Important Note: Most of the questions mentioned below have no specific answers, they are all open-ended questions. In this course its not like 2+2=4 here 2+2 can be 22 or whatever, provided we give reasoning and use logic. So, in this course we all are at equal level. We highly appreciate ideas; with a strong belief that ideas are not trivial.

So, please think like leaders, believe in yourself, throw what ever comes in your mind, back it up with reasoning and see if it fly.

Now its time to kick off the "The K-World".

Assignment # 1: (Deadline – 28 July, 2006)  More time means we expect good results and valuable discussion on the group.

1. What are the prominent features of beyond 3G (future wireless networks, All-IP Based) cellular systems?

2. Come up with the usability scenarios for the feature you find out in Q-1? Think you have made 4G cellular system, now you have to market it to general public, how will you do that? [provide illustration in MS Visio and explain]

3. While solving Q-1 & Q-2, you will come across lots of new terminologies, list all important terminologies and explain them?

4. Lets think:

   1. Can sensor networks be part of future cellular technology? (come up with ideas and reasoning)

Discussion is the key idea behind this course. Take lead in initiating a discussion, and see if you can answer the queries posted on the group. Discussion topic, can be anything relevant to The K-World. Please post any queries you might have in your mind on the discussion board (group).

Instructions for Assignment Submission: No formal way to solve your assignment, few points to note: should be readable, should make sense, give references and make sure you have your name and email address on top of the page. All assignments should be in HTML format. In the long run, if this course goes well we will have our own web-site on which we will post all these assignments.

Those of you who are willing to do some extra work, in addition to the above assignment. Please get in touch with me at: fawad[dot]nazir[at]nicta[dot]com[dot]au

1. What are the prominent features of beyond 3G (future wireless networks, All-IP Based) cellular systems?

The current systems comprising of 2G, 2.5G and 3G networks are lacking in many key areas. After a long period of standardization, development and network trials, mobile operators worldwide are just now getting to fully deploy 3G networks except for NTT DoCoMo, the telecom operator of Japan, which was one of the first operators to shift to 3G from it's aging 2G PDC network. While 3G overcame many issues ailing the 2G and 2.5G networks, it is still hampered by interoperability issues, limited coverage, lack of affordable and attractive handsets, lack of funds with network operators due to expensive spectrum licenses and a lack of killer application for 3G like 'SMS' was for 2G. To overcome these issues, research has been ongoing towards 4G mobile networks.

4G is being developed as a successor to 3G networks, not only to overcome the limitations of 3G, but also to make use of the latest developments in the wireless technology domain. Beyond 3G cellular systems (4G) are being developed with two main objectives:

• The first objective is to overcome the shortcomings and limitation of 3G, the chief amongst which is the issue of available bandwidth. 3G networks have a maximum bandwidth of 2Mbps while in realistic scenarios, actual bandwidth will be something around 384Kbps. 2Mbps bandwidth is only possible in restricted cases involving low mobility and Pico cells. Even though 384Kbps is much better than the bandwidth of 2G systems, it is insufficient for multimedia communication. 4G networks are envisioned to offer higher bandwidths of 100Mbps and higher.

Besides this limitation, there are other shortcomings of 3G systems related to the issues of global roaming and network scalability. Originally, the 3G technologies were proposed to provide global roaming. This goal, envisaged by ITU was to have a single radio interface that provided global roaming. However, in actuality, 5 radio interfaces were adopted for 3G networks to cater for competition and migration of the installed base of 2G networks. Hence, the current implementations have failed to achieve the goal of global roaming. Therefore, global roaming is a key requirement for 4G networks.

further, 3G specifications define three different Core Network (CN) domains, where each domain provides a different set of services. The CS domain provides circuit switched services, the PS domain provides packet switched services and the IMT domain provides IP multimedia services. This architecture is not scalable and suitable for the next generation mobile networks. Hence, for 4G networks, enhanced network architecture is being proposed which is expected to be entirely a packet switched network.

• The second objective is to make use of the achievements in the area of wireless technology. Due to the sluggish pace of 3G network deployment, other wireless technologies have captured a sizeable portion of the market. Wireless LAN (WLAN) and Bluetooth are prominent among these technologies. Satellite based networks like Thuraya are also popular in sparsely populated areas. The 4G architecture is expected to consist of a collection of such wireless technologies/networks.

The vision of 4G is to provide broadband access and global roaming using the most appropriate of modern technologies. The network hierarchy of 4G consists of Satellite Network (highest level), Cellular Network, LAN and PAN (at the lowest level).

The prominent features of such a beyond "3G network" are:

• Higher bandwidths

• Packet switched network

• Stringent network security

• global mobility and network scalability

Comparing 3G and 4G networks;

3G mobile networks	4G mobile networks
Evolved from the 2G networks providing backward compatibility.	Consists of a collection of different wireless networks. Network architecture at cellular network level is an enhancement over 3G network architecture.
Consists of both circuit-switched and packet-switched networks.	Consists of entirely packet-switched networks.
Data rates up to  2Mbps.	Data rates up to 100Mbps and more.
Practical data rates of ~384Kbps mean that applications like live high-definition video, HDTV, etc are difficult to support.	Higher practical data rates (~2Mbps)  mean that bandwidth hungry applications like HDTV can easily be supported.
Network security is not adequate.	Enhancements to network security.

2. Come up with the usability scenarios for the feature you find out in Q-1? Think you have made 4G cellular system, now you have to market it to general public, how will you do that? [provide illustration in MS Visio and explain]

I don't know how to use MS Visio. I have just listed the answers in bulleted format.

Currently one of the key problems with 3G and possibly 4G technologies is consumer acceptance and a lack of a killer application. 2G networks like GSM have SMS which surprisingly enough, is the most popular feature being used today on 2G/2.5G networks. While the consumer migration to 3G services from PDC in Japan has been high, there has been a relative lack of said killer application for this technology. We can certainly outline some usability scenarios for 4G networks. However, this is mere speculation and might or might not be what really happens due to market dynamics.

• The use of all kinds of wireless networks for 4G opens a gateway to a lot of automated services previously touted with protocols like X-10, etc. Every device can be assigned an IP address and controlled from some other place. For instance, we can use a mobile device to turn on the lights and air conditioners some time before we reach home.

• Banking services can certainly use these services to facilitate their consumers with anytime on line access to their bank accounts. Even though these services are still available, they are often enough not fully neither efficiently implemented. A customer can check his or her balance from his mobile device and perform business transactions from the same device. Furthermore, 4G has enhanced security features meaning that the bank and the customer can both rest assured that the data they send will be safe from any malicious hijacking while enroute..

• The media industry can use 4G services to stream high quality HD content to the mobile device. You can watch news, sport events and see the news soaps on the mobile device. The industry can also deliver syndicated content to the device. Similarly, the device can be used for streaming and listening to audio. Currently, podcasting is the rage and similar things can be done for the mobile devices.

• Since the 4G networks also comprise of PANs and LANs, we can access our resources and files from anywhere. This will be helpful to telecommuters and people who are always on the move.

• Since 4G networks are based entirely on packet-switching, we can interact and combine various networks for our needs. This will be useful to large corporations who have diverse resources which are vastly distributed across a nation or even the continents. MNEs can get lots of benefits out of these.

• Nation wide internet services can be provided by the ISPs with relatively low infrastructure cost since they will not have to invest in expensive optic fiber networks. This will also allow consumer roaming and encourage mobility of the user which might give a side benefit to the notebook/laptop vendors. The concept is of city wide hotspots. With good coverage across the country, this can be used on a nation wide scale as Wateen is doing in Pakistan using the WiMax.

• With increasing multimedia capabilities of our mobile devices, higher bandwidth would mean that we can transfer better multimedia more quickly than before. This can be a killer application for 4G mobile devices but hasn't caught on much yet.

3. While solving Q-1 & Q-2, you will come across lots of new terminologies, list all important terminologies and explain them?

4. Lets think:

   1. Can sensor networks be part of future cellular technology? (come up with ideas and reasoning)

A sensor network is a computer network of many, spatially distributed devices using sensors to monitor conditions at different locations, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion or pollutants. Usually these devices are small and inexpensive, so that they can be produced and deployed in large numbers, and so their resources in terms of energy, memory, computational speed and bandwidth are severely constrained. Each device is equipped with a radio transceiver, a small microcontroller, and an energy source, usually a battery. The devices use each other to transport data to a monitoring computer.

Sensor networks involve three areas: sensing, communications, and computation (hardware, software, algorithms). Very useful technologies are wireless database technology such as queries, used in a wireless sensor network, and network technology to communicate with other sensors, especially multihop routing protocols. For example, ZigBee is a wireless protocol used by Motorola in home control systems.

Coming to the question, yes, sensor networks can certainly be a part of future cellular technology. Such networks can be passive or active networks depending on their capabilities and requirements. As discussed above, 4G technology has some uses in the automation industry. Sensor networks can form a vital part of a system to determine how various devices work or react in particular conditions. This not exactly 4G per se, but we can for our sake, call it a part of the feedback network where devices communicate with each other depending on which, various algorithms and protocols can be used to determine the resultant action of other devices. Wireless sensor networks can be integrated directly into the cellular technology so that could be termed dumbed down versions of the 4G network.

Applications of such sensor networks include video surveillance, traffic monitoring, air traffic control, robotics, cars, home and health monitoring and manufacturing and industrial automation. Sensor webs, a type of sensor networks, can be used for environmental monitoring and control. Hypothetical networks like 'Smartdust' comprising of tiny wireless microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors, robots, or devices, installed with wireless communications can be used to detect anything from light and temperature, to vibrations, etc.

References:

Back to K World home page

Copyright © 2006 Asad Asif - All rights reserved.