December 2001
Vol.8 No.6
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 | European R&D on Fourth-Generation Mobile and Wireless IP Networks |
| Petri Mähönen and George C. Polyzos |
An Open Service Architecture for Adaptive Personal Mobile Communication
Theo Kanter, Ericsson Radio Systems AB
Currently, 3GPP is reinventing the telecom model of services in wireless Internet -- a model that is not well suited to meet the demands of new modes of personal mobile communication, enabled by wireless packet services and multimedia devices, or the ability to deal with increasingly heterogeneous wireless infrastructure (one interpretation of 4G). This article characterizes the properties of service architectures in relation to the steps taken in successive generations of wireless communication networks for personal communication. The article then continues to present a novel service architecture for open communication in wireless Internet, describing its necessary properties and evaluating its merits. Finally, we present our experiences from building application prototypes based on our service architecture, in an urban wireless testbed consisting of WLAN extensions to a Gigabit Ethernet network.Quality of Service among IP-Based Heterogeneous Networks
Mahbubul Alam and Ramjee Prasad, Aalborg University
John R. Farserotu, CSEM
The third generation communication system known as International Mobile Telecommunication-2000/Universal Mobile Telecommunication System will support a wide range of information services. Services may include voice, data, video and multimedia communication operating at bit rates up to 2 Mb/s over the air interface. They are also expected to be Internet Protocol (IP) based. The combination of new and more bandwidth demanding services and quality-of-service (QoS) requirements places increased demand on the available radio spectrum resources. Additional radio capacity will be needed in order to support IP traffic, especially in hot-spot areas. In this article, QoS architectures and techniques are examined for supporting scalable end-to-end QoS over IP-based heterogeneous networks.4th-Generation Wireless Infrastructures: Scenarios and Research Challenges
Aurelian Bria, Fredrik Gessler, Olav Queseth, Rickard Stridh, Matthias Unbehaun, Jiang Wu, and Jens Zander
Royal Institute of Technology, KTH
Maxime Flament, Chalmers University of Technology
A "fourth generation" of wireless systems, likely to appear after the successful deployment of the current third-generation systems, is frequently debated these days. This article presents some of the results of the Fourth Generation Wireless project (4GW) of the Personal Computing and Communications program (PCC), the major Swedish academic research effort on future communications systems, launched in late 1997. In the 4GW project, scenarios have been used as tools for formulating relevant research topics related to future wireless systems. By working with scenarios the project group has been able to challenge some of the assumptions commonly made in the field of wireless research. Since the project group is multidisciplinary, the work has also helped the members of the project group to understand the differences between the research traditions to which they belong. The scenarios, as well as the ensuing research into various wireless related topics, point to a vision of fourth-generation systems where "low-hierarchy" user-deployed infrastructures are the prime candidate. Fourth-generation systems will offer short- to moderate-range communications with very high data rates (>100 Mb/s). They are likely to employ array signal processing and ad hoc operation to provide the required coverage. A key aspect of their design will be the fact that they will be deployed in environments where large-scale wireless, and wired, infrastructures are already in operation.Platform-Independent IP Transmission over Wireless Networks: The WINE Approach
Petri Mähönen and Tommi Saarinen, University of Oulu
Nikos Passas, University of Athens
George Orphanos, Intracom
Luis Muñoz and Marta García, University of Cantabria
Alan Marshall, Queen's University of Belfast
Diego Melpignano, Philips Research Monza
Tiziano Inzerilli, University of Rome
Fabrice Lucas, AQL
Mario Vitiello, CEFRIEL/Politecnico di Milano
The article describes the work performed to date in the Wireless Internet Network (WINE) project, sponsored by the European Commission, under the framework V Information Society Technologies (IST) program. The project aims to enhance the performance of Internet protocols when operating over wireless LANs. One of the key issues of the project is the development of a wireless adaptation layer (WAL) that resides between the IP and WLAN link layers. The WAL may be viewed as a "shim" layer that compensates for wireless impairments. An important feature of the WAL architecture is its ability to map quality of service protocols such as differentiated services onto WLANs. The architecture also aims to support intradomain mobility, and a range of existing mechanisms have been reviewed and enhanced for that purpose. The project includes the development of extended testbeds and simulation models to assess the performance of the proposed solutions.(Auto) Mobile Communication in a Heterogeneous and Converged World
Wolfgang Kellerer, Christian Bettstetter, Christian Schwingenschlögl, and Peter Sties
Technische Universität MünchenKarl-Ernst Steinberg, BMW
Hans-Jörg Vögel, The Fantastic Corp.
In this article we discuss services and system architecture issues for future wireless communication in the vehicular environment. We consider the problem of wireless network heterogeneity that will be a consequence of emerging technologies such as wireless LANs, ad hoc networks, and broadcast systems, in addition to third-generation cellular standards like UMTS. In particular, a communication gateway architecture is proposed as an essential building block in future automobile systems. It enables services and applications within the car to transparently use different wireless communication systems. Our article gives a high-level view of the component architecture of the gateway and its adaptation layer to the wireless infrastructure.On the Single-Chip Implementation of a Hiperlan/2 and IEEE 802.11a Capable Modem
Eckhard Grass, Klaus Tittelbach-Helmrich, Ulrich Jagdhold, Alfonso Troya, Gunther Lippert, Olaf Krüger, Jens Lehmann, Koushik Maharatna, Kai F. Dombrowski, Norbert Fiebig, and Rolf Kraemer, IHP-GmbH
Petri Mähönen, University of Oulu
Broadband wireless communication is the key technology to a new generation of products in the consumer market. The emerging standards for the 5 GHz band will form the basis for many applications requiring high communication bandwidth. Low cost and low power dissipation will be a prerequisite for most mobile applications. One way to realize low-cost systems is to reduce the system complexity and deploy highly integrated components. The work presented in this article discusses aspects of implementing a complete Hiperlan/2 and IEEE 802.11a compliant modem, including the physical layer as well as the data link control layer, into a single chip.The Financial Perspective of the Mobile Networks in Europe
Dimitris Katsianis, University of Athens
Ilari Welling, Maria Ylönen1, NOKIA
Dimitris Varoutas, Thomas Sphicopoulos, University of Athens
Nils Kristian Elnegaard, Borgar T. Olsen, Telenor
Lucien Budry2, Swisscom
This article presents a techno-economic evaluation of 3G rollout scenarios in two "typical" European countries with contrasting profiles, analyzing both the incumbent and newcomer business cases. The analysis is based on a techno-economic methodology developed within the ACTS-TERA project. Market and tariff forecasts as well as the technological evolutionary paths are discussed and financial figures are analyzed. Sensitivity analysis follows these basic results in order to identify the impact of uncertainties and risks. The success of such an investment project mainly depends on the regulatory framework, demand and tariff structure, and the market share.