User behaviour modelling for resource management in a hybrid UMTS/DVB-T network

Third generation mobile networks such as UMTS are designed to enhance the deployment of multimedia services providing high data rates and new flexible communication capabilities. However, these systems are interference limited and as such their performance is lowered in the case of a large number of users generating heavy traffic. A solution to this problem is to interconnect the UMTS network to a Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial (DVB-T) network, so that the lack of capacity of UMTS during busy periods can be offset by the high bit rate available on the broadcast network. In order to justify this choice a prediction of the number of subscribers requesting the new multimedia applications designed for this scenario is needed. This paper focuses on the user behaviour modelling for multimedia services in a hybrid UMTS/DVB-T platform. The aim of the paper is to provide operators with a forecast of the demand for new multimedia services showing how they can be subject to a very high number of subscriptions, which UMTS would hardly be able to handle

UMTS broadband mobile technology is a reality – Confounding many expectations

Contrary to the negative public perception, third-generation (3G) broadband mobile telecommunication, aka UMTS, has become reality. UMTS networks have been rolled out above all in Central Europe. The take-up of UMTS differs sharply from one country to the next, though. The large differences are due not only to market-related factors and differing marketing strategies, but also to political intervention that distorts the market. At present, content providers, handset makers and telcos are working feverishly to produce UMTS-based supplementary offerings. For the sluggish demand for mobile broadband services still harbours a big risk for the entire telecommunications sector.information an communications technology; telecommunications; 3G; broadband

Analisis dan penilaian prestasi lengah lepas tangan menggunakan protokol pencetusan sesi (SIP) bagi sistem terintegrasi UMTS-WLAN

Teknologi rangkaian tanpa vvayar 4G merupakan penggabungan beberapa teknologi rangkaian capaian yang berbeza seperti rangkaian Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) dan Rangkaian Kawasan Setempat Tanpa Wayar (WLAN). Rangkaian 4G menyokong mobiliti tanpa kelim {seamless) dalam menjanjikan perhubungan dan perkhidmatan yang terbaik kepada pelanggan. Protokol Pencetusan Sesi (SIP) yang berada pada lapisan aplikasi telah diramalkan sebagai calon terbaik bagi menguruskan mobiliti di dalam rangkaian 4G. Rangkaian 4G yang menawarkan aplikasi multimedia dalam perkhidmatannya mesti mempunyai lengah lepas tangan yang rendah bagi mencapai objektif penubuhannya. Tujuan utama disertasi ini adalah untuk menilai lengah lepas tangan bagi sistem terintegrasi UMTSWLAN yang menggunakan SIP sebagai protokol pengisyaratan. Model simulasi menggunakan MATLAB dibangunkan untuk menilai prestasi lengah lepas tangan tersebut. Model simulasi menggambarkan pergerakan hos mobil ke rangkaian UMTS dan WLAN. Lengah lepas tangan yang berlaku diukur berdasarkan model analitik. Prestasi lengah lepas tangan dinilai berdasarkan perubahan kadar ralat kerangka (FER), kadar ketibaan sesi SIP dan halaju hos mobil (MIT) semasa MH bergerak ke rangkaian UMTS dan WLAN. Keputusan simulasi menunjukkan bahawa lengah lepas tangan meningkat dengan penambahan FER dan kadar ketibaan sesi SIP. Halaju kebolehgerakan pengguna memberi kesan terhadap nilai lengah lepas tangan. Keputusan juga menunjukkan lengah lepas tangan minimum yang berlaku sewaktu MH bergerak ke rangkaian UMTS adalah 1.9565 saat dengan lebar jalur saluran 128kbps dan ke rangkaian WLAN adalah sekitar 0.8651 saat dengan lebar jalur saluran 11 Mbps. Berdasarkan nilai ini, lengah lepas tangan semasa MH bergerak ke rangkaian UMTS atau WLAN adalah tidak boleh diterima untuk penjurusan multimedia. Di dalam kajian ini didapati capaian tanpa wayar GPRS menyumbang lengah terbesar daripada keseluruhan lengah lepas tangan ke rangkaian UMTS

Intersystem soft handover for converged DVB-H and UMTS networks

Digital video broadcasting for handhelds (DVB-H) is the standard for broadcasting Internet Protocol (IP) data services to mobile portable devices. To provide interactive services for DVB-H, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) can be used as a terrestrial interaction channel for the unidirectional DVB-H network. The converged DVB-H and UMTS network can be used to address the congestion problems due to the limited multimedia channel accesses of the UMTS network. In the converged network, intersystem soft handover between DVB-H and UMTS is needed for an optimum radio resource allocation, which reduces network operation cost while providing the required quality of service. This paper deals with the intersystem soft handover between DVB-H and UMTS in such a converged network. The converged network structure is presented. A novel soft handover scheme is proposed and evaluated. After considering the network operation cost, the performance tradeoff between the network quality of service and the network operation cost for the intersystem soft handover in the converged network is modeled using a stochastic tree and analyzed using a numerical simulation. The results show that the proposed algorithm is feasible and has the potential to be used for implementation in the real environment

3G - chance for take-off in mobile

It became clear early on that UMTS, also known as 3G (third-generation mobile phone systems), would be a key technology for profitable markets of the future. However UMTS technology offers some major advantages that can be demonstrated under laboratory conditions but which it will not be possible to use fully in the mass market in the medium term. There is a need for services that emphasise the specific advantages of mobile phones and complement conventional wired services. Business models stand a particular chance of success if network operator, content providers and manufacturers of terminals coordinate the steps they take. In summary it may be said, that it is not certain that UMTS will be a success in m-business, but there is a strong chance.ICT, mobile telephony, UMTS

Stochastic user behaviour modelling and network simulation for resource management in cooperation with mobile telecommunications and broadcast networks

The latest generations of telecommunications networks have been designed to deliver higher data rates than widely used second generation telecommunications networks, providing flexible communication capabilities that can deliver high quality video images. However, these new generations of telecommunications networks are interference limited, impairing their performance in cases of heavy traffic and high usage. This limits the services offered by a telecommunications network operator to those that the operator is confident their network can meet the demand for. One way to lift this constraint would be for the mobile telecommunications network operator to obtain the cooperation of a broadcast network operator so that during periods when the demand for the service is too high for the telecommunications network to meet, the service can be transferred to the broadcast network. In the United Kingdom the most recent telecommunications networks on the market are third generation UMTS networks while the terrestrial digital broadcast networks are DVB-T networks. This paper proposes a way for UMTS network operators to forecast the traffic associated with high demand services intended to be deployed on the UMTS network and when demand requires to transfer it to a cooperating DVB-T network. The paper aims to justify to UMTS network operators the use of a DVB-T network as a support for a UMTS network by clearly showing how using a DVB-T network to support it can increase the revenue generated by their network

Prediction and comparison of downlink electric-field and uplink localised SAR values for realistic indoor wireless planning

In this paper, for the first time a heuristic network calculator for both whole-body exposure due to indoor base station antennas or access points (downlink exposure) and localised exposure due to the mobile device (uplink exposure) in indoor wireless networks is presented. As an application, three phone call scenarios are investigated (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) macrocell, UMTS femtocell andWiFi voice-over-IP) and compared with respect to the electric-field strength and localised specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution. Prediction models are created and successfully validated with an accuracy of 3 dB. The benefits of the UMTS power control mechanisms are demonstrated. However, dependent on the macrocell connection quality and on the user's average phone call connection time, also the macrocell solution might be preferential from an exposure point of view for the considered scenario

Performance evaluation of MPEG-4 video streaming over UMTS networks using an integrated tool environment

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third-generation mobile communications system that supports wireless wideband multimedia applications. This paper investigates the video quality attained in streaming MPEG-4 video over UMTS networks using an integrated tool environment, which comprises an MPEG-4 encoder/decoder, a network simulator and video quality evaluation tools. The benefit of such an integrated tool environment is that it allows the evaluation of real video sources compressed using an MPEG-4 encoder. Simulation results show that UMTS Radio Link Control (RLC) outperforms the unacknowledged mode. The latter mode provides timely delivery but no error recovery. The acknowledged mode can deliver excellent perceived video quality for RLC block error rates up to 30% utilizing a playback buffer at the streaming client. Based on the analysis of the performance results, a self-adaptive RLC acknowledged mode protocol is proposed

The Third Generation (UMTS) Spectrum Auction in Germany

The third generation UMTS auction in Germany raised an enormous amount of revenue, and at the same time achieved a more competitive market structure than other UMTS auctions in Europe. The present paper explains the design of that auction, and presents a game theoretic explanation of observed events during the crucial phase of that auction, which have puzzled several observers. In addition, the paper evaluates the merit of the German UMTS auction design, relative to the English design, that was predominantly employed in Europe.auctions, telecommunications, industrial organization, game theory.

New Cross-Layer Channel Switching Policy for TCP Transmission on 3G UMTS Downlink

In 3G UMTS, two main transport channels have been provided for downlink data transmission: a common FACH channel and a dedicated DCH channel. The performance of TCP in UMTS depends much on the channel switching policy used. In this paper, we propose and analyze three new basic threshold-based channel switching policies for UMTS that we name as QS (Queue Size), FS (Flow Size) and QSFS (QS & FS combined) policy. These policies significantly improve over a modified threshold policy in [1] by about 17% in response time metrics. We further propose and evaluate a new improved switching policy that we call FS-DCH (at-least flow-size threshold on DCH) policy. This policy is biased towards short TCP flows of few packets and is thus a cross-layer policy that improves the performance of TCP by giving priority to the initial few packets of a flow on the fast DCH channel. Extensive simulation results confirm this improvement for the case when number of TCP connections is low