Zatni Arbi, Contributor, Jakarta
The reality is that a lot of lingering confusion exists among mobile users as to what 3G (Third Generation) is all about. I remember a friend asking me some months ago what the 3G was.
While I was still deciding where to start with my explanation, another friend chipped in and said: ""It's the service that allows you to see the face of the other guy.""
Of course, it is much, much more than that.
Cell phones, like any other phone, are communication tools. Alexander Graham Bell invented the first telephone in 1876, and since then voice communication has been considered synonymous with the telephone. The reality is that the telephone has evolved dramatically over the past three decades or so.
SMS is still the most widely used service over the mobile network; it is the killer application for the mobile industry. We do not need a large bandwidth just to send SMS texts, as the service utilizes the signaling channel of a digital cellular network such as GSM and CDMA.
However, when we want to watch TV on our mobile device -- known as mobile TV -- then we need a much larger bandwidth. There are other services, both for fun and for more serious purposes, which also require a large bandwidth. These may include music downloading, Internet browsing, video conferencing, video sharing as well as downloading other types of rich content.
A larger bandwidth means a faster data transfer rate -- the reason why the 3G WCDMA technology was invented and the 3G services offered. The main goal was to achieve higher speeds in data transfer.
The maximum speed achievable on a 3G network is 384 kilobits per second (kbpf) for downlink (data sent from the network to the device) and 64 kbps for uplink (from our device to the network).
And then the term ""broadband"" entered our language. People have different definitions of broadband speed.
In the past, 128 kbps was already considered very fast, especially when compared to the theoretical 56 kbps limit of a dial-up connection. However, even 384 kbps is not enough, as the bandwidth must be shared among a number of subscribers.
So the 3.5G was developed, and we had High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA). This allowed for faster downloading of up to 3.6 Megabits per second (Mbps), although the upload data rate was still very limited at around 384 Kbps.
More refinement was done to the technology to enlarge the uplink pipe, and we got HSUPA. The ""U"", as you might guess, stands for uplink. Initially, HSUPA gave us 14.4 Mbps downlink and 1.4-1.8 Mbps uplink.
Ericsson, the technology leader in the mobile communication industry, then helped push the envelope even further. The new technology standard increased both data transfer downlink and uplink.
It is called simply High Speed Packet Access -- sans the ""D"" or the ""U"". In Ericsson terminology, it is also called WCDMA Evolved.
What spurred the demand for higher bandwidth?
Folke Anger, Ericsson Southeast Asia market unit director, said at a press briefing during the recent CommunicAsia 2007 in Singapore that data traffic over wireless networks had increased 50-fold since 3G services became available.
If operators provide consumers with a fast data rate, they will demand more -- where flat monthly tariffs are applied.
Here in Jakarta, we already have HSDPA services from three operators -- Indosat, Telkomsel and XL -- although they are still limited to certain areas.
Data traffic must have risen substantially by now, although we may not have the figures yet, but do we really need the larger bandwidth offered by HSPA?
Yes, because we want smoother video and we multitask on our mobile devices. Even offices and homes are now using wireless broadband connection.
The reason is that it is far cheaper and faster to get a wireless broadband connection into the office or the home than to dig up roads to lay out cables. Wireless connection also offers mobility, allowing us to access work-related data even when we are in a moving car.
""In Southeast Asia, by 2009-2010, data traffic will account for 80 percent of network traffic,"" said Folke.
Data today accounts for 50 percent of traffic over Ericsson's infrastructure. What is interesting is that, according to Folke, a large portion of this data traffic is already taking place over HSDPA networks.
And never sneer at mobile TV. While it is not going to replace the larger screen TV in the car or in the living room, a growing number of TV programs are now developed specifically for the tiny cell phone screen.
""More than 100 operators worldwide have already launched their mobile TV services,"" Folke pointed out.
The development of a technology never stops -- unless the brilliant engineers in the R&D division come up with a technological breakthrough with compelling market potential.
In the telecommunication industry, adopting a totally new technology is hardly a viable business decision, though, as the investments are almost always jaw-dropping. So it is not surprising that Ericsson has spearheaded further development of HSPA technologies rather than inventing an entirely new one. Their effort has resulted in what is called Long-Term Evolution (LTE).
LTE makes use of several novel technologies, including Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). It has several benefits, according to Folke. One of them is that it can use new, re-farmed or unused spectrum, allowing for smooth migration from the frequency spectra used by today's networks to new networks for mobile communication.
The LTE's specifications are still being worked out, but Ericsson expects it to be ready this year. The first deployment of LTE networks is expected in 2009-2010.
Just to put it in perspective, the current speed of HSPA is 3.6 Mbps. With the new standard, it can go up to 14.4 Mbps.
At that speed, downloading music and videos will be four times faster than what we can achieve with plain 3G service; or 20 times faster than GPRS. In two to three years' time, the speed will jump to 40 Mbps. When LTE arrives, we will be looking at speeds of 100 Mbps and beyond.
Such high bandwidth can be leveraged to provide healthcare for the elderly who live alone. With sensors and monitors planted in their clothes, furniture, and even carpet, these seniors will be able to receive live-saving help if they fall or have a heart attack. Businesses will also be able to build vertical applications, such as fleet management and remote monitoring.
