Alternative Fourth-Generation 4G Approaches

iBurst

(information from IBurst Association) iBurst is a wireless broadband Internet system, which uses adaptive-array antenna technology as well as SDMA, multi-carrier wideband and other technologies to achieve high speed, high capacity, and excellent portability. It makes broadband Internet access easy at any time or place, including real-time video streaming, large-volume data downloads and web browsing.

Wireless connectivity is the order of the day using radio waves instead of copper phone lines. iBurst offers a new kind of portability and freedom that traditional wired networks cannot offer.

Within the area of the base station network closest to you, you can maintain this connection in an always-on mode. You no longer need to wait until you get to a location which provides connectivity.

iBurst is a broadband access technology that has no per minute charges so you can remain online permanently without worrying about call charges. iBurst lets you move seamlessly from cell to cell, creating a true mobile wireless broadband experience. All you need is a modem and an account with an iBurst Service Provider.

The iBurst concept is designed to facilitate low-cost system building and continuous fixed-rate connection services by telecommunications service providers, which will create a wireless broadband environment that is inexpensive and convenient to use.

The end result is a unique user experience of the freedom that the iBurst service provides. iBurst has already been in commercialization mode since 2004.

HiperMAN

(information from Wikipedia) HiperMAN stands for High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network and is a standard created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN) group to provide a wireless network communication in the 2 - 11 GHz bands across Europe and other countries which follow the ETSI standard. HiperMAN is a European alternative to WiMAX (or the IEEE 802.16 standard) and the Korean technology WiBro.

HiperMAN is aiming principally for providing broadband Wireless DSL, while covering a large geographic area. The standardization focuses on broadband solutions optimized for access in frequency bands below 11 GHz (mainly in the 3.5 GHz band). HiperMAN is optimised for packet switched networks, and supports fixed and nomadic applications, primarily in the residential and small business user environments.

HiperMAN will be an interoperable broadband fixed wireless access system operating at radio frequencies between 2 GHz and 11 GHz. The HiperMAN standard is designed for Fixed Wireless Access provisioning to SMEs and residences using the basic MAC (DLC and CLs) of the IEEE 802.16-2001 standard. It has been developed in very close cooperation with IEEE 802.16, such that the HiperMAN standard and a subset of the IEEE 802.16a-2003 standard will interoperate seamlessly. HiperMAN is capable of supporting ATM, though the main focus is on IP traffic. It offers various service categories, full Quality of Service, fast connection control management, strong security, fast adaptation of coding, modulation and transmit power to propagation conditions and is capable of non-line-of-sight operation. HiperMAN enables both PTMP and Mesh network configurations. HiperMAN also supports both FDD and TDD frequency allocations and H-FDD terminals. All this is achieved with a minimum number of options to simplify implementation and interoperability.

WiBro (Wireless Broadband)

(information from Wikipedia) WiBro is a wireless broadband Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE 802.16e (mobile WiMAX) international standard.

WiBro adopts TDD for duplexing, OFDMA for multiple access and 8.75 MHz as a channel bandwidth. WiBro was devised to overcome the data rate limitation of mobile phones (for example CDMA 1x) and to add mobility to broadband Internet access (for example ADSL or Wireless LAN). In February 2002, the Korean government allocated 100 MHz of electromagnetic spectrum in the 2.3–2.4 GHz band, and in late 2004 WiBro Phase 1 was standardized by the TTA of Korea and in late 2005 ITU reflected WiBro as IEEE 802.16e (mobile WiMAX). Two South Korean Telco (KT, SKT) launched commercial service in June 2006, and the tariff is around US$30.

WiBro base stations will offer an aggregate data throughput of 30 to 50 Mbit/s and cover a radius of 1-5 km allowing for the use of portable internet usage. In detail, it will provide mobility for moving devices up to 120 km/h (74.5 miles/h) compared to Wireless LAN having mobility up to walking speed and Mobile Phone having mobility up to 250 km/h. From testing during the APEC Summit in Busan in late 2005, the actual range and bandwidth were quite a bit lower than these numbers. The technology will also offer Quality of Service. The inclusion of QoS allows for WiBro to stream video content and other loss-sensitive data in a reliable manner. These all appear to be (and may be) the stronger advantages over the fixed WiMAX standard (802.16a). Some Telcos in many countries are trying to commercialize this Mobile WiMAX (or WiBro). For example, TI (Italia), TVA (Brazil), Omnivision (Venezuela), PORTUS (Croatia), and Arialink (Michigan) will provide commercial service after test service around 2006-2007. While WiBro is quite exacting in its requirements from spectrum use to equipment design, WiMAX leaves much of this up to the equipment provider while providing enough detail to ensure interoperability between designs.

GAN/UMA

(information from Wikipedia) Unlicensed Mobile Access or UMA, is the commercial name of the 3GPP Generic Access Network, or GAN standard. GAN is a telecommunication system which extends mobile services voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem/Session Initiation Protocol (IMS/SIP) applications over IP access networks.

The most common application of GAN is in a dual-mode handset service where subscribers can seamlessly roam and handover between local area networks and wide area networks using a GSM/Wi-Fi dual-mode mobile phone. GAN enables the convergence of mobile, fixed and Internet telephony, sometimes called Fixed Mobile Convergence.

The local network may be based on private unlicensed spectrum technologies like 802.11, while the wide network is alternatively GSM/GPRS or UMTS mobile services. On the cellular network, the mobile handset communicates over the air with a base station, through a base station controller, to servers in the core network of the carrier. Under the GAN system, when the handset detects a LAN, it establishes a secure IP connection through a gateway to a server called a GAN Controller (GANC) on the carrier's network. The GANC translates the signals coming from the handset to make it appear to be coming from another base station. Thus, when a mobile moves from a GSM to an 802.11 network, it appears to the core network as if it is simply on a different base station.

GAN was developed by a group of operator and vendor companies, including:


The initial specifications were published on 2nd September 2004. The companies then contributed the specifications to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as part of 3GPP work item "Generic Access to A/Gb interfaces". On 8th April 2005, 3GPP approved specifications for Generic Access to A/Gb interfaces for 3GPP Release 6. TS 43.318 and TS 44.318, and renamed the system to GAN. But the term GAN is little known outside the 3GPP community, and the term UMA is more common in marketing.