Integration Of UMTS And BISDN Is It

Integration Of UMTS And B-ISDN: Is It Possible Or Desirable. Essay, Research Paper

Integration Of UMTS And B-ISDN: Is It Possible Or Desirable.

INTRODUCTION

In the future, existing fixed networks will be complemented by mobile networks

with similar numbers of users. These mobile users will have identical

requirements and expectations to the fixed users, for on-demand applications of

telecommunications requiring high bit-rate channels. It will be necessary for

these fixed and mobile networks to interoperate in order to pass data, in real

time and at high speeds, between their users.

But how far must this interoperation be taken. How much integration of the fixed

and mobile network structures is needed. Here, a fixed network, B-ISDN, and a

mobile network, UMTS, under development at the same time, are examined to see

how well and closely they should work together in order to meet expected user

needs. Work already taking place on this is discussed.

BACKGROUND

The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), the third generation of

mobile networks, is presently being specified as part of the European RACE

technology initiative. The aim of UMTS is to implement terminal mobility and

personal mobility within its systems, providing a single world mobile standard.

Outside Europe, UMTS is now known as International Mobile Telecommunications

2000 (IMT2000), which replaces its previous name of Future Public Land Mobile

Telecommunication System (FPLMTS). [BUIT95]

UMTS is envisaged as providing the infrastructure needed to support a wide range

of multimedia digital services, or teleservices [CHEU94], requiring channel bit-

rates of less than the UMTS upper ceiling of 2 Mbits/second, as allocated to it

in the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) ‘92 bands. UMTS must also

support the traditional mobile services presently offered by separate networks,

including cordless, cellular, paging, wireless local loop, and satellite

services. [BUIT95] Mobile teleservices requiring higher bit rates, from 2 to 155

Mbits/second, are expected to be catered for by Mobile Broadband Services (MBS),

the eventual successor to UMTS, which is still under study. [RACED732]

Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN), conceived as an all-

purpose digital network that will supersede Narrowband ISDN (N-ISDN or ISDN), is

also still being specified. B-ISDN, with its transport layer of Asynchronous

Transfer Mode (ATM) is expected to be the backbone of future fixed digital

networks. [MINZ89]

It is anticipated that, by the year 2005, up to 50% of all communication

terminals will be mobile. [CHEU94] The Mobile Green Paper, issued by the

European Commission in 1994, predicts 40 million mobile users in the European

Union by 2000, rising to 80 million by 2010. This gives mobile users an

importance ranking alongside fixed-network users. [BUIT95]

One result of this growth in mobile telecommunications will be the increase in

teleservice operations that originate in either the fixed or mobile network, but

terminate in the other, crossing the boundary between the two. UMTS is expected

to be introduced within the next ten years, and integration with narrowband and

broadband ISDN is possible in this time. Interoperability between UMTS and ISDN

in some fashion will be necessary to support the interoperability between the

fixed and mobile networks that users have already come to expect with existing

mobile networks, and to meet the expectation of consistency of fixed/mobile

service provision laid out in the initial RACE vision. [SWAI94]

One way of making UMTS attractive to potential customers is to offer the same

range of services that B-ISDN will offer, within the bounds of the lower 2

Mbits/second ceiling of UMTS. [BUIT95]

So, with the twin goals of meeting existing expectations and making UMTS as

flexible as possible to attract customers, how closely integrated must UMTS be

with B-ISDN to achieve this.

ALTERNATIVES FOR INTEGRATING UMTS WITH OTHER NETWORKS

The UMTS network could be developed along one of the following alternative

integration paths:

1. Developing an ‘optimised’ network structure and signalling

protocols tailored for the special mobile requirements of

UMTS. This would be incompatible with anything else. Services

from all fixed networks would be passed through via gateways.

This design-from-scratch method would result in highly

efficient intra-network operation, at the expense of highly

inefficient inter-network operation, high development cost,

scepticism relating to non-standard technology, and slow

market take-up. True integration with fixed networks is not

possible in this scenario.

Given the drawbacks, this is not a realistic option, and it

has not been considered in depth. One of the RACE goals was to

design UMTS

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