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It sure didn't take long. No sooner did cdmaOne achieve critical mass than the industry began work on a new set of technologies with even broader bandwidths. With a goal of providing high-speed data rates to support applications such as wireless video, multimedia and Internet access, a number of groups are now jockeying for position in the race to define a third-generation (3G) standard.
Already, a number of 3G options have been submitted to the TIA, ETSI and ARIB, the standardization bodies for North America, Europe and Japan, respectively. Most of these proposals are based on some version of CDMA (see table), and virtually all of them seek to meet the requirements of the ITU's IMT-2000 initiative to develop a common worldwide wireless standard. But the similarities end there.
Proposals and Agendas
In early June, four leading cdmaOne vendors announced plans to work with each other, with the CDMA Development Group (CDG) and with standards bodies worldwide to develop a 3G system based on IS-95. Less than a week later, Ericsson and Nokia declared they would back the W-CDMA proposal submitted to ARIB by Japan's NTT DoCoMo.
Confused? It's really simpler than it seems. Behind these different proposals are just two prime motives. The cdmaOne approach, which is backwards-compatible with IS-95, aims to build on the most advanced second-generation technology with higher-speed data and even better capacity. But the other options are driven by companies that embraced an older standard instead of IS-95. Prompted more by the need to catch up to cdmaOne than to leapfrog past it, these groups seek to achieve the capacity and voice quality that cdmaOne already provides.
The Road to a Smooth Migration
In contrast, the Lucent/Motorola/Nortel/QUALCOMM proposal offers a smooth migration path for the many operators deploying cdmaOne systems. "Over 70 cdmaOne networks have been rolled out in the last seven months, with over 4 million subscribers already," noted Anil Kripalani, vice president of Technology Standards for QUALCOMM. "And over 50 manufacturers have taken licenses for IS-95 more than for any other 2G wireless technology. That adds up to a large, rapidly growing base of experience, support and demand for cdmaOne. By building on this base of proven IS-95 technology, our proposal can significantly lower the risk and the cost of deploying 3G."
This plan also enhances performance in a number of ways. Obviously, using a broader, 5-MHz block of spectrum serves to increase data rates, providing even greater bandwidth-on-demand and spectral efficiency. There are also subtler changes that deliver significant enhancements.
"By utilizing coherent modulation in the reverse link, the reverse link performance is improved, thus providing much greater range, increasing reverse link capacity, and increasing the battery life," explained QUALCOMM Vice President of Technology Ed Tiedemann. "It also incorporates fast forward power control, which reduces the required average forward link transmit power, thus increasing forward link capacity. Fast forward link power control is one of the techniques being used to increase the forward link capacity and data rate."
Next Steps
While the subcommittees wrangle with yet another round of competing technologies, the door to a common, worldwide 3G standard may be closing, but it hasn't shut yet. NTT DoCoMo Executive Manager for Research and Development Nobuo Nakajima commented in a recent article, "We're thinking of backward compatibility." And indeed, ARIB has indicated it will attempt to reconcile the various proposals into one grand scheme.
But the deadline is drawing near. The ITU's cut-off for IMT-2000 standards proposals is June of 1998. Will there be a single standard in the next generation - or three more factions fighting for market share? With the paint still wet on many cdmaOne systems, it may seem hard to focus on a standard that's still years out on the horizon. But one way or another, 3G will arrive on the scene ... with the fourth generation right on its heels.
MAJOR CDMA 3G PROPOSALS
Regional Standards Body Technology Group
TIA (TR 45.5) Wideband cdmaOne
Wideband cdmaOne
Wideband cdmaOne
Wideband cdmaOne
Wideband cdmaOne
Lucnet, Motorola, Nortel, QUALCOMM
HNS
Nokia
Samsung
Hitachi
ARIB W-CDMA ("Core-A") NTT DoCoMo, Fujitsu, Panasonic, NEC
ETSI (SMG2) W-CDMA
W-TDMA/CDMA
Nokia, Ericsson, NEC, Panasonic, Fujitsu
Siemens
CDMA is now widely viewed as the best air interface technology for a third-generation standard.
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