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Bridging 3G, EDGE, GPRS, and WiFi
Rob writes to tell us CBR is reporting that T-Mobile is expanding their core network to provide seamless integration of 3G, EDGE, GPRS, and WiFi networks. From the article: "Nortel said it was able to provide T-Mobile with the new service thanks to integration of Nortel's existing Gateway GPRS Support Node with Azaire Networks' IP Converged Network Platform. Azaire's IP-CNP provides an integrated hybrid network by extending the services from the existing 3G and GSM core network investments over new access technologies like WiFi and WiMax, Nortel said."
For anyone who didn't order alphabet soup, here are the wikipedia articles on about 3G, about WIFI, about GPRS. Not sure about EDGE.
Please help publicise swpat.org - the software patents wiki
I am sitting in my car, right now, as I type this. I had to check my e-mail (T-Mobile sends an SMS to my phone when it detects new mail on my POP3 server). I am currently using an EDGE connection (Laptop -> Bluetooth Modem of my T-Mobile Samsung t809 cell) to connect. While I am sitting here (McDonalds parking lot), my laptop detected and picked an open WiFi access point from the Popeye's Restaurant across the street, overriding the T-Mobile EDGE connection.
It all works flawlessly from my standpoint, and this isn't even T-Mobile's entire network. I'm amazed at the speed of the EDGE connection (consistent 150kbps download in most of Chicagoland), and even more amazed at the amount of restaurants with open WiFi connections. I may run over to Popeye's right now and buy a way overpriced soda just to thank them financially for the connection.
I just ftp'd two photos of where I'm at right now to prove my story. Check http://www.unanimocracy.com/photos/popeyes1.jpg and http://www.unanimocracy.com/photos/popeyes2.jpg in a few minutes. I love technology.
You may want to check your phone. I had T-Mobile prepaid for about a year with a Motorola V66. It had great coverage, great call quality, and it never dropped. I switched to a monthly plan to get a Razr (couldn't pass it up for $30), and now I regret it. Yeah, it's light and small. But so was my V66. And that one didn't emit squealing sounds every time I was using it for phone calls. Nor did it drop calls everywhere I was.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Well, not that I use their network for calls all that much, I must say that I have *never* had a call drop on their network here in the Twin Cities. AT&T (prior to the Cingular buyout) dropped calls for me daily. Especially at the intersection of MN-13 and Cliff Rd in Burnsville.
In North America, the same CDMA phone does not work with Verizon and Sprint - the technologies are slightly different. GSM operators T-Mobile and AT&T have less than half of the overall market - and a GSM variation operating on different bandwidths than the global 900/1800 combo. There are several CDMA flavors plus an idiosyncratic GSM variation.
With minor tweaks, the European GSM luxury phone designed for T-Mobile or Vodafone can be also sold to China Mobile or Indian GSM operators - the economies of scale outside the North America are vast. When you create a high-end phone, tapping into a billion sub user base of regular GSM 900/1800 subs is a big help - and the same is starting to apply to GSM-900/1800 plus GPRS plus EDGE plus W-CDMA phones.
Razr had a bug in it. Both Cingula and T-Mobile has stopped selling it (not disagreeing with what you said. Just expanding).
Je ne parle pas francais.
Ahhh, it's always nice to know America's on the forefront of technology. I love this place. What? You mean it's only in Europe? What do you mean T-Mobile doesn't have UMTS in the states? As a former employee, all you business-suited technocrat wannabes can sit back down, because it takes FOREVER for T-Mobile (DT) to translate to T-Mobile (USA). In fact, if you RTA, you'll see that Nortel doesn't provide any infrastructure in the USA (though perhaps the article doesn't mention any either because it's beyond the scope of an article that is Euro-centric, or because Nortel doesn't provide their American infrastructure, I'm not sure). Frankly, T-Mobile USA and DT might as well be seperate companies, with the exception of where the money goes (TM USA provides quite a bit of capital for the DT folk, who last time I checked were struggling), which is to the DT execs, and where the marketing paraphanelia comes from (i.e. the big pink T). T-Mobile's (US) UMA plans have been sidetracked for more than a year now, with a planned launch initially scheduled for 2005. UMA= universal mobile access, the seamless handoff between Wifi and Cellular networks. Good luck to anyone who wants to see this stateside, the FCC, lack of sufficient political and financial capital, and internal company shenanigans will keep this on the other side for a while.
The other option is to go to a T-Mobile store and ask one of the sales people to help you. I have heard from more than one person that, depending on the sales person, they might let you borrow their phone to check service in certain areas.
I'll gladly beat you with the clue stick.
As an American, you've had access to the better technology for quite a while now. GSM, based on TDMA, is fundamentally inferior to the more prevelent CDMA technology used in the United States as well as much of the pacific rim. The EDGE is laughable. GPRS, which all the GSM fanboys are so excited about, is equivalent to the CDMA2000 1xRTT protocol available nationwide for at least three or four years now. CDMA2000 1xEvDO is currently delivering speeds of 400-600 kbs with bursts up to 2 Mbps in 50+ metro areas. I use this on a daily basis, and those speeds are not just marketing literature.
The GSM/TDMA infrastructure is essentially at end-of-life, and the providers in Europe are finally starting to deploy CDMA based WCDMA/UMTS systems. UMTS grafts the GSM style sim card and other parts of the stack with a CDMA network layer. UMTS can provide data rates similar to EvDO, as well as 8 times the calls of a GSM node at only 1.5 times the cost.
The radios used for CDMA2000 and WCDMA are identical, so the primary handset differences are in software. Expect to see a next generation of CDMA phones able to roam on both CDMA2000 and WCDMA/UMTS systems. Hopefully that will allow the legacy CDMA providers to migrate to admittedly superior SIM card based systems.
If you think the US has anything like a standard, you clearly dont know anything about mobile telephony...
Firstly, there are the providers using GSM (most of which are on bands different to the bands seen in europe, australia etc)
Secondly, there are the providers on CDMA (like verizon) each of which has their own phones and wont let you use any other phone on the network.
Then you have providers rolling out things like UMTS (aka 3G) which is yet another standard.
Not to mention the propriatory motorola developed IDEN standard used by Nextel (now Sprint Nextel). And there are still people out there using the AMPS analog system.
Here in australia, its pretty simple by comparison.
Most people are on GSM with a big push to rollout UMTS.
Then, there are CDMA networks that were installed to reach the few % of the population GSM cant easily reach but those are disappearing now.
AMPS is completly gone.