Sonera pushes GRX roaming with PCCW trial
By Emily Bourne, Total Telecom
04 December 2000
Finnish operator Sonera and Hong Kong's PCCW have demonstrated what they claim is the first roaming call between GPRS networks using the GPRS roaming exchange (GRX) solution. At the ITU Telecom Asia 2000 conference in Hong Kong, the operators hooked up their home GPRS networks to a GRX developed by Sonera, via local loop connections provided by Equant.
"This is a crucial step to make sure roaming happens in the packet environment," Sonera chief technology officer Jari Mielonen told Total Telecom. The company considers GRX to be the ultimate solution for 3G roaming, since it is based on IP.
There will be several GRX providers, said a spokesman for Sonera, with large international mobile operators opting to establish their own global roaming network. But the Finnish company is keen to develop connections between separate GRXs, and has an announcement of trial roaming between GRXs in the bag for the near future, he added. The MOU with PCCW currently only covers the trial, after which the operators will look for a formal tie-up.
Sonera's challenge now is to back up its technological lead with commercial deals with mobile operators, the company spokesman said. Sonera is already in talks with U.S., European and Asian operators, and believes that, when GPRS networks are launched on a large scale next year, the roaming issue will become crucial. Now it has been tested in Asia, "it is going to be a global standard," said Mielonen.
Sonera formally launched its GPRS network in Finland last week, and plans to open it commercially on 11 December. PCCW launched its service in November. The Hong Kong operator already provides GPRS roaming in Singapore with SingTel Mobile and Mobile One, and has international GPRS roaming agreements in place with 60 operators.
GRX is a private IP routing network for mobile data roaming. It is intended as an alternative to point-to-point roaming between GPRS and 3G networks. The Sonera GRX is based on the IR.34 standard laid down by the GSM Association. To date, 19 operators, including Cable & Wireless, UUNet and Global Crossing, have endorsed GRX, though they are generally at a "very early stage" as far as technological development is concerned, said a Sonera spokesman.
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