White Paper V600

How 3G works

3G brings together two powerful forces: wideband radio communications and IP-based services. Together, these enable advanced multimedia serv- ices.

Making 3G a reality depends on technology developments in different areas. These include amendments to the radio interface to support wideband communications, as well as amendments in the core network. Supporting technologies such as WAP, Bluetooth, Java, MMS and streaming, are also important.

GPRS

Short for General Packet Radio Service, GPRS is a standard for wireless communications.

GPRS provides packet data, rather than circuit switched data. This means that as a user you pay for data sent and received, and not for time spent online. There is, more or less, a permanent connection at all times.

GPRS is implemented by adding new packet data nodes and upgrading existing nodes, to provide a routing path for packet data between the mobile terminal and a gateway node. The gateway node will provide interworking with external packet data networks for access to the Internet and intranets.

Benefits

•Faster data speeds and “permanent connec- tion” mobility.

•Instantaneous connection set-up.

•Connection to an abundance of data sources around the world, through support for multiple protocols, including IP.

WCDMA

WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is a wideband radio technique that provides far higher data rates than other radio techniques available today, up to 384 kbps, and highly efficient use of radio spectrum.

The higher bandwidth that WCDMA provides will deliver the full potential of 3G. For example, WCDMA allows simultaneous access to several voice, video and data services.

WCDMA is fully compliant with IMT-2000 (Interna- tional Mobile Telecommunications-2000) and is the air interface technology for standards in the 2 GHz band (the IMT-2000 core band), known as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) in Europe and ARIB (Association of Radio Industry Businesses) in Japan.

UMTS

UMTS and WCDMA are often used as synonyms. The European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) chose the name UMTS to define the system when positioned in the 2.1 GHz band, which will be the case in Europe and other parts of the world where this frequency is available. In the Americas though, WCDMA will have to use other parts of the frequency band.

UMTS is part of the International Telecommunications Union’s IMT-2000 vision of a global family of 3G mobile communications systems. UMTS includes WCDMA radio access technologies together with a core network specification based on the GSM/MAP (Mobile Application Part) stand- ard. Please visit the 3GPP site for more information at www.3gpp.org.

Handover/service continuity

The scope of this text includes service requirements for handover maintaining continuity of service to a wireless terminal, as it moves between the radio coverage area, or “cells”, associated with different base station sites. This functionality is called “handover”. It is a key requirement to allow for dual

or multi-mode terminals to handover traffic from UTRAN to other radio systems such as GERAN and vice versa.

This part describes the general principles for service continuity within UMTS Radio Access Network, within GSM/GPRS and between UMTS Radio

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August 2005