This is an interesting development and a very good success story for Nortel . Vodafone launches HSDPA and brands it as "3G-Broadband".

Read the article here.

Understanding the 3GPP standards.

We have been hearing QUITE A lot on 3GPP releases and phases. But, what on earth do they mean ? I found a very good article on wireless devnet which explains in brief what is the significance of each 3GPP release :-

The 3GPP release phases:

Release 1997: GPRS is added to existing GSM systems and adds packet data (Release 1998 is another upgrade to GPRS but not as significant a step). Commercial networks on a broad scale during 2001.

Release 1999 (Release 3): The first step towards the GSM/GPRS and WCDMA convergence. WCDMA (UMTS) is added, with high-speed packet and circuit switched data.

Release 4 : (The years format have been skipped): The Release 4 (3 GPP Rel.4), includes the migration of the Release 99 circuit-switched domain core network and services to an IP transport.Adding more IP multimedia functionality. Standardization finalized March 2001.

Release 5: The Release 5 (3GPP Rel.5) which, takes a radical approach to the introduction of conversational and interactive multimedia services on to an end to end IP transport provided by an enhanced general packet radio service in the packet switched domain

Note :- Release 6 is still in progress, but features that will be added include IMS phase 2, Digital Rights Management and improved quality of service handling. Additional GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network specifications are available in GSM/EDGE Releases 4 and 5.

However , the bible for this information is the horse's mouth itself !!!
Visit the 3GPP Specifications - Release contents and functionality webpage for more in-depth information on each release and its main improvements.

Wireless Services and Traffic Jams.

Traffic jams are an integral part of city life whether you are in London , Newyork, Tokyo or even Bangalore. How can wireless service providers help us solve this perennial problem.

Rather, I think , the question should be whom can the wireless service providers help out.

The answer , if you ask me , is , it can help a road user than a person or an organization/entity who controls the traffic in your city.

Actually, this is a very good area where good products are missing.

There is one mobile data application which has already been deployed in the UK.

The features of this application are :-
a) A MAP - This is a good feature because people do use maps and it gives a degree of independence while seraching places.
b) A live snapshot of traffic. wow.

Although there are not many mobile data applications like these, I feel the mode is seriously wrong here. The nature of an application should not be a driver driving at 70mph operating this device. It should be more of a audio application which would collect data.

Another application which can address this issue is a mobile phone connected to a GPS device using bluetooth.Again we may have connectivity issues using this!!

Infact , a better service would be a call center which would give you a quick update on the latest traffic !!

If this were to be deployed using GPRS services, we would once again , need Location Information services.

GPRS usage in tracking.

Imagine what kinds of problems a truck owner or an owner of many cabs might face. The things which can come to your mind are :-

a) He needs to know where is vehicle is, at any point of time.
b) Which of his vehicle needs a reschedule , dynamically.

The point a) can be addressed using a combination of GPS and GPRS technologies. This is what SmartTalk is trying to do.

A moving truck gets the location information from a GPS module.And later, using GPRS we can send the information to a TRacking Server. A truck owner with a laptop can actually see which of his vehicles is present WHERE at any point of time. Just check out their features page here

Infact, if an operator GSM operator provides a network node called SMLC, a mere mobile phone can provide tracking data. We can avoid the GPS angle altogether.

I dont know which GSM operators use SMLC. I will update it whenever I get the information.

Here is what mpirical companion says about SMLC :-

SMLC - Serving Mobile Location Centre
The SMLC is either a separate network element or integrated functionality in the BSC (Base Station Controller) that contains the functionality required to support LCS (LoCation Services). The SMLC manages the overall co-ordination and scheduling of resources required for the location of a mobile. It also calculates the final location estimate and estimates the achieved accuracy. The SMLC may control a number of LMU (Location Measurement Unit) for the purpose of obtaining radio interface measurements to locate or help locate MS (Mobile Station) subscribers in the area that it serves.

As I browsed through newswireless today morning, I was surprised to see an HSDPA phone already launched by LG.

The main advantage of a mobile phone which is UMTS/HSDPA compatible is that, it can also accomodate the older GSM versions.The market for HSDPA is very less. Cingular is the only market which has a UMTS network.But how do these companies promote a phone with a HSDPA stack with no HSDPA network? The answer is :- provide jazzy features today , and later bring in the HSDPA networks.Maybe.

Coming up :- Next Article on WHAT IS HSDPA.