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Overview

Although the technology behind 3G may seem complicated, the ways in which 3G will affect all of our lives are easy to imagine. Just imagine having a combined camera, videocamera, computer, stereo, and radio included in your mobile phone. Rich-media information and entertainment will be at your fingertips whenever you want anywhere there is a wireless communication is moving from simple voice to rich media, where we use more of our senses to intensify our experiences.

But not all of this will happen at once. 3G is an evolution to a communications ideal that no one completely understands yet. What we do know is that mobile multimedia will hit the Japanese markets in 2001, and Europe and North America will follow soon after.

3G brings together high-speed radio access and IP-based services into one, powerful environment. The step towards IP is vital. IP is packet-based, which in simple terms, means users can be "on line" at all times, but without having to pay until we actually send or receive data. The connectionless nature of IP also makes access a lot faster: file downloads can take a few seconds and we can be connected to our corporate network with a single 3G introduces with access speeds of up to 2Mbit/s. Compared with today's mobile networks, 3G will significantly boost network capacity - so operators will be able to support more users, as well as offer more sophisticated services.

3G - At home
3G is going to affect our home and social lives in many ways. The services that 3G enables will help us to manage our personal information, simplify tasks such as grocery shopping, make better use of our time and offer services that are just fun to use. Operators will be able to develop myriad new service opportunities to attract and retain new customers. Here are some examples:

You're sitting on a train and use to your bank account, check your balance and pay a few bills - all through your 3G device. You save time and can be smarter about managing your finances.
On a touring vacation, you arrive made any reservations in advance, because you can do this when you get there, by using your 3G handset to obtain up-to-date information, including hotel vacancies. Having booked a room, you can use your mobile to view video clips of local tourist attractions and talk to someone from the local tourist information bureau at the same time.
At work you receive a message from at home. The message tells you that certain items need restocking and an order has already been prepared for the local grocery store, which you can approve, so that your groceries are ready to collect on the way home.

3G - At work
3G will not just support the needs of businesspeople who travel a lot, but will also help new, flexible working practices, such as home-working and remote access to corporate networks outside traditional working hours. Businesspeople are often high-volume airtime users, so they represent a big opportunity for mobile operators. Here are some examples:

You are on the road, and urgently presentation with a number of colleagues back in the office. Pulling into a service station, you use your 3G device to hold a telemeeting with your colleagues and, at the same time, you can all view the draft presentation and make changes on line.
A maintenance engineer is repairing client's premises and hits a problem. Using his 3G device, he contacts his department and downloads a demonstration video that guides him through the repair process.

Technology

3G brings together two powerful forces: wideband radio communications and IP-based services. Together, these lay the groundwork for advanced Mobile Internet services, including personalized portals, "infotainment", mobile commerce and unified messaging -encompassing high-speed data, superior quality voice and video and location-based services.

Making 3G a reality depends on technology developments in different areas. These include amendments to the radio interface to support wideband communications and in the core network. Supporting technologies, such as WAP and Bluetooth, also have an important role to play. This section provides a brief overview of some of the main technologies and developments involved. Ericsson supports all of these technologies and has played an active role in their development.

- GPRS
General Service (GPRS) is an enhancement to existing GSM and TDMA networks that introduces packet data transmission, enabling "always on" mobility. This means that users can choose to be permanently logged on to e-mail, Internet access and other services, but do not have to pay for these services unless sending or receiving information. When EDGE is added to GPRS, these data rates will increase up to 384kbit/s.

GPRS will be implemented by adding new packet data nodes and upgrading existing nodes to provide a routing path for packet data between the mobile terminal and a gateway node. The gateway node will provide interworking with external packet data networks for access to the Internet and intranets.

Benefits:
Faster data speeds and "always on" mobility
Almost instantaneous connection set-up
Connection to an abundance of data sources around the world, through support for multiple protocols, including IP
A step towards full 3G services.

- WCDMA
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) is a wideband radio technique that provides far higher data rates than other radio techniques available today, up to 2Mbit/s, and highly efficient use of radio spectrum.

The higher bandwidth that WCDMA provides will deliver the full potential of 3G. For example, WCDMA allows simultaneous access to several voice, video and data services at once.

WCDMA is fully compliant with IMT-2000 and is the air interface technology for standards in the 2GHz bandwidth (the IMT-2000 core band), known as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) in Europe and ARIB (Association of Radio Industry Businesses) in Japan.

Ericsson has been at the forefront of WCDMA development. The company delivered an experimental WCDMA system to NTT DoCoMo in Japan back in 1998. Ericsson has also set up WCDMA test systems around the world. At CeBIT 2000, Ericsson announced its first family of WCDMA base stations.

- EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) enables GSM and TDMA operators to offer 3G services using existing network frequencies. By making changes and additions to standardization of evolutionary phases of the air interface and the backbone networks, as well as the migration to ALL-IP and multimedia networks.

- cdma2000
cdma2000 is a decidedly efficient 3G standard for the delivery of high bandwidth data and high capacity voice services. The evolution of the cdma2000 standard will enable mobile systems to offer data throughputs of 2 Mbit/sec and beyond.

The higher bandwidth that cdma2000 provides will deliver the full potential of 3G. For example, cdma2000 also allows simultaneous access to several voice, video and data services at once.

cdma2000 is fully compliant with IMT-2000 requirements for 3G. cdma2000 will be implemented in the existing frequency bands of CMDA and TDMA at 800 and 1900 MHz, as well as in new spectrum at 2GHz in Japan.

Ericsson is a leader in cdma2000 development, and a key driver in the standardization of evolutionary phases of the air interface and the backbone networks, as well as the migration to ALL-IP and multimedia networks.

- Bluetooth
Bluetooth is an open standard for two-way, short-wave radio communications between different devices. It marks the end of cables and cords between mobile phones, palmtops, portable PCs and printers, for example. Furthermore, Bluetooth enables information between such devices to be synchronized. Diary information held on a PDA can be updated automatically when within range of a Bluetooth-enabled PC. Bluetooth is also going to be important for machine-to-machine communications - one of the largest growth areas in telecommunications.

Bluetooth is a key development for terminals and other devices using mobile networks. It is available now for 2G networks and as 3G systems, will play an increasingly important supporting role in the future of mobile communications. Ericsson has already announced Bluetooth devices, including the T36 Bluetooth phone and a Bluetooth was originally developed by Ericsson, but is now under the auspices of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. It has widespread support among telecom equipment vendors, computer and chip manufacturers.

- Symbian
Symbian is an independent joint venture supported by companies including Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and Psion. Symbian aims to promote a mass market for mobile information devices in two ways:

First, through the development of frameworks, applications and development tools for mobile multimedia devices (such as PDAs, smartphones and communicators)
Second, by "evangelizing" standards for the interoperation of mobile information devices. Symbian's EPOC operating system is already available and Ericsson devices such as the R380 are EPOC-enabled.

- WAP
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a global, open standard that gives mobile users access to Internet services through handheld devices. It enables users to easily access a whole range of Mobile Internet and other data services from mobile devices such as smartphones and communicators, and without the need to plug into a separate laptop or data-enabled device.

WAP enables this through a built-in "WAP microbrowser" that lets information be accessed direct from a phone, in the same way that web browsers provide access to on-line services via an Internet-ready PC. Typically, a WAP screen will display a number of hyperlinks to various services or information portals.

As well as WAP phones, Ericsson has also announced a WAP Service Developer's Kit (WapIDE) and the WAP Gateway/Proxy, which bridges WAP applications and services in Internet and intranet environments with mobile networks. In addition, Ericsson provides application enablers, such as Ericsson Localized Internet (ELI) for location-based services, and WAP Application Server (WAS) providing a run-time and development environment for WAP applications.

Ericsson is one of the four founding members of the WAP Forum. Since 1997, when it was established, the WAP Forum has gained widespread industry support - hundreds of companies are members of the worldwide WAP Forum? The latest version of the WAP standard, WAP 1.2.1, has recently been launched.

Our dedicated WAP consutants are ready to assist operators and service providers sharpen their competitive edge. They help today's businesses adapt to the new economy and create cost-effective, innovative ways to communicate with customers.

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