3G SERVICES

3G services will create a market of personal mobile multimedia services,

using 3G terminals to access the Internet, Intranets and entertainment
services. This article gives an introduction to the significance of 3G services.
In simple terms, 3G services combine high-speed mobile access with IP (Internet
Protocol) based services. 3G terminals or user equipment devices are capable of
accessing services ranging from mobile telephony to mobile multimedia services like
voice, data and video.

NETWORK EVOLUTION
Today’s networks are evolving to support these data and multimedia services. GSM, for
example, will evolve to GPRS1 (a packet switching technology) and/or EDGE2 (for
higher-speed radio connections), and/or later into WCDMA/UMTS3 systems.

Today, more and more people are using mobile phones, and Internet-based services. This
is driving the development of 3G mobile systems. In addition to this, the old boundaries
between communication, information, media and entertainment will disappear and
services will be converged (Figure 1). This will lead to one common information society
of video, data and speech.

Browsing

Broadcasting

Publishing

Entertain-
Desktop
ment computing
Information
PC

Society
PC-LAN

Fixed

Mobility

Figure 1: Old boundaries will disappear and different services will be converged.

Mobile Communication
The mobile phone is the fastest-selling communication device of all time. It is estimated
that by early 2005 there will be one billion mobile users around the world. The quality

1
General Packet Radio Service.
2
Enchanted Datarates for Global Evolution.
3
Wideband CDMA/Universal Mobile Telecommunication System.

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and variety of mobile communication services, in addition to the performance of mobile
terminals is being improved all the time.

Internet
The other expanding area of technology is the Internet. IP-based services already account
for well over half the traffic in “backbone” telecom networks. In the future, most
communication and information applications etc will be developed for and transmitted in
IP environments.

Convergence
Mobile communication and Internet are now converging. Current mobile networks were
originally designed for narrowband voice and data traffic. These networks will now
evolve to wideband capabilities, allowing sufficient data rates for all mobile multimedia
and mobile internet-based services of the future. At the same time, completely new and
innovative services that require high-speed data transmission will come to market.

3G IN A SERVICE PERSPECTIVE

Higher Performance
Mobile services will be delivered with even better performance and greater cost-
effectiveness. User access up to 2 Mbit/s will be provided, and that is about 40 times
higher than what is available with today’s evolved 2G systems. The high throughput will
allow new services to be transmitted over the air, for example high-quality video.

New Services
3G services will facilitate new services with more comprehensive contents. For example,
instead of traditional, text-based e-mail, there will be possible to have mobile multimedia
messages with 3G technologies.

Always Connected
The packet-switching (PS) core network technologies make it possible for users to stay
‘always connected, always online’ to the services they are using. The users will be
charged on basis of the amount of information (number of bytes) sent and received,
instead of today’s ‘duration of connection’.

With 3G, multiple connections can be set up simultaneously from the same mobile
terminal. For example, a user could download information from the Internet, without
interrupting an ongoing videoconference session.

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The user could download e-mail messages with file attachments to hand-held terminals
instantaneously, and by double-clicking on an icon, the user will be connected to his or
her company network. This “anytime access” will be available without paying a penny
until network resources are used to send or receive information.

ROLLING OUT 3G SERVICES

Key Factor
The way 3G services are rolled out in a particular market will depend entirely on the
business plans of the mobile operators, and the license requirements imposed by the
regulatory authorities. The key factor is the subscriber demand and expectations on
mobile services. For a successful 3G-license operator, time-to-market will be critical.

Time of Deployment
Today’s mobile network operators can gain vital business and market experience of
providing high-speed mobile data services by introducing new technologies such as
GPRS or EDGE, or both. The first GPRS systems have been deployed during 2000.

Japan was the first market to announce specific plans to introduce wideband radio
networks based on WCDMA technology. As a result, it is expected that 3G services will
go into service in Japan first. Commercial operation of WCDMA is scheduled to be
launched in October 2001 in Japan.

SUMMARY
3G services are designed to deliver:
• A wide range of market-focused applications.
• Long-term market driven creativity, an innovative chain and real user benefits driving
genuine market demands.
• Advanced, lightweight, easy-to-use terminals with intuitive interfaces.
• Instant, real-time multimedia communications.
• Global mobility and roaming.
• A wide range of vendors and operators, offering choice, competition and
affordability.

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