-----Original Message-----
From: Parkinson, Jonathan
[mailto:Jonathan(_dot_)Parkinson(_at_)compaq(_dot_)com]
Sent: 16 June 2000 17:12
To: ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org
Subject: Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS)
Hi there Folks
Just a quickie, anyone know where I can get information
relating to Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service (UMTS) ?
A vast and complex subject. What exactly are you interested in...?
You can try http://www.umts-forum.org/ - they'll point you to a
lot of recent ITU IMT-2000 references (UMTS is part of the IMT-2000
family - see http://www.itu.int/imt/). Key news is from the recent
ITU World Radiocommunication Assembly and Conference in
Instanbul where the the air interface specs were approved and
related global spectrum bands were allocated offering global roaming
possibilities (albeit multi-band) with a low-cost handset/terminal.
Key features of IMT-2000 include:
* a limited set of radio transmission technologies ("RTT") with
commonality of design worldwide;
* global roaming capabilities;
* support for minimum high speed mobile data rates of 384 kbps to
2 Mbps, depending on the environment;
* support for packet data services (e.g., IP) with asymmetric and
symmetric data bit rates and QoS;
* linkage with terrestrial, satellite-based and fixed wireless access
networks.
IMT-2000 systems are standardized in a set of interdependent ITU
Radicommunication (ITU-R) and ITU Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
Recommendations. ITU-R M.1457 Recommendation documents the IMT-2000
family of RTT specs and was approved in May. The "pre-publication"
~300 page radio spec can be purchased at
http://www.itu.int/itudoc/itu-r/draftpub/m/1045.html
The Japanese will be the first to deploy W-CDMA-based IMT-2000 systems
in early 2001 and the fun part will be the pricing model they'll decide
to use for delivering multimedia QoSed services. If NTT Docomo's i-mode
success and pricing model is any indicator of what's to come (0 to
7 million subscribers in 16 months even at 9.6 kbps) the IP strategic
platform of tomorrow is going to turn mobile within the next 24 months...
Of course the big question is whether this market will be driven from
the PDA side or the traditional handset manufacturer side (Motorola,
Ericsson, Nokia)...
Bob
--
Robert Shaw <robert(_dot_)shaw(_at_)itu(_dot_)int>
ITU Internet Strategy and Policy Advisor
International Telecommunication Union <http://www.itu.int>
Place des Nations, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland