Did you read this ? 14,400 aint nothing to brag about? It won't be a big thing in any industry .
ISSUE #6 TUESDAY 27 JANUARY 1998
CDMAOne Packs New Punch With Packet
Data Solution
By Jeremy Scott-Joynt
CDMAOne is to become the first cellular standard to offer
packet-switched data transmission without having to resort
to an overlay network.
Qualcomm has unveiled a new base station controller, called
the QCore, for its range of CDMAOne infrastructure.
The new kit offers circuit-switched data and fax traffic as
standard, but under a protocol named IS-707 can be
software configured to connect directly to an IP router . The
equipment will go on sale at the end of March.
According to Qualcomm , users of IS-707 packet-switched
data services will be able to access the Internet at a speed
of 14.4kbps. They will also be able to connect a laptop
computer or or other mobile data device directly to a
CDMAOne phone to transmit and receive data, because the
BSC includes software modems.
According to Qualcomm, the entire system is software, not
hardware, driven. The base station allocates its resources
dynamically depending on demand, without setting aside
processor time specifically to each of the three functions -
fax, data and voice - it can support.
The development of packet data is seen as vital for cellular
operators if they are to boost the takeup of data services
ahead of third generation systems.
Packet switching offers promises essential improvements in
spectrum efficiency. While circuit-switched data locks up a
slice of spectrum for the duration of the call, packet
switching sends small chunks of information through the
network as and when requested. So, whereas the dead time
between bursts of data is lost in a circuit-switched data
system, packet switching allows many data streams to use
the same frequency sequentially, since every packet is
tagged with the information needed to identify the intended
recipient.
GSM still lacks an operational packet-switched architecture.
The General Packet Radio System (GPRS) - which
promises speeds of 144kbps - is set to be rolled out in 1999,
although operators are nervous of the expected cost of
deployment so close to the onset of 3G.
The only existing packet-switched data service over a public
network is Cellular Digital Packet Data, which at the
moment runs over AMPS networks in the US. But since
CDPD needs an expensive overlay network, coverage is
patchy, and according to US consultancy the Strategis
Group had only 17,000 subscribers at the end of 1997,
mostly because of competition from dedicated data
networks like Ardis. Subscriber numbers, Strategis predicts,
would climb to nearly 70,000 by the end of this year - but
income per subscriber was set to drop from $41 to $36.
[
|
