Testing UMTS protocols

Testing UMTS by Dan Fox, Anritsu

Its nearly three years since I wrote an FAQ on UMTS Testing. So when I got my hands on this book the other day, I so wanted to read it. It would be a while before I manage to go through the book in detail but my initial impression is that this book looks quite good.

Since the book deals with Protocol Testing, the testing has been grouped into three categories:

1. Integration Testing
2. Conformance Testing
3. Interoperability Testing

There is a chapter explaining each of these. The Conformance testing is of interest to me as I have been involved directly and indirectly with this for quite some years now. The book explains the process, standards required and submission of tests to GCF/PTCRB.

For those whom testing does not hold much charm, they can gain greater understanding of the concepts by reading Part II of the book. One thing I really liked in this book is that the diagrams explain the concepts very well. Rather than copying them straight from the 3GPP specifications, they have been improved and re-done by the author. Basic things like 'Dynamic TFCI selection' and 'Layer 2 transport channel processing flow for the 12.2 kbps RMC' are explained clearly using the diagrams.

There is just the right amount of detail in the chapters for Physical Layer, Layer 2 (MAC, RLC, PDCP) and Layer 3 (RRC, NAS). Further chapters show message flow sequence charts explaining things like 'setting up of speech call' and 'location updating procedure'. I have some basic sequence diagrams for message flow in the Tutorial section but the ones in the book are comparatively more detailed.

The book mainly covers UMTS, with an introduction to HSPA. It would be worthwhile to have the next edition covering LTE in detail. The main reason being that there are lots of changes in the case of LTE. The Air Interface has changed, the channels are different. The NAS messages and entities are different. UMTS (and HSPA) use TTCN-2 for testing but LTE uses TTCN-3. UMTS does not use MIMO (MIMO available for HSPA from Release 7 onwards) but LTE would generally always use MIMO.

Overall, this seems to be a useful book and I am looking forward to reading it in detail.

Golden-i: Futuristic Bluetooth Headset with Virtual PC Display

Microdisplay technology maker Kopin Corp. reports it has partnered with Motorola Inc. to introduce a wireless headset with a high-definition virtual display and speech recognition for remote control of things such as smart phones and PCs. Taunton-based Kopin (Nasdaq: KOPN) teamed up with Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions division to put a 15-inch virtual PC display together with a microphone and earpiece into the headset it calls the “Golden-i.” According to material from Kopin, the Golden-i uses Bluetooth 2.0 to connect to the devices, as well as to Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as a mouse, touchscreen or keyboard. Golden-i runs on the Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 operating system, and once connected, users will see their PC desktop screen on the 15-inch virtual display. To control the connected device hands-free, Kopin is incorporating the VoCon3200 software from Burlington-based Nuance Communications Inc. Golden-i also uses Nuance’s text-to-speech application to read back documents, e-mail messages, web content or any text on the display screen. According to Kopin officials, it supports up to 20 languages. If no interface peripheral such as a Bluetooth mouse is available, Golden-i can use its built-in Hillcrest Labs 6-axis, real-time position tracker to allow control of the connected device using head gestures. The device also provides a mini-USB port, and a removable Micro SD card slot taht can support up to 32GB of memory. The target market for Golden-i, according to Kopin, is remote workers looking to quickly connect to a PC or network for information, such as outside sales staff. It is also aimed at network support personnel, as it can support connections to multiple devices, Kopin said.Kopin, which counts the defense industry as a major customer, last December reported it had landed $3.1 million from the U.S. military for displays used in weapon sights. Once connected to a host device, such as a PC, users see their PC desktop screen on the 15-inch virtual display and with Nuance’s VoCon3200 software they can control it using voice commands in a number of languages. Kopin claims this software provides more than 90 percent proficiency straight out of the box, and the more it is used, the better it works. Golden-i requires no push-to-talk buttons and is ready to respond to a user’s request whether in light hibernation or during intermittent use. Golden-i also readily accepts conventional user interface from any host device touch screen, keyboard or wireless mouse and integrates Nuance text-to-speech, enabling Golden-i to read back any text displayed in a number of common languages. Running on the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 platform, Golden-i can remotely wake a PC from practically any location and, when work is finished, the PC can be placed in hibernation with a single spoken command. The headset can also remotely control up to seven other devices or networks at one time, similar to the way users control software applications on a PC desktop. It operates much like a highly mobile server, a hub between various host devices. If a USB interface or removable memory is required, Golden-i provides a mini-USB port and a removable Micro SD card slot capable of supporting up to 32GB. Supported by Texas Instruments’ third generation OMAP dual processor platform, a single 1200 mA/hr li-ion battery should provide more than eight hours of standard use. While the Golden-i can be used just about anywhere, it is designed for “mobile information snacking”, rather than continuous use over long periods. Initial development of the unit has focused on industrial applications, so Kopin is seeking to engage several industrial organizations in several months of in-depth field testing and evaluation. Kopin hopes to incorporate any improvements and refinements uncovered during testing into its Golden-i products, which are expected to be available in 2010. Kopin believes Golden-i will free users from the need to carry a PC or laptop about with them. Freedom from work, though, is another matter entirely. You can read all about the hardware and software details and features of this device here.

Inter symbol and inter carrier interference (ISI and ICI) in OFDMA

Radio channel are random, fast changing and error prone. In a wireless system the variation/fluctuation in the received signal is called fading. The goal of the wireless system design is to overcome different types fading and provide reliable and efficient transmission. Generally there are two types of fading.

• Large scale fading: It is the fluctuation in the average signal strength over a large distance and is caused by terrestrial change. This occurs when a mobile travel from a lake to mountainous are to a lake area or from an open area to a tall buildings area. Large scale fading can be mitigated by controlling the transmit power.
• Small scale fading: Occurs as a result of the fluctuations in the received signal strength over a small distance and is caused by multipath and Doppler's shift. Doppler shift refers to the change on frequency of the signal because of relative motion between the transmitter and the receiver.

The figure here shows the multipath propagation for a signal. Signal goes from transmitter to the receiver through multipath that have different lengths i.e. path 1, path2 and path 3. The signal from different path arrives at the receiver at different times although it’s originated from the same source. The received symbol as shown below is longer than the duration of the original symbol.

Delay spread can cause adjacent symbols to interfere at the receiver. As a result of the multipath the delayed version of the first symbol shifts into the next symbol time and thus causes overlap between he symbols. In OFDMA this is taken care of where more time is give for each symbol to be received at the receiver by inserting a guard time.

The Doppler shift introduces another type of interference in OFDMA i.e. inter carrier interference (ICI). OFDMA divided the spectrum into narrowband subcarriers and they are tightly spaced simply because they are orthogonal. One of the requirements for orthogonality is to maintain the subcarrier spacing exactly the reciprocal of the symbol period. The figure below shows the frequency shifts thus changing the subcarrier spacing which results in the loss of orthogonality. This loss of orthogonality creates interference among the signals which is called as ICI. Since the subcarriers in OFDMA are usually very narrow hence the OFDMA system becomes very sensitive to ICI. ICI destroys the orthogonality of the OFDMA system which is overcome by the use of cyclic prefix mechanism.

Under this mechanism OFDM symbols are extended into periodical symbols i.e. redundant information is sent out to ensure that analysis can be conducted on the undistorted information and is called as cyclic extension.

It can be implemented by copying the portion of the original symbol from the end and attaching it to the front or copying it from the front and attaching it to the end. Since OFDMA has already assigned the guard time to defeat ISI, cyclic extension can be put into the guard time interval. This is called cyclic prefix. With cyclic prefix used the delayed version of the previous symbols cannot shift into the useful time of the current symbol so ISI is eliminated as well. Also the cyclic prefix provides redundant information and allows spectral analysis in the receiver to maintain the orthogonality of the subcarriers. Thus the cyclic prefix can be used to deal with both ISI and ICI.

The above concepts can be summarized in teh form of the picture below

Vodafone (JIL) to release new APIs to third parties

Vodafone is set to announce a standard set of APIs, allowing third parties to create applications integrated with Vodafone servers around the world, including tapping the operator's billing system for micropayments.

It's also worth noting that these new APIs are coming out of the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL), so should be applicable to the other JIL members in time - adding Verizon and China Mobile would put the JIL in charge of applications provided to more than 700 million mobile-phone users.

Vodafone is unveiling a set of standard APIs that will work in every region in which the operator has a presence. This will allow developers to create applications and roll them out around the world, as long as they don't mind their market being limited to Vodafone's 289 million customers.

Operators have long allowed third parties access to internal services, particularly SMSC's for messaging and often with access to billing systems, too. But this has generally been on a case-by-case basis and only sharing limited functionality. Not only does that require developers to work with each operator in turn, but platforms are often fragmented even within the same operator - particularly where international expansion has been managed through acquisition - so developers often have to negotiate, and code, for every operator, in every region.

Not that today's announcement is the first attempt to address this problem: Vodafone makes much of the new API's ability to bill for small transactions, allowing developers to include the "insert coin to continue" functionality they've been hoping for. But Vodafone is also part of the "PayForIt" consortium, which provides the same functionality across multiple networks. PayForIt operates though gateways that take a cut of the money, so developers will have to decide on the value of being cross-network.

Obviously applications will need to be certified to have access to the APIs, something the JIL was already planning along with on-device APIs to allow (suitably signed) widgets with access to local, and network, resources - all of which should be revealed over the summer.

Surround Sound transmission technology from NTT DoCoMo

NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced that it has developed a highly efficient mobile spatial audio transmission technology that enables a mobile phone user to assign a spatial position to each sound source when listening to multiple sound sources, such as during a game or a conference call.

The technology enables a user listening with headphones to, for example, hear each speaker's voice as if it were coming from a unique direction, creating a virtual face-to-face communication environment.

DOCOMO, which is continuing to research and develop the technology for eventual commercialization, foresees applications including mobile conference calls, tele-education and online games.

While existing spatial audio transmission technologies independently process audio encoding/decoding and spatial audio synthesis, the new technology offers a more efficient method by integrating the two processes, thereby minimizing bitrate (or bandwidth) and computation loads suitable for mobile phones and other resource-limited devices.

The processes are collaboratively performed on both the server and client sides. The server identifies the important sound components of each speaker's voice, compresses them efficiently into a single stream and transmits it to the mobile phones. Each phone then decodes the received stream and simultaneously synthesizes spatial audio images

DOCOMO is demonstrating its new spatial audio transmission technology using docomo PRO series™ HT-01A handsets during Wireless Technology Park 2009 at Pacifico Yokohama on May 12 and 13.

iPhones in the War Zone

Tying the hands of a person who is speaking, the Arab proverb goes, is akin to "tying his tongue." Western soldiers in Iraq know how important gestures can be when communicating with locals. To close, open and close a fist means "light," but just opening a fist means "bomb." One soldier recently home from Iraq once tried to order an Iraqi man to lie down. To get his point across, the soldier had to demonstrate by stretching out in the dirt. Translation software could help, but what's the best way to make it available in the field?

The U.S. military in the past would give a soldier an electronic handheld device, made at great expense specially for the battlefield, with the latest software. But translation is only one of many software applications soldiers now need. The future of "networked warfare" requires each soldier to be linked electronically to other troops as well as to weapons systems and intelligence sources. Making sense of the reams of data from satellites, drones and ground sensors cries out for a handheld device that is both versatile and easy to use. With their intuitive interfaces, Apple devices—the iPod Touch and, to a lesser extent, the iPhone—are becoming the handhelds of choice.

The sheer versatility of the kit – with the capability of over 30,000 programmes – allows a huge variety of functions needed for operations ranging from providing language translations to the transmitting of sensitive information and working out trajectories for snipers. Projects are on the way to use them as guidance systems for bomb disposal robots and receivers of aerial footage from unmanned drone aircraft.

The US Marine Corps is funding an application that would allow soldiers to upload photographs of detained suspects, along with written reports, into a biometric database. The software would match faces, in theory making it easier to track suspects after they're released.

Members of the British military who have seen the Apple instruments in action drool about the opportunities on offer. The Ministry of Defence, however, remains wary of security implications and has "no plans" at present to go down the American path.

But Lieutenant Colonel Jim Ross, the director of the US Army's intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors operation, believes the iPod "may be all that the personnel need".

"What gives it added advantage is that a lot of them have their own personal ones so they are familiar with them," he said.

Another plus is the cost. The iPod touch (which soldiers can use over a secure WiFi network) retails for around $230 (£150) and the iPhone for $600. Bulk orders placed by the Pentagon bring further savings. The manufacture of a specific military model would be much more expensive.

Robert Emerson, a security analyst who has advised foreign governments on computerised warfare, said: "The US military has had a reputation for being somewhat heavy handed, with justice. But what they are doing with iPods and iPhones show they can also be nimble on their feet. Other militaries should learn to be equally open minded."

What actually are Smartphones?

Mobile industry is these days ruled by the word Smartphones. There is no doubt that 2008 was the year of the smartphone. The last 12 months has seen the launch of iconic devices such as the iPhone 3G, Google G1, Blackberry Storm and Nokia N97. Smartphones are by every means driving the mobile market.

I come across this term almost everyday and thought how actually we define a Smartphone or What is a Smartphone?

The word “Smartphone” is a newly minted term that is used to describe a Telephone-capable device that also provides information and data organization capabilities. They are similar in size, shape, and usage to normal cell phone but feature more extensive data organization software and web abilities. Smartphones are equipped with complete operating systems that determine what kinds of functions and applications are available for that device. They provide a convenient way to carry several hand-held digital devices in one body. They provide the data and contact organization of a PDA, connectivity of a cellular phone, along with advanced multimedia like access to email and can in most cases support web browsing.

What Can a Smartphone Do? Unlike traditional cell phones that restrict a user to the applications and features that are originally designed for and then fixed into the phone, Smartphones allow for significant user-customization. These full-fledged operating systems (of which there are several options to choose from) allow a user to customize, install, and configure applications to suit their individual needs. Along with the prerequisite phone capability, Smartphones typically perform all sorts of important and useful tasks.

Smartphones are very smart in personal Information Management (PIM): PIM is a whole category of software functions that organize personal information. A typical PIM suite includes a scheduler for events, and address book for contacts, and to-do list. PIM can also include email, text notes, voice notes, and alarms / reminders.

Syncing with Desktop and Laptop PCs: Many Smartphones are designed to communicate with full-fledged PCs. Aside from just being cool, this feature allows users to easily install, remove, change and configure the software that they choose to equip their Smartphone with. It also allows further synchronization with PIM software both on your phone and on your PC.

Instant Messaging (IM): Not every phone that provides IM capability is a smart phone. But almost every Smartphone has a keyboard that at least allows access to every letter of the alphabet for sending Text messages. Some Smartphones have a key for every letter; others designate several letters per key. Word recognition software and other smart features further improve the speed and accuracy of Text messaging on these kinds of phones.

Email Access: While there are plenty of non-Smartphones that provide internet and email access, this option is more complete (and configurable) on Smartphone devices. You can sync email with your PIM software both on your phone and on your PC, send, read, and organize email, all from your phone. In most cases, you won’t even need to be near a wireless hotspot, either.

Web Browsing: All Smartphones allow for some form of Internet access. Wireless Network Protocols, or the technique in which web information is sent and received over cellular networks, are grouped into different generations.

But the question which remains albeit is what Makes a Smartphone Smart?

Smartphones are capable of so many features normally reserved for the realms of PCs and powerful PDA devices because they are almost PCs and PDAs themselves. There are typically two schools of thought used when designing a Smartphone: Create a PDA with Telephone capabilities, or a Telephone with PDA capabilities. No matter what design elements went into Smartphones developmental stages, there are still two things that set these mobile wonders apart from their regular cellphone cousins.

As mentioned above a Smartphone differs from a regular phone in that it has a processor running inside it, much like a computer does. These processors are currently nowhere near the power of PCs, but with the advent and subsequent redesign of Ultra Portable PCs (sometimes called Micro PCs), we are sure to see great leaps in Smartphone speeds in the future. Current Smartphones commonly use ARM processors; a power-efficient design used in other devices like routers, printers, and advanced MP3 players. A Smartphone processor is aided by computer chips that help perform certain tasks. A Smartphone equipped with a Digital Camera has an Image Processing Sensor inside it, much like a regular digital camera. Features like Playing Digital Music, complex web browsing, and other such access smart functions are all made possible by these computer chips.

If Smartphones have Operating Systems (OS), then it stands to reason that they also have software applications, as well. Applications that are written for a specific Smartphone platform (Platform is a fancy reference to the OS) can run on a Smartphone with that particular platform, regardless of what manufacturer produces the phone.

Based on the above discussion there is no doubt the most important software on a Smartphone is the Operating System. This is because nothing will work without it. A Smartphone operating system manages the hardware and software on the device. Some OS cover the entire access Software Stack while others only provide the lower levels like the Kernel and Middleware. These OS versions rely on third party software platforms to provide User Interface Frameworks.There are several different Operating Systems available for Smartphones. Some are designed for manufacturer-specific Smartphones, others are open and can be used on any Smartphone that meets the minimum requirements. Following are some of the OS for the Smartphones.

• Symbian OS: Symbian OS is used in over 100 different makes and models of Smartphone. This Operating System contains only the Kernel and Middleware parts of its software stack. This means that users of the Symbian OS will rely upon other software platforms for the AEE and User Interface Frameworks. This allows significant customization by both Wireless retailers and consumers.
• Linux OS: There is something special about Linux. It is developed and written by the developer community rather than by a single company. This allows for maximum creativity and innovation for developers and those software-savvy consumers, but has one major drawback: it means that software, updates, and other applications written for Linux operating systems differ greatly from each other. This reduces compatibility, and thus originally caused developers to avoid Linux. That is now changing, but many Smartphone manufacturers prefer to stick with more universally accepted OS software.
• Windows Mobile: This is one of the few Smartphone OS that envelops the entire Software Stack. Much of the strengths of Windows mobile lie in its completeness and full compatibility with other Windows based systems.
• Java and Garnet OS

See also: Dumbphones, Featurephones, Smartphones, Superphones...

LTE-Advanced Presentations and White Papers

I have added some LTE-Advanced presentations and White papers to the 3G4G website. If interested, here is the link.

Powerful search functionality on 3G4G website

I just figured out yesterday that Google now allows to do very powerful customised searches. I have added a search box to the 3G4G website. Try it out (bottom of the page) for any 3G/4G or Mobile related searches here.

Bluetooth yet to become popular in Japan

Plen: The Bluetooth Controlled Robot

Interesting article from the Recent Signature Magazine:

Tokyo is the high-tech capital of a gadget-loving country. And yet, “consumer awareness and acceptance of Bluetooth technology has lagged in Japan,” according to Emma Naudo, an analyst at IMS Research, a U.K.-based firm that publishes an annual report on the subject.

Derek Soh is the Bluetooth SIG’s marketing director for APAC and Japan. He agrees with Naudo’s assessment, noting a Millward Brown study that showed only 60 percent of the Japanese population is aware of the technology, versus up to 85 percent elsewhere. This is puzzling, given that Japan has so many companies developing and pushing the technology. According to Soh, among companies represented in the Bluetooth SIG, Japan has the third-highest number of Bluetooth SIG Associate members after the United States and Taiwan, and it boasts the fourth-highest number of Adopter members.

So why is Bluetooth technology under performing in a land that is often the first to embrace the latest technology?

“Headset-to-handset connection has been Bluetooth technology’s biggest driver in handsets,” says Alex Green, also of IMS Research. “So if the headset market hasn’t taken off in Japan, it’s going to reduce the demand for Bluetooth in handsets.”

In Europe and the United States, concerns about the health effects of cellphone usage and laws against using mobile handsets while driving fueled the proliferation of wireless headsets. However,in Japan people tend to spend less time driving and more time taking public transit. There is also a cultural preference for mobile text messaging over making voice calls. While the Japanese government enacted stiffer penalties in 2004 for driving while talking on a cell phone, the uptick in Bluetooth enabled headset sales has been modest. “Headsets just don’t appear to be available in as many retail outlets as in other countries,” says Green.

According to Mihoko Kasuga, an executive with SoftBank Mobile, the nation’s third-largest and fastest growing mobile phone service provider, Japanese consumers see Bluetooth technology more as an added bonus than an essential feature. For transferring data, infrared comes standard on most handsets and is the preferred method of quickly exchanging contact details. Mobile phones also have dedicated e-mail addresses, and Japan’s high-speed 3G networks facilitate data transmission.

But there is light on the horizon. “The number of Bluetooth enabled handsets in Japan is forecast to grow from just under 20 million—30 to 40 percent of those shipped—in 2007 to over 60 million, 80 percent, in 2013, a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 24 percent,” says Naudo.

In addition to more headset use, there are other reasons for the optimistic forecast. “Streaming music services over mobile networks, such as Japan’s Chaku Uta, will be key drivers of Bluetooth inclusion in cellular handsets,” predicts Andy Bae, a senior analyst at New York-based ABI Research.

Bluetooth technology is making inroads in several other Japanese sectors as well. The auto industry is installing the wireless specification in more and more new cars. “Japanese automakers have lagged behind their European and U.S. counterparts in adopting Bluetooth technology, but now they are beginning to catchup,” noted an article in The Nikkei Weekly, a business newspaper published in Tokyo.

Says Green at IMS Research, “We estimate that around 24 million Bluetooth chips were used by automotive companies in 2007,” although he added that “only around 10 percent of cars produced in 2007 had Bluetooth technology built in at the point of production.” That has opened up a new market for after market products like hands-free kits, navigation devices and A/V systems.

Another sector where Bluetooth technology may see further success in Japan is video games. “In 2007, total shipment volume of Bluetooth enabled gaming devices such as the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 surpassed that of Bluetooth enabled headsets – amazing!” says Soh.

Finally, several companies, including Toshiba, will begin rolling out Bluetooth low energy enabled devices aspart of a personal health care ecosystem by mid-2009, and many hope this effort will help familiarize Japanese consumers with the technology. (Click here for more on Toshiba and the Japanese health care market.)

With the ongoing updates to the Bluetooth core specification, developers are planning plenty of newproducts featuring the technology. Whether Japanese consumers will bite remains to be seen.

Beau Miller has lived in Tokyo for 17 years and is the editor of Metropolis, Japan’s weekly lifestyle and listings magazine for the English-speaking community.

TD-SCDMA ready to battle other 3G standards

Even though LTE standards have been released recently, China Mobile will be rolling out the pre-LTE, TD-SCDMA technology soon. The TD-LTE flavour of LTE will eventually supercede TD-SCDMA probably in couple of years.

China Mobile has decided to launch TD-SCDMA mobile handsets which will procured from three manufacturers. The telco has selected LG Electronics, ZTE and Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) as the suppliers of handsets. The manufacturers will offer four types of TD-SCDMA handsets to China Mobile of which two will be produced by Yulong Telecom. China Mobile will also keep aside CNY 650 million to finance TD-SCDMA terminal manufacturers’ R&D. The first batch of these handsets is anticipated to enter the market before 17 May.

By far, China Mobile has completed the second-phase TD-SCDMA network construction in 28 Chinese cities. And the batch of service-built-in mobile phones are expected to enter the market before May 17, 2009, when the three mobile telecom operators start full 3G services. In fact, China Mobile has put great efforts into TD-SCDMA terminals, in order to make a hit in the coming Chinese 3G telecom epoch.

Days ago, it announced the list of 29 types of TD-SCDMA service-built-in netbooks. Such netbooks with six brands like Lenovo, Dell, Haier, Founder, HP will be exclusively sold by the telecom operator. Earlier, it disclosed that it would set aside CNY 650 million to finance TD-SCDMA terminal manufacturers' R&D.

In addition, China Mobile plans to set up a TD-SCDMA industrial park in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang before 2011, involving a total investment of CNY 1 billion, said one of its executives.

In the first quarter of 2009, the company achieved operating revenue and net profit of CNY 101.269 billion and CNY 25.201 billion, up 9.2% and 5.2% year on year, citing its financial report.

By the end of March, the number of its subscribers had reached 477.16 million, representing a slowed growth of 19.91 million, due to a demand drop caused by the decelerating macroeconomic, squeezed space for mobile telecoms popularity increase, and intensified competition after a far-reaching asset reshuffle among the country's telecoms operators.

Besides, its average revenue per user (ARPU) was CNY 73 in the first three months, down CNY 10 from a quarter earlier, because of an increase in low-end users and application of a new charging plan.

This week, China Mobile Ltd announced the result of its third-round TD-SCDMA equipment bidding with a total contract value of RMB 8.6 billion, sources reported.

A total of eight companies won contracts in this round of TD procurement, including six domestic companies and two foreign firms.

Datang Telecom Technology Co Ltd and Alcatel Shanghai Bell Co Ltd together won a 23% share of the bidding. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, two leading providers of telecommunications equipment and network solutions in China, won 20% and 18% respectively.

Meanwhile, another three domestic vendors, namely New Postcom, Fiberhome Telecommunication Technologies and Putian Group, won a combined 29% share of the bidding.
Nokia Siemens Networks and Ericsson Inc each took a 5% share of it.

China Mobile earlier said it plans to build TD-SCDMA networks in 200 Chinese cities by the end of this year.

Analyst Zhang Jun of China's Web MKI told PC World that China Mobile is currently evaluating phones from Dell, with a view to creating a co-branded product running the cellco's own software platform. The largest Chinese mobile operator is determined to retain the upper hand in the balance of power and brand with handset makers, and to take a Japanese-style level of active involvement in development. In particular, it has said it plans to create its own software platform, called Open Mobile System (OMS), based on Android but with specific operator variations at all layers, and it will also open an applications store to support this.

Such a scenario clearly requires one or more biddable handset partners, and Dell could well step in, alongside various Chinese suppliers, since it would gain such a major springboard for the mobile market via Mobile's huge user base. It would not only have to support the China-specific operating system, though, but would also have to incorporate the TD-SCDMA 3G standard, as well as GSM. Dell will also offer a TD-SCDMA netbook with the launch of its Inspiron Mini 10 in China this week.

According to Zhang, other vendors working on TD-SCDMA/OMS phones include Huawei, ZTE, HTC and Lenovo. The last of these should get to market first with the so-called OPhone.

Finally, Samsung Electronics intends to introduce its 3G mobile phones in China. The fifteen 3G mobile devices are part of the company’s new products in the second quarter. Products based on China’s TD-SCDMA standard include the B7702C dual-mode handsets, digital TV handsets, multimedia handsets and fashionable handsets. Products modified for China Unicom include the S7520U HSDPA-supported high-end multimedia mobile phones, online movie, internet, and music-supported mobile phones. The mobile phones customised for China Telecom include the W709, the M609, the W239, and theF539 models.

Why SMS are 160 characters long?

If you have ever wondered about the 160 character limitation on traditional text messages, you might be glad to know that it wasn't an arbitrary figure that was plucked out of thin air.

In figuring out the number of characters to be allocated for text messages, alone in a room in his home in Bonn, Germany, Friedhelm Hillebrand sat at his typewriter, tapping out random sentences and questions on a sheet of paper.

As he went along, Hillebrand counted the number of letters, numbers, punctuation marks and spaces on the page. Each blurb ran on for a line or two and nearly always clocked in under 160 characters.

That became Hillebrand's magic number and set the standard for one of today's most popular forms of digital communication: text messaging.

"This is perfectly sufficient," he recalled thinking during that epiphany of 1985, when he was 45 years old. "Perfectly sufficient."

The whole purpose of the SMS was that the messages to be short and precise towards the communication. Also the communications researcher realized that because of tight bandwidth constraints of the wireless networks at the time each message would have to be as short as possible.

Before his typewriter experiment, Hillebrand had an argument with a friend about whether 160 characters provided enough space to communicate most thoughts. "My friend said this was impossible for the mass market," Hillebrand said. "I was more optimistic."

How true he was towards all his optimism when text messaging has become the prevalent form of mobile communication worldwide. The biggest youth market of the world i.e India at the moment are sending more text messages than making calls on their cellphones.

Texting has been a boon for telecomms which lead the generation of healthy revenue for the operators where they can easily charge the customers some 20 to 25 cents a message.

Todays mobile phones offcourse are capable of transparently spreading a lengthier message across multiple text messages albeit at a higher cost to customers on most mobile phone plans.

Agilent in a three-pronged attack over LTE

Agilent have decided to launch an all-out attack with the view of proving themselves leaders of LTE technology.

Firstly, they released an LTE book just yesterday. The book will now be competing with four other very popular books on LTE already in the market. I managed to get an early preview of the book and I wasn't very impressed. There are nevertheless some sections which are very well written, containing unique information.

Secondly, Agilent are running some MIMO workshops and have released some very good presentations on MIMO on the web. You can download the material from the workshop here.

Finally, Agilent Technologies are to present three technical sessions at 2009 Informa LTE World Summit. Here is an extract from the press release:

Agilent Technologies has announced it will present three technical sessions and exhibit its LTE test application solutions at the fifth Informa LTE World Summit, Berlin, Germany, May 18-20. Agilent will exhibit its design-automation tools and flexible instrumentation for early LTE R&D design in components, base-station equipment and mobile devices.

The technical sessions are:
* MIMO Mia! -- What the Standards Didn't Tell You about MIMO;
* Honey, Who Shrunk My Mega Bits -- Practical Tips on Measuring Application Throughput in the Real World; and
* Doing Less with Moore - Challenges and Opportunities for Future Standards.

Agilent will exhibit its design-automation tools and flexible instrumentation for early LTE R&D design in components, base-station equipment and mobile devices.

The landscape is changing rapidly in mobile communications, combined with the challenges in global economies, yet LTE clearly is gaining momentum, said Benoit Neel, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Europe, Middle East and Africa field operations. Agilent remains fully committed to providing test solutions for the entire LTE development lifecycle -- from early RF and protocol development to conformance test and comprehensive, real-time network optimization and diagnostics.

Session highlights of Doing Less with Moore - Challenges and Opportunities for Future Standards, an LTE Summit workshop track on standardization presented by Moray Rumney, include:
* Examining trends in standardization
* Growing fragmentation and complexity, diminishing returns
* The growing gap between conformance testing and real life operation
* Opportunities for standards in an uncertain world
* Integration of macrocell and small cell technology
* Can femtocells do it all or do we need Wi-Fi

I am going to be there and am hoping to give youll detailed information on the event.

Is 'Toilet Locator' the next killer App?

I blogged earlier that Westminster city council in London using 'SatLav' service to guide you to nearest loo. Now according to news item The Daily Telegraph, UK, The trials and tribulations of searching for the nearest public toilet have been eliminated in Japan – with the launch of mobile phone software guiding users to the nearest lavatories.

The Check A Toilet programme, created by the software company Access Co, enables mobile phone users to search for maps highlighting the nearest public lavatory to their location.

From train stations and beaches to department stores and parks, the software lists thousands of maps highlighting the location of public lavatories, including details of their facilities such as baby changing areas, according to reports in Mainichi Daily News.

Users of the mobile lavatory locator are able to upload the free software from the Check A Toilet website whose lavatory location database stretches across Japan, from Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo.

The software reflects the continually growing importance of mobile phones in every day life in Japan, home to the largest mobile phone market in the world.

Buying groceries, paying for train tickets and reserving cinema tickets are among a string of increasingly popular uses for mobile phones, 50 million of which are sold in Japan every year.

The Check a Toilet Widget, developed in cooperation with NPO Check, who created the toilet map, is a free download available for phones running Windows Mobile or Symbian S60. Entering your location in the search window brings up a map with the local lavatories indexed by number, with successive clicks revealing whether they are equipped for baby-changing or are barrier-free.

Finding toilets is a very important activity as I am sure everyone must have had a bad day when they need to go to one but cant seem to find one. There are many different ways in which local governments and application developers worldwide are trying to solve this important proble ;)

In Beijing (China), there are electronic maps at all public places with flashing lights showing public toilets. Beijing holds the world record for most public toilets in a city. Australian government has created a National Public Toilet map that can also be easily accessed via mobiles. In New York, USA, Diaroogle is serving as a premier toilet search engine. Have2P is a 'Restroom Locator and Everyday Lifesaver' app on iPhone.

Any more you know of? Feel free to add in the comments.

The smartphones war

In the past week there has been a lot of development in the filed of smartphones. Telecomm giants especially in America are gearing up for a fight to launch the best phones in the market.

Apple, Verizon wireless, Microsoft etc are all contributing to the rumours that will shape up the Smartphone future. First came a report in USA Today that Apple was considering making a CDMA version of the iPhone for Verizon. Then, "people familiar with the matter" told BusinessWeek that Apple and Verizon were actually working on an "iPhone Lite" and a WiFi-capable media pad, whatever that may be. Then, word leaked to Wall Street Journal that Microsoft and Verizon were in talks to create a new touch screen Smartphone, codenamed "Pink," that would directly compete with the iPhone. Sounds bit confusing isn’t it?

Last year has been all about Apple and it’s iPhone. Apple made a healthy profit thus beating the recession all thanks to the iphone. There is no doubt however that Apple is not resting on it’s laurels and is already the process of designing i-Phone like products in connection with Verizon.
As far as the Microsoft possible product, I'm with Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt on what the rumours mean. Microsoft regularly develops new iterations of its Windows Mobile platform, and has promised touch screen devices running on Windows Mobile 6.5 sometime late this year. The Microsoft-Verizon talks probably relate to one of these devices. And if the leak came from Microsoft, it does indeed say lot about how much the recent iPhone talk has Microsoft worried.

Although Apple has exclusive agreement with AT&T Mobility regarding the iPhone but as long is it doesn’t violate the agreement, I assume it's free to do whatever it wishes regarding other products that take advantage of wireless services. There are also some rumours that Apple is developing a CDMA version of the iPhone together with Verizon once the carrier switches to LTE 2010 or 2011, which is when AT&T's exclusive agreement for the iPhone is set to expire. If this rumour is true then I must say Apple is all set for i-Phonesque type of LTE devices as well.
So what is true and what is rumour? My guess is that Apple may need AT&T's 3G HSPA technology for the reach it wants, but it also knows AT&T needs the iPhone to keep growing its wireless data revenues. Verizon may be happy to play along with the ruse and get into AT&T's head a little bit.

Apple, AT&T and Verizon are usually pretty tight-lipped about most announcements. Throughout all of this, Apple and AT&T have maintained that their relationship is strong and that nothing has changed. Verizon too has remained mum. Let’s hope that this idle chatter will die down soon and hence we will know more.

However all doesn’t end here when it’s rumoured as per report in Wall Street Journal that Microsoft is in discussions with Verizon Wireless to produce a touch screen multimedia phone running its Windows Mobile platform as a rival to Apple's iPhone.

The device, which is code-named "Pink," will have additional software capabilities and feature Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile, according to the Journal, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter. A third party is expected to actually produce the hardware for the phone.

I think it’s going to be interesting and I can see only consumers coming out as winners in this war of smartphones.

Interesting presentation on Mobile 2.0

Mobile 2.0: Design & Develop for the iPhone and Beyond

View more presentations from Brian Fling.

mHealth and keeping fit Apps for Blackberry

From Brian Dolan, Mobile Health news:

When Fraser Edward joined Research In Motion (the company behind BlackBerry) four years ago, the device maker had only three partners for mobile healthcare applications, Edward said during a panel session at the American Telemedicine Association in Las Vegas. Today, Edward is RIM’s business manager of market development for Health & Life Sciences, and the company has 30 healthcare applications in its recently launched BlackBerry App World store.

During his presentation, Edward showed a slide of 12 mobile health companies that are “BlackBerry Solutions Partners,” which means they are clients of RIM to take advantage of the company’s marketing channels, developer know-how and more. Here’s a rundown of the 12 companies Edward counted as Solutions Partners and the mHealth buckets he put them in:

Fitness

AllSportGPS — powered by Trimble — GPS-enabled mobile application for coaching on cycling, mountain biking, running, walking and other sports activities.

BonesInMotion – GPS-enabled app targeting those participating in outdoor activity 3 or more times a week: fitness walking, running, cycling, hiking, mountain biking, GeoCaching, and other outdoor activities.

BodyMedia – Wearable, “fashionable” body monitors that record and transmit a variety of physiological data to the BodyMedia’s website.

Healthy Lifestyle

Myca - Enables nutrition professionals connect with their clients through video consults, messaging, a personalized website, and a picture food journal.

Sensei - Makes mobile health applications for a wide variety of handsets, but most recently launched a couple of iPhone applications, including one for diabetics.

Personal Health Records

Tolven - Open source healthcare solutions developer of PHRs, clinician health records and health informatics.

CapMed - Offers PHRs for families to keep track of their own health data.




Corporate Wellness/Chronic Disease Management

t+Medical - Offers disease management and remote monitoring services that work with most mobile phones and also does some work with clinical trial management.

Medtronic - Develops medical devices and services to help people better manage chronic diseases.

Healthanywhere - Offers applications that let users monitor their health from a smartphone, PC or from a “dedicated Healthanywhere supplied platform.”

Confidant - Provides a mobile-phone based service that includes feedback, coaching and context to a patient’s chronic disease management routine, while simplifying and automating the flow of information between patients and their healthcare providers.

RIM also partners with chipmaker AMD for Corporate Wellness and Chronic Disease management.

More healthcare/fitness apps for Blackberry can be seen here.

Mobile Healthcare: EpiSurveyor saving lives

DataDyne's EpiSurveyor program, funded by the United Nations Foundation and the Vodafone Foundation, has been implementing mobile technology to track and contain disease in developing nations since 2007.

In a recent and potentially devastating polio outbreak in Kenya, EpiSurveyor's new mobile platform was used to track virus carriers and immunize affected children. The campaign targeted around 2 million Kenyan children. Mobile tech will be used exclusively for new nationwide initiatives in children's healthcare, and the World Health Organization has made EpiSurveyor the standard for data collection in sub-Saharan Africa. Screenshots and video included below.

"mHealth" is a recent term for medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, and other wireless devices, especially in areas where Internet access via computers is lacking. Related programs allow health officials to quickly gather and assess data regardless of location or access to more traditional resources, permitting immediate mobile response to health crises. Users can create forms, view records, and share data with others.

The EpiSurveyor program began using donated Palm Pilots to gather health data in Kenya and Zambia less than two years ago. Currently, DataDyne is migrating the program to Java-based platforms for mobile phones. Beta testing began in April 2009 with Nokia S40 series devices and will expand to support other devices in May.

There's an interesting and rather basic tutorial video for field workers here which demonstrates some of the uses of EpiSurveyor's data collection tools. Much more interesting is this video, an interview with an EpiSurveyor mobile developer in Kenya who had been working through the night to prepare a stack of phones for data collection in the field:



Datadyne founder, pediatrician and CDC epidemiologist Dr. Joel Selanikio, also recently won this year's $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability for his contributions to public health and international development.

Mobile Healthcare: More on TeleHealth

There are some major developments going on in the field of Mobile/Wireless healthcare. Sometime back I happen to attend a lecture organised by IET Berkshire where Prof. Lionel Tarassenko gave an overview of what developments are going on in this area. Unfortunately I could not get hold of the presentation but there is enough info on the web about it.

Vodafone has been field-testing neurosurgical telemedicine applications using third generation (3G) technology in Germany. Scientists in Denmark have successfully used text messaging to collect diary data from asthma patients in a pilot study to determine whether increased remote support improves clinical outcomes. Previous studies using home PCs to send the same diary information proved disappointing, with users rejecting the application after a short while.

Researchers from the Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine in Tromso studied parent-child interaction using a mobile and wireless system for blood glucose monitoring, and concluded that, whether or not the health outcome is improved as a result, the peace of mind provided by such a system may make it a commercial proposition.

In Finland, Medixine has been promoting home care by integrating diagnostics and patient diaries before sending results via a PC based web-link to health professionals. The company is now offering the same functionality using hand-held mobile PCs.

Researchers in the UK have, however stolen a march. When scientists from Oxford University set out to determine whether a system based on automated transfer of data, real time analysis and immediate feedback to the patient could improve glycaemic control for young adults with type 1 diabetes, they adopted the mobile approach.

The substantive difference between their work and others cited in the literature is that, with the help of funding from the charitable Vodafone Foundation, professors Andrew Neil and Lionel Tarassenko were able to conduct randomised clinical trials.

For the first time, the use of mobile telephone technology was proved to have a significantly beneficial effect and resulted in demonstrably improved clinical outcomes.

The system involved in the trials, which has subsequently been made commercially available under the “t+ diabetes” brand, uses a glucose meter linked by Bluetooth to a GPRS-enabled mobile telephone. (GPRS allows a handset to communicate with a remote server without the user having to dial in manually.)

After the patient has taken a reading in accordance with the advice he or she has been given by a GP or practice nurse, they spend around 10 seconds adding essential diary information about diet, exercise and general health via the telephone’s keypad. The system is intuitive and easy to use.

The information, together with the reading, is sent by the handset to a central computer which responds within seconds, providing patients with personalised feedback in easy-to-read graphical format delivered to their mobile’s display.

The number crunching done by the remote computer uses sophisticated algorithms to help negate the effects of occasional rogue readings and deliver a consistently meaningful result to the patient’s mobile.

This presentation here gives the motivation for the need to have a mobile based healthcare system.

• In the UK there are 17.5 million people with a long-term condition (mainly diabetes, hypertension, asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
• Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in the Western world as a result of poor diet and obesity.
• £5.8 billion is spent per year by the NHS on diabetes and its related complications (2002 figures).
• Asthma affects 3.7 million adults and 1.5 million children in the UK (70,000 hospital admissions for asthmain 2002).
• 80% of primary care consultations relate to long-term conditions and patients with such conditions or their complications use over 60% of hospital days.

The key to minimising long-term complications is to empower patients to take more responsibility for the management of their condition.

The economic driver is reduction in unplanned hospital admissions.

Lot of time of healthcare professionals and bed space in the hospitals are wasted for the routine procedures that can be avoided by remote monitoring of the patients

Why Mobile Phones?

• Equality of care – 90% of UK population owns a mobile phone
• Real-time feedback, with two-way information flow
• Communication with remote carer based on shared data
• Economic model based on reduction in unplanned hospital admissions makes mobile phone solution a financially viable proposition
• Interactive tool to promote self-managementRegular support from remote nurse (based on real-time data)

What kinds of problems are being looked at:

• Asthma: 3 published clinical studies, 1 recruiting for Asthma UK
• COPD: 1 trial at Bristol Royal Infirmary published in Thorax
• Diabetes Type 1: 1 RCT at OCDEM published in Diabetes Care 4 trials in progress in Dundee, Eire, Dubai and Oxford 2 studies pending with UK NHS and Singhealth in Singapore
• Diabetes Type 2: 1 published clinical study for Lloyds Pharmacy
• Cystic Fibrosis: 1 published clinical trial (data submitted to NICE)
• Cancer: 1 study at Churchill Hospital published in Annals of Oncology
• Drug Titration: 1 study at Corbeilles-Essonepresented at Alfadiem and 1 trial recruiting in Oxfordshire GP Practices
• Hypertension: 1 trial recruiting in Oxfordshire GP Practices

You can read more about the tools and applications being developed here and here.

There is also a very good and detailed study of Asthama that can be seen here. There is a diary at the end that shows how readings are entered in the phone, etc.

Speaking at the LTE World Summit 2009

I am going to be speaking in the LTE World Summit 2009 being held in Berlin, Germany from the 18th till the 20th May.

I am speaking at the Breakfast Briefing Session on the 20th morning at 8am. The topic of my speech is "Killer Devices or Killer Apps: Whats the key to success".

If you have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to share with me on the topic then I will be grateful. You can either email me directly (my first name dot my last name at yahoo dot com) or post in the comments section.

If you are coming to the event please feel free to drop an email. I have half a day on Sunday afternoon that I will probably spend looking around in Berlin. Any places in particular I should definitely see?

If you are interested in the details of the conference then you can check the brochure here.

Hoping to hear from many of you.

Forum Oxford Conference 2009

The Forum Oxford Conference 2009 was held on 24th of April. Unfortunately I was unable to attend to report in detail what happened. This conference is close to my heart as its a hotbed for new and innovative ideas.

Here is a collection of blogs, etc. that cover this conference in detail. I will be adding more blogs when I find them:

• Martin Sauter's thoughts on the conference.
• Twitter feed for the conference.

Presentations from the conference:

• Evolution of Mobile Networks - Martin Sauter

Newspaper Articles:

• If Africa can cut out banks, why can't we? - Victor Keegan, Guardian, UK

Simplified RRC in LTE as compared to UMTS

RRC states in LTE have been simplified. In case of UMTS there was a possibility of four states with complicated movements between them but in case of LTE, there is 'RRC Idle' and 'RRC Connected'.

Figure Source: Freescale White Paper

As in case of UMTS, in 'RRC_Idle' the main task of the RRC would be monitoring and cell/plmn selection. Everything else falls in 'RRC_Connected' state. The figure above shows RRC functions in both these states.

RRC Specs for LTE is 3GPP TS 36.331

SAE design targets

With SAE implementation in full swing around the world i thought it would be good idea to discuss some of the design targest for the SAE.

Following are the main targets for SAE design:

• High-level user and operational aspects,
• Basic capabilities,
• Multi-access and seamless mobility,
• Man–machine interface aspects,
• Performance requirements for the evolved 3GPP system,
• Security and privacy, and
• Charging aspects.

Although the SAE requirements are many and split into the subgroups above, but as seen from the above points the SAE requirements are mainly non-radio access related.

The SAE system should be able to operate with more than the LTE radio access network and there should be mobility functions allowing a mobile terminal to move between the different radio-access systems. In fact, the requirements do not limit the mobility between radio access networks, but opens up for mobility to fixed-access network. The access networks need not to be developed by 3GPP, other non-3GPP access networks should also be considered. Thus the implementation for SAE should cover classes or functions for each handovers where the functions can be called as mobility functions.

The SAE requirements also list performance as an essential requirement but do not go into the same level of details as the LTE requirements. Different traffic scenarios and usage are envisioned, for example user to user and user to group communication. Furthermore, resource efficiency is required, especially radio resource efficiency (spectrum efficiency requirement for LTE). The SAE resource efficiency requirement is not as elaborated as the LTE requirement.
Thus it is the LTE requirement that is the design requirement.

Of course, the SAE requirements address the service aspects and require that the traditional services such as voice, video, messaging, and data file exchange should be supported, and in addition multicast and broadcast services. In fact, with the requirement to support IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity, including mobility between access networks supporting different IP versions as well as communication between terminals using different versions, any service based on IP will be supported

There is quality of service requirement of SAE is SAE system should for example, provide no perceptible deterioration of audio quality of a voice call during and following handover between dissimilar circuit switched and packet-switched access networks. Furthermore, the SAE should ensure that there is no loss of data as a result of a handover between dissimilar fixed and mobile access systems. A particular important requirement for the SAE QoS concept is that the SAE QoS concept should be backwards compatible with the pre- SAE QoS concepts of 3GPP. This is to ensure smooth mobility between different 3GPP accesses (LTE, WCDMA/HSPA and GSM).

The SAE system should provide advanced security mechanisms that are equivalent to or better than 3GPP security for WCDMA/HSPA and GSM. This means that protection against threats and attacks including those present on the Internet should be part of SAE. Furthermore, the SAE system should provide information authenticity between the mobile terminal and the network, but at the same time enable lawful interception of the traffic.

The SAE system has strong requirements on user privacy. Several levels of user privacy should be provided, for example communication confidentiality, location privacy, and identity protection. Thus, SAE -based systems will hide the identity of the users from unauthorized third parties, protect the content, origin and destination of a particular communication from unauthorized parties, and protect the location of the user from unauthorized parties. Authorized parties are normally government agencies, but the user may give certain parties the right to know about the location of the mobile terminal. One example hereof is fleet management for truck dispatchers.

Several charging models, including calling party pays, flat rate, and charging based on QoS is required to be supported in SAE. Charging aspects are sometimes visible in the radio access networks, especially those charging models that are based on delivered QoS or delivered data volumes. However, most charging schemes are only looking at information available in the core network.