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WCDMA is toast!
Dell'Oro report didn't do homework
According to an article posted on Techworld's web site, (see
http://www.techworld.com/mobility/news/index.cfm?newsID=7906&pagtype=samechan ) with the headline "Poor voice support will stifle WiMAX" an investment research group known as Dell'Oro claims WiMAX doesn't support voice.
First, the Dell'Oro people have proven a limited technical understanding of VoIP in this report. WiMAX was made for fixed and mobile VoIP (uses packet switching, a prerequisite for 4G). The fixed variant has four levels for prioritizing VoIP packets over the WiMAX airwaves and the mobile variant offers five levels of prioritizing. Memo to Dell'Oro: prioritizing VoIP packets on a data network limits latency and jitter making for a better than carrier grade voice experience for consumer (voice quality) and service provider (OPEX a fraction of circuit switching-see my book "Softswitch: Architcture for VoIP" for no fewer than 40 tables of Net Present Value analysis comparing VoIP to circuit swithcing).
The Dell'Oro report lists 3G technology WCDMA as the big winner in future mobile telephony. Memo to Dell'Oro analysts: 3G is circuit-switched, not packet-switched. Circuit switching is dying. No one is selling new circuit switches to big telcos in any capacity other than maintaining rusting infrastructures. Trivia question: what was the last big sale of circuit switches in the US? Answer: 1998-Lucent (a company forced to merge with Alcatel to avoid insolvency) to "the old" AT&T (a company no longer in business-only the trademark survives in the hands of the former Southwestern Bell).
Any analyst who was in the industry in 1999 would know that 3G was supposed to have been the big hit by 2001. Not. Eight years later and we are seeing a few rollouts in the form of WCDMA or EvDO. I confess I appreciate my Verizon EvDo service, but Sprint Nextel's deployment of WiMAX and the growth of VoIP (almost all long distance in the US is done over IP networks) points to a cloudy future for all things 3G. Very simply put-WiMAX and VoIP = 4G, WCDMA and a 1980's/1990's circuit switch (what's in your MSC or Central Office?) = 3G.
Dell'Oro would have done well to research some case studies before pronouncing anything 3G a winner. Here's one: MVS (a Clearwire affiliate) in Mexico (population 100 million and growing) sells VoIP over WiMAX. Leading resellers of that service include the Mexican AT&T. In 2005, MVS' VoIP over WiMAX exceeded, in minutes per month, the leading circuit-switched Mexican cell phone carrier.
Frank Ohrtman
WMX Systems, LLC
Packet switching on WiMax vs 3G
It's indeed interesting to have details on how WiMAX can deliver efficiently VoIP. It's nevertheless tainted when built on incorrect assumption.
As corrected by David, 3G is indeed conceived to support packet switching (and soft switch). The circuit switching is certainly to be seen as backward compatibility. Most of the 3G telco are moving full speed to packet services (including voice & video).
WiMAX has certainly advantage over 3G but not this one.
It must be noted nevertheless that the business model on voice for incumbent telco has been so far very different from the new model that WiMAX can support. Telco are still very circuit oriented (eg charge voice call on airtime), when WiMAX and newcomers (eg ISP) look at a much less restrictive approach (eg truly data service oriented).
In that extend Telco might have the heavy burden of their legacy systems and mentality. But lot remains to be seen...
Rgds
Support for Packet Switching in 3GPP
As you are fully aware, the core network of Iu interface in R99 of the WCDMA is equipped with three interfaces namely circuit switched domain (CS), packet switched domain (PS) and the broadcast channel domain (BC). All of these interfaces provide connection to the Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the UTRAN system. Clearly, the R99 do provide support for the PS domain. As a matter of fact, PS domain in UTRAN consists of SGSN, GGSN and the HLR/AuC that is responsible for storing the PS domain subscriber and security information.
The situation gets even better for the R4 and R5 network architectures, where all the multimedia streams are transported via a PS connection.
The concept of packet switching over WCDMA is not something news. In 2002, Ericcson launched its commercial packet switching platform over 3GPP/WCDMA systems. Please check out
http://www.mobic.com/oldnews/2000/02/ericsson_launches_new_3g_packet_.htm
You may want to take a look at the following reference
"WCDMA design handbook" by Andrew Richardson. Author covers these concepts on page 10-18 of the above reference.
cordially
David Lash
Support for Packet Switching in 3GPP
As you are fully aware, the core network of Iu interface in R99 of the WCDMA is equipped with three interfaces namely circuit switched domain (CS), packet switched domain (PS) and the broadcast channel domain (BC). All of these interfaces provide connection to the Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the UTRAN system. Clearly, the R99 do provide support for the PS domain. As a matter of fact, PS domain in UTRAN consists of SGSN, GGSN and the HLR/AuC that is responsible for storing the PS domain subscriber and security information.
The situation gets even better for the R4 and R5 network architectures, where all the multimedia streams are transported via a PS connection.
The concept of packet switching over WCDMA is not something news. In 2002, Ericcson launched its commercial packet switching platform over 3GPP/WCDMA systems. Please check out
http://www.mobic.com/oldnews/2000/02/ericsson_launches_new_3g_packet_.htm
You may want to take a look at the following reference
"WCDMA design handbook" by Andrew Richardson. Author covers these concepts on page 10-18 of the above reference.
cordially
David Lash