony services, switched data, leased
line services and cable TV services.
Base Year for
Forecast
2001
Note
2. Hyphen indicates non-availability of data.
D267
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185
Mobile Workforce
Mobile Workforce by Country
tables that provide historic and forecast data for the Mobile Workforce in the Telecom Market.
Table 10-3. Yearly database of mobile workforce in thousands, from 1996 to 2004.
Table 10-3. Mobile work force (Thousands)
Country
CAGR %
(2001 - 2004)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
1,515
1,842
2,458
3,070
3,544
4,177
4,650
5,255
6,043
13.10
North America
Canada
United States
30,234
31,746
33,651
36,006
39,247
42,779
46,629
51,991
58,490
10.99
Mexico
508
622
788
1,316
1,658
2,134
2,628
3,311
4,248
25.79
TOTAL
32,257
34,210
36,897
40,392
44,449
49,090
53,907
60,557
68,781
11.90
Latin America
Argentina
168
221
294
426
571
661
814
1,016
1,305
25.45
Brazil
741
1,210
1,696
2,672
3,359
4,317
5,312
6,730
8,931
27.42
Chile
72
81
105
176
182
212
258
319
403
23.88
Peru
79
99
132
225
237
361
461
600
790
29.83
Venezuela
90
143
168
310
427
503
617
770
968
24.39
Others
565
729
844
1,289
1,703
2,250
3,161
4,514
6,559
42.85
TOTAL
1,715
2,483
3,239
5,098
6,479
8,304
10,623
13,949
18,956
31.67
Australia
420
479
505
605
756
978
1,205
1,488
1,869
24.10
Malaysia
25
54
77
117
176
263
325
405
517
25.27
256
425
485
525
821
1,111
1,504
2,073
2,870
37.21
Asia-Pacific
Philippines
China
India
Indonesia
3
10
11
19
23
40
55
76
108
39.25
246
475
504
525
995
1,461
1,801
2,266
2,871
25.25
1
3
4
5
6
7
9
12
15
28.92
1,011
1,698
1,870
2,848
3,602
4,361
5,331
6,637
8,416
24.50
New Zealand
27
28
28
28
28
29
29
32
36
7.47
Singapore
14
19
23
26
33
44
59
80
115
37.75
South Korea
25
34
39
44
51
61
73
89
110
21.72
Japan
Taiwan
9
11
15
20
23
27
32
38
47
20.29
Others
138
161
228
282
382
437
518
624
768
20.68
TOTAL
2,175
3,397
3,789
5,044
6,896
8,819
10,941
13,820
17,742
26.24
186
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Western Europe
Austria
73
88
103
148
178
216
308
442
649
44.30
Belgium
90
104
139
178
211
276
351
455
602
29.69
Denmark
50
66
77
123
133
151
167
193
227
14.56
Finland
25
65
80
119
128
159
202
256
329
27.43
France
307
718
855
1,248
1,472
1,836
2,379
3,105
4,098
30.69
Germany
760
923
1,128
1,971
2,339
2,954
3,329
3,769
4,316
13.47
Greece
87
104
134
193
208
228
254
286
329
13.00
Iceland
2
2
3
6
7
9
12
15
20
30.50
Ireland
Italy
18
22
37
71
80
90
101
115
132
13.62
298
529
720
993
1,112
1,257
1,453
1,700
2,291
22.15
Luxembourg
4
6
6
11
12
14
17
20
24
19.68
Netherlands
84
121
166
276
301
339
388
454
542
16.93
Norway
29
53
63
90
107
128
155
192
242
23.65
Portugal
Spain
60
74
120
193
224
263
312
376
463
20.75
207
274
390
627
701
789
891
1,022
1,179
14.33
Sweden
60
68
102
184
203
253
308
342
385
15.02
Switzerland
32
44
55
70
90
119
158
213
288
34.26
24.36
United Kingdom
282
422
532
635
768
941
1,158
1,441
1,810
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
2,468
3,683
4,710
7,136
8,274
10,022
11,943
14,396
17,926
21.39
Czech Republic
51
65
78
130
167
216
285
378
503
32.55
Hungary
62
75
96
105
124
144
172
209
258
21.46
Poland
136
205
223
28
37
47
56
69
87
22.78
Russia
73
90
112
192
259
371
478
629
833
30.95
Turkey
48
72
101
128
149
177
212
256
314
21.06
-
Eastern Europe
Others
47
54
95
122
140
163
192
228
273
18.76
TOTAL
417
561
705
705
876
1,118
1,395
1,769
2,268
26.59
208
278
374
494
594
680
786
918
1,076
16.53
Middle East
Egypt
Israel
26
35
48
60
76
87
104
126
153
20.71
Saudi Arabia
72
80
111
134
148
175
210
257
322
22.48
Others
376
461
635
839
934
1,118
1,349
1,639
2,009
21.58
TOTAL
682
854
1,168
1,527
1,752
2,060
2,449
2,940
3,560
20.00
10
20
32
-
53
-
72
-
102
-
122
-
148
-
182
-
21.29
10
20
32
53
72
102
122
148
182
21.29
39,724
45,208
50,540
59,955
68,798
79,515
91,380
107,579
129,415
17.63
Africa
South Africa
Others
-
TOTAL
WORLD TOTAL
D267
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-
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187
Definition
Mobile workforce are the mobile and remote working employees who spend more than 20% of their time in a week working away from the office.
Base Year for
Forecast
2001
Note
1. Figures for 2000 and 2001 are Frost & Sullivan estimates.
2.Hyphen indicates non-availability of data
3. Countries included under "Others"
Latin America: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay
Asia-Pacific: Bangladesh, Hongkong, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam
Eastern Europe: Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia
Middle East: Cyprus, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, UAE
188
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Mobile Handset
Mobile Handset by Country
tables that provide historic and forecast data on share of total handsets in each country in the Telecom Market.
Table 10-4 Country share in percentile for total mobile handset sales, from 1996 to 2004.
Table 10-4. Country Share in Total Mobile Handset Sales
Country
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
1.59
1.29
1.44
1.51
1.61
1.00
1.02
1.05
1.08
North America
Canada
United States
43.07
34.14
23.83
18.83
21.25
20.85
20.36
19.66
18.32
Mexico
1.00
0.88
0.98
1.81
2.13
2.37
2.34
2.34
2.35
TOTAL
45.66
36.30
26.25
22.16
25.00
24.22
23.72
23.04
21.75
Latin America
Argentina
0.31
0.59
0.72
0.89
0.76
0.63
0.65
0.67
0.69
Brazil
1.28
1.77
2.45
3.67
3.27
2.62
2.72
2.84
2.98
Chile
0.15
0.12
0.26
0.54
0.49
0.34
0.34
0.35
0.36
Peru
0.09
0.13
0.16
0.17
0.15
0.13
0.13
0.14
0.14
Venezuela
0.23
0.33
0.75
0.90
0.76
0.55
0.55
0.56
0.57
TOTAL
2.07
2.94
4.34
6.17
5.43
4.26
4.39
4.55
4.75
Australia
1.87
2.62
1.70
1.44
0.95
1.27
1.26
1.23
1.19
Malaysia
0.70
1.20
0.74
0.69
0.53
0.81
0.80
0.77
0.75
Philippines
0.41
0.81
0.55
0.63
0.50
1.20
1.20
1.17
1.15
China
5.31
7.83
7.60
9.60
10.77
16.42
16.37
16.65
17.04
Asia-Pacific
India
0.15
0.53
0.38
0.42
0.52
0.62
0.62
0.62
0.63
Indonesia
0.27
0.59
0.34
0.49
0.37
0.60
0.62
0.63
0.65
Japan
21.89
17.12
16.18
12.83
14.67
16.98
16.47
15.99
15.64
New Zealand
0.02
0.08
0.25
0.31
0.24
0.27
0.27
0.24
0.24
Singapore
0.19
0.44
0.35
0.36
0.31
0.32
0.32
0.27
0.24
South Korea
1.49
4.15
4.46
5.20
3.63
3.25
3.21
3.21
3.23
Taiwan
0.95
1.55
1.51
2.51
2.19
1.72
1.33
1.22
1.10
TOTAL
33.24
36.93
34.06
34.50
34.68
43.46
42.48
42.00
41.86
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189
Western Europe
Austria
0.28
0.34
0.76
0.92
0.83
0.54
0.59
0.62
0.65
Belgium
0.22
0.29
0.58
0.70
0.71
0.61
0.67
0.73
0.77
Denmark
0.62
0.42
0.64
0.51
0.39
0.29
0.32
0.34
0.37
Finland
0.69
0.64
0.99
0.73
0.47
0.33
0.37
0.39
0.41
France
1.15
1.68
3.68
3.83
3.75
3.02
3.04
3.09
3.16
Germany
2.58
2.47
4.59
5.09
6.02
4.56
4.64
4.72
4.83
Greece
0.26
0.28
0.68
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.71
0.77
0.81
Iceland
0.03
0.03
0.03
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.02
0.02
0.02
Ireland
0.12
0.09
0.31
0.37
0.26
0.23
0.25
0.27
0.29
Italy
2.99
3.25
6.73
6.72
5.36
5.48
5.42
5.41
5.44
Luxembourg
0.02
0.02
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.03
0.04
0.04
0.04
Netherlands
0.48
0.43
1.03
1.40
1.31
0.98
1.08
1.10
1.15
Norway
0.59
0.50
0.70
0.59
0.39
0.27
0.29
0.30
0.32
Portugal
0.31
0.45
1.02
1.02
0.84
0.65
0.71
0.75
0.79
Spain
1.40
2.59
2.39
3.27
2.88
2.41
2.43
2.47
2.53
Sweden
1.17
0.94
1.37
1.12
0.80
0.58
0.63
0.68
0.72
Switzerland
0.31
0.31
0.56
0.62
0.57
0.43
0.47
0.49
0.52
United Kingdom
3.33
6.74
4.31
5.23
5.06
3.83
4.21
4.47
4.79
16.55
21.45
30.41
33.02
30.46
24.90
25.89
26.66
27.63
0.34
0.25
0.34
0.25
0.31
0.23
0.22
0.21
0.20
TOTAL
Eastern Europe
Czech Republic
Hungary
0.22
0.21
0.38
0.21
0.22
0.17
0.16
0.16
0.15
Poland
0.10
0.24
0.68
0.53
0.50
0.34
0.33
0.33
0.33
Russia
0.17
0.13
0.26
0.18
0.24
0.19
0.18
0.24
0.31
Turkey
0.38
0.48
1.24
1.06
1.17
0.67
0.65
0.67
0.70
TOTAL
1.21
1.31
2.91
2.23
2.44
1.59
1.54
1.61
1.69
0.00
0.02
0.03
0.10
0.18
0.22
0.28
0.41
0.56
Middle East
Egypt
Israel
0.72
0.48
0.80
0.58
0.57
0.41
0.53
0.47
0.46
Saudi Arabia
0.10
0.10
0.23
0.17
0.18
0.20
0.25
0.32
0.37
TOTAL
0.82
0.60
1.07
0.85
0.92
0.83
1.06
1.19
1.39
South Africa
0.44
0.47
0.97
1.07
1.07
0.73
0.92
0.94
0.93
TOTAL
0.44
0.47
0.97
1.07
1.07
0.73
0.92
0.94
0.93
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Africa
WORLD TOTAL
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Definition
Share of Cellular handsets sold within a country, to that of the total global sales. This is an indicator of the country potential
with respect to the world market
Base Year for
Forecast
2001
Note
2. The percentages have been calculated on the bases of the Total Cellular Handset Sales data
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191
Radio Frequency Identification Equipment/Application
Retail Stores by Country
Frost & Sullivan's Electronics and Semiconductors Support Database Service offers a valuable collection of
tables that provide historic and forecast data for Investments in the Telecom Market.
Table 10-5 Number of retail stores in thousands per country, from 1996 to 2004.
Table 10-5. Number of Retail Stores (Thousands)
Country
CAGR %
(2001 - 2004)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
216
225
241
245
258
266
273
279
286
2.45
United States
1,071
1,098
1,114
1,111
1,112
1,114
1,122
1,127
1,132
0.54
Mexico
1,335
1,370
1,452
1,444
1,468
1,462
1,470
1,477
1,487
0.57
TOTAL
2,622
2,693
2,807
2,800
2,838
2,842
2,865
2,883
2,905
0.73
193
197
208
206
191
182
176
171
167
Brazil
1,786
1,770
1,808
1,930
2,052
2,220
2,299
2,368
2,433
3.10
Chile
211
214
216
219
215
218
226
233
238
2.97
Peru
2.49
North America
Canada
Latin America
Argentina
(2.83)
322
344
361
365
361
366
373
382
394
Venezuela
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
2,512
2,525
2,593
2,720
2,819
2,986
3,074
3,154
3,232
2.67
Australia
158
162
171
159
161
168
177
182
189
4.00
Malaysia
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
300
336
379
433
437
458
480
499
514
China
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
India
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Indonesia
1,932
2,053
2,214
2,407
2,583
2,637
2,730
2,793
2,852
2.65
Japan
1,431
1,420
1,404
1,407
1,338
1,325
1,309
1,299
1,289
(0.91)
35
36
37
40
40
42
42
43
45
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
South Korea
963
986
963
909
909
904
898
901
893
(0.41)
Taiwan
326
332
339
344
346
347
348
349
355
0.76
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
5,145
5,325
5,507
5,699
5,814
5,881
5,984
6,066
6,137
Asia-Pacific
Philippines
New Zealand
Singapore
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3.92
2.33
-
1.43
Western Europe
Austria
72
72
65
74
65
67
68
70
71
1.95
Belgium
111
109
108
105
103
101
99
97
97
(1.34)
Denmark
38
37
37
39
39
39
39
39
39
Finland
49
50
51
50
48
48
47
45
44
(2.86)
0.00
France
521
543
513
511
521
533
546
557
567
2.08
Germany
432
439
445
441
438
436
434
433
432
(0.31)
Greece
164
168
178
185
189
192
195
197
201
1.54
Iceland
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
Ireland
8
8
9
8
8
9
9
10
10
3.57
2.21
Italy
1,154
1,222
1,300
1,351
1,394
1,430
1,464
1,496
1,527
Luxembourg
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Netherlands
159
160
167
164
164
165
165
166
166
Norway
0.00
0.00
0.20
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Portugal
146
149
154
150
155
159
163
163
168
1.85
Spain
516
529
536
546
554
560
565
569
573
0.77
34
59
59
57
58
57
57
57
58
0.58
Sweden
Switzerland
-
41
35
40
41
42
43
44
45
45
1.53
215
210
206
203
201
198
196
193
191
(1.19)
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
3,666
3,796
3,874
3,932
3,986
4,044
4,098
4,144
4,196
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
131
135
141
150
157
160
162
165
168
1.64
United Kingdom
1.24
Eastern Europe
Czech Republic
Hungary
-
Poland
406
424
452
450
432
419
414
411
408
(0.88)
Russia
353
373
399
427
447
466
462
464
464
(0.14)
Turkey
176
172
170
153
145
141
137
135
133
(1.93)
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
1,066
1,104
1,162
1,180
1,181
1,186
1,175
1,175
1,173
(0.37)
Middle East
Egypt
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Israel
57
57
54
53
54
55
55
56
57
-
Saudi Arabia
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
57
57
54
53
54
55
55
56
57
South Africa
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Others
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
TOTAL
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
15,068
15,500
15,997
16,384
16,692
16,994
17,251
17,478
17,700
1.20
1.20
Africa
WORLD TOTAL
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193
1.37
Definition
Total number of Retail Stores in a country, which includes Food retail stores, Automobile repairing, Apparel stores
Base Year for
Forecast
2001
Note
1. Figures for 2001 are Frost & Sullivan Estimates
2. Hyphen indicates non-availability of data
3. For Argentina, Indonesia Japan, Singapore, Taiwan Poland, Turkey, Greece & Ireland, the data includes Hypermarket, supermarket, grocery,
convenience stores & kiosks
4. Philippines, South Korea, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Finland & France figures include wholesale as well as retail stores
5. Figures for Russia include catering enterprises
6. Israel, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Chile figures include stores for repair of personal and domestic goods
194
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advances and trends in wireless technologies

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