Beyond the mobile frontier

• Article 4 of 7
• iSight, January 2006
• View a PDF of the original article ~ 52K

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Among the upgrades is High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) which, in practice, will offer speeds of 2 megabits per second (Mbps). As the name suggests, this will enhance download speeds, but is poor for uploading data. Corporate users who are sending large quantities of data will find it insufficient, as will domestic peer-to-peer users. An upgrade designed to fix this problem is in development, although few networks have committed themselves to it.

Meanwhile, 1xEV-DO will also receive an upgrade in 2006, offering increased bandwidth and lower latency. A further revision will follow and is designed to improve the performance of applications such as voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) and video telephony. These in turn will make mobile telephony more desirable, as it allows calls to be routed to whichever VoIP-enabled device the recipient is using, whether that’s an office phone, PC, or their mobile phone – all with just one number.

Then there is 4G. NTT DoCoMo, Motorola, Siemens and Wi-Lan are testing technology capable of providing mobile data rates of 100Mbps and 1 billion bits per second (Gbps) while stationary. 4G also includes the idea of ‘pervasive networks’, where users can simultaneously access and switch between wireless technologies seamlessly.

However, Peter Gardner, communications sector head at 3i is unimpressed: “Users still cannot get the full benefits of existing 3G and broadband wireless technologies. I’m keen to invest in businesses that really maximise the potential of current technologies.”

WIMAX MOMENTUM
Among that next generation is Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). It is considered the most mature and promising of the standards currently in development, since it offers benefits similar to Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and broadband at long ranges. More than 330 companies, including Alcatel, Nokia and Intel, are backing the standardisation and certification work necessary for largescale WiMAX adoption.

It supports both fixed and mobile users moving over reasonable distances and will be able to provide speeds of between 512Kbps and 1.5Mbps, although advocates claim speeds up to 70Mbps will be possible. In contrast to a 3G transmitter, which typically covers a range of 3.5km, a WiMAX tower should be able to serve a radius of at least 15km.

Another technology, known as ‘wireless mesh’, is making small inroads in urban areas and works in a similar method to peer-to-peer applications. Each subscriber’s receiver is also a transmitter, with the network transmitting data from receiver to receiver until it reaches its eventual destination. This means that previously inaccessible locations are able to connect through intermediate subscribers. Paradoxically, the more subscribers a mesh service has, the faster it becomes since there are more nodes to pass on data.

However, network expansion will be limited by the available radio spectrum. “Frequency availability and power level limitations will limit both range and data speed,” says Forrester analyst Charles Golvin. “Europe is a regulatory mess when it comes to radio frequencies; there’s little unregulated spectrum left.” With WiFi frequencies almost universally available, it will be some time before laptops ship with both capabilities – let alone foregoing WiFi in favour of WiMAX.

LAST MILE
Fixed-line broadband suppliers are not letting developments pass by. Several Asian countries have long had access to fibre-based broadband that has given them speeds of up to 1Gbps for as little as US$90 a month in some areas.

Others are playing catch up, but one thing is clear – the infrastructure necessary to deliver ultra-high speeds is not in place in many countries, producing so-called ‘last mile’ problems. Solutions could include wireless technologies, networking via power lines or laying new fibre and copper wiring – an expensive proposition.

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