As a follow-up to Part 1, I am still on the look out for a cell phone. I have narrowed my choices now and should be getting one of them “very soon”.
About more than a month ago I had my hands on a Sony Ericsson phone and was able to try it out for a couple of days. At first I was kinda impressed but then every time I send an sms it became a hassle (I use sms alot). Too many steps just to send an sms. I can’t remember the other things I didn’t like but I do think its because I am alot more used to Nokia.
After that short experience, I decided to focus back on Nokia phones. Even though I still think that the new Sony Ericsson phones have nicer designs and are more elegent however, performance is also an important factor. I know some of you might say you should have used the Sony Ericsson one for a longer time or have tried a different phone, well maybe I should have but this time I’ll just stick to Nokia.
and the quest continues…
Google has decided to bid a minimum of $4.6 billion for the 700MHz spectrum in what seems to be a new step to enter and perhaps revolutionize the wireless world in the US, where the wireless spectrum is under the control of service providers. These service providers control which devices can access their networks and by that they limit the choices for subscribers. According to the Official Google Blog they requested from the FCC (Federal Communications Commision) that the following four Open Platforms to be adopted as part of the auction:
Open applications: Consumers should be able to download and utilise any software applications, content, or services they desire;
Open devices: Consumers should be able to utilise a hand-held communications device with whatever wireless network they prefer;
Open services: Third parties should be able to acquire wireless services from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably non-discriminatory commercial terms; and
Open networks: Third parties (like internet service providers) should be able to interconnect at any technically feasible point in a 700 MHz licensee’s wireless network.
This move could help alot of small and new businesses and operators to enter the wireless market by partnering with Google. On the other hand, it could hit alot of major US service providers/operators. Who wouldn’t want to have free wireless access by just using a compatible device? As Julian of Dial-a-Phone said:
“Google’s normal business model is to give services away for free and make their money from advertising revenue. So in a few years you may be able to use Google’s mobile phone network for free, wouldn’t that be nice?”
Being able to connect to the internet, video conference, email, talk, watch TV, etc.. is all possible now using a cellphone. With the increasing number of users, the need to increase the bandwidth of these cellular networks became necessary to handle all of the data being transmitted. 3G was developed to do that.
EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) is another 3.5G technology that evolved from the CDMA2000 3G technology to support higher data rates. It was commercially launched in Korea and Japan in 2003 and is currently being used in the US as well. It hasn’t made a big impact in Europe or Asia which prefer the W-CDMA and HSPA technologies.
EV-DO is a high speed data system and uses CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) that increases the capacity of the network. Its latest revision, Rev. A, supports peak downlink of 3.1 Mbps and uplink 1.8 Mbps over 1.25 MHz channels. A new revision, Rev B, is expected to launch in 2008 with higher peak downlink data rates of 4.9 Mbps. Data is sent through the network as packets and each packet is sent independently of the others which saves bandwidth to be used for other services at the same time.
Having high speed data networks now doesn’t mean that there is no room for more improvements. A new 4G technology (also known as Super 3G or 3.99G)is currently under study called LTE (Long Term Evolution) that will provide enhancements to the UMTS network with higher data rates, lower latencies and optimized radio access (ref: 3GPP). It is expected to provide downlink rates of 100Mbps and uplink of 50Mbps. I am not sure when its expected to launch some operators predict 2009, although I don’t think so. I’ll look more into that and post once I know.
Lately if you have been shopping for a new cell phone you might have noticed when looking at the specs of the newest phones the word HSDPA or Ev-Do. They are both 3.5G technologies that offer higher speed data rates than 3G:
- HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) evolution of UMTS which is used in many parts of Europe and Asia.
- Ev-Do (Evolution Data Optimized) evolution of CDMA2000 which is used in America.
HSDPA is a 3.5G cellular technology that evolved from the 3G technology UMTS to enhance the downlink capacity. It supports high peak data rates up to 14Mbps in downlink in a 5Mhz channel bandwidth (uplink reaches up to 384Kbps). A new technology called HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) has been developed to provide enhancements to the uplink to reach a peak of 5.8Mbps. HSDPA and HSUPA are both part of the group HSPA (High Speed Packet Access).
As of May 25 2007, 102 HSDPA networks have commercially launched mobile broadband services in 55 countries. (Ref: Wikipedia). And many cellular handsets, laptops and other digital devices that supports HSDPA are being sold. Martin Sauter posted an interesting review (here) on the performance of the HSDPA networks on a high speed train in Europe using a laptop and a Motorola V3xx HSDPA category 6 mobile phone. The results obtained were very impressive.
In a further post, I will cover the Ev-Do technology and its performance.
Update: UK plans official rollouts of HSUPA by the end of this year with mobile operators Vodafone, 3 and T-Mobile.
I wrote previously (here) about being connected to cellular networks indoors without the need of a dual-mode handset using a technology called Femtocells. Another technology is also soon to be available that will connect both the wide area networks (the cellular networks like GSM/GPRS/UMTS) with a local area network (Wi-Fi). This technology is called UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) also known as Generic Access Network (GAN) and it allows the user to use one handset (dual-mode) and one number to connect to both networks.
While the mobile user is connected to a cellular network it scans the area for a Wi-Fi signal. Once detected, it establishes a secure IP connection to a server on the carrier’s network (ref: wikipedia) and the mobile user is handed-off from the cellular network to the Wi-Fi network.
Cellular operators prefer the Femtocell tehcnology since UMA uses the unlicensed Wi-Fi networks which allows the user to use the internet for data and voice calls. As we know, making a VoIP phone call is alot cheaper than using the cellular network. Maybe cellular operators should lower the costs of voice calls and offer a good Femtocell plan to attract users, since a high number of those users actually use their cell phones indoors.
A quote by Barry West, Sprint Nextel’s chief technology officer and president of 4G Mobile Broadband, said to answer the question of investors to why we need a new network when Sprint’s 3G and iDEN networks are available.
WiMax is coming soon, big name vendors such as Motorola and Intel and carriers such as Sprint are already conducting WiMax trials around the globe and is expected to be commercially available very soon.
Ever since I started reading about WiMax, I have been fascinated by what WiMax is expected to do in the world of broadband. I can’t wait to see it commercially launched. Imagine being able to connect on your way to work, while travelling on a bus or train, at home or work through a fast and cheap network that is also more secure than a Wi-Fi network. Laptops with integrated Wi-Fi and WiMax modules will be here in 2008… not very far away…
Reading today the article by Martin Sauter of the Mobile Techonology Blog, entitled When Is GSM Going To Be Switched Off? got me thinking about how cellular networks evolved and changed our ideas about cellphones and what they can really do. Below are the cellular generations and some of their technologies:
- 1G: AMPS – Advanced Mobile Phone System.
- 2G: GSM, 2.5G: GPRS, 2.75G: EDGE
- 3G: UMTS, 3.5G: HSDPA
- 4G: LTE and WiMax.
Martin’s article questions when GSM will be switched off, including information onto how GSM is still advancing in terms of smaller base station antennas, hardware, coverage, roaming and network. I doubt we will hear anytime soon that we do not need GSM anymore. In some parts of the world 3G hasn’t been launched yet, thats why I believe GSM will stay around alot longer than it has been predicted. In the article, I found the below to be a logical expectation for the future of GSM:
“In five years from now I expect the majority of subscribers in Europe to have a 3G compatible phone that is backwards compatible to 2G. In urban areas, operators might decide do downscale their GSM deployment a bit as most people now use the 3G instead of the 2G network for voice calls. Cities will still be covered by GSM but maybe with fewer number of available channels / bandwidth. “
I don’t have an N-series phone…. yet (more about that coming soon), however Tarek of the Symbiano-Tek wrote about his own experience with his N80 Nokia phone and what apps he uses on it. Thought it gives a good insight to what it can do, for those of you who are not using one… yet again 
.
The Femtocell technology is a hot topic nowadays. I have been reading alot about them lately and how its gaining alot of attraction in the mobile technology world. What they do is connect cell phone users to the cellular network indoors. In other words, extend the cellular signal into indoor locations. I am sure most of you notice while talking at home that some rooms have better signals than others and also the fact that you cannot complete a call inside an elevator or an underground parking lot.
The 3G networks don’t work very well indoors therefore, the idea of Femtocells came up to create cellular coverage inside the home or office by using a small base station (router) that connects to the user’s broadband service (DSL line) in order for the user to make and receive calls with low signal levels (more details on that on Housam’s Technology Blog here). Femtocells promise cheaper calls using the user’s own broadband network without the need of purchasing dual-mode phones. Femtocell is considered to be the technology favored by cellular operators which is in competition with Wi-Fi. This article by Techworld, talks about Wi-Fi vs. Femtocells.
This video by Reuters shows the UK based company ip.access demonstrating the use of Femtocells in a historic indoor location. It points out good information about the technology.
I didn’t think I would post another iPhone entry this soon, but I just finished watching Ricky Cadden talk about the iPhone and its impact on the mobile phone industry on one of his Driving with the Guru episodes (here). He mentions alot of interesting points and it’s worth the watch..
