The challenge of the operators is the timely development of emerging technologies

Note: This is a summary of the Spanish article

Cellular operators have experienced a decline in their ARPU. Therefore, they have become aware of the need for investment in new access technologies that enable new services to be offered.

Third generation (3G)-related services make it possible to transfer both voice and date. 3G technologies are a response to the IMT-2000 specification of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 3G technology offers higher quality and greater reliability, higher data transmission speed, and greater bandwidth (enabling multimedia applications to be executed).

To achieve the final level of convergence, huge investment efforts will have to be made and coordination between terminal manufacturers and infrastructure providers and, in general, among all types of service providers, will be required. Meanwhile, in the short- and medium-term, we will encounter interim solutions – from migration from fixed to mobile voice, single billing for fixed and mobile services, and integration of fixed and mobile networks on access terminals or transparent integration for fixed and mobile communication service users.

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) will generate societal transformations associated with new communication habits, but, especially, will also generate far-reaching changes for the telecommunication sector.

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) will make it possible to provide over IP-based architecture an array of fully integrated services that combine their own characteristics, generating synergies that will contribute to an advanced user experience.

However, IMS will not determine the applications or services to be offered to end users, but rather the service infrastructure and capacities to be utilized by operators or service providers in developing their own applications and producing their supply of services. IMS operators may choose to orchestrate services independently or in combination, or in a myriad of variants.

WiMAX is becoming a magnificent opportunity to expand telecommunication services at the governmental, corporate, and institutional levels. Universities will be able to provide network access throughout their campuses with single well-located antennas positioned at sufficient height. Governments can support existing data communication systems using wireless media through the use of strategically located WiMAX cells in controlled access areas. In the societal area, a combination of WiFi, WiMAX, and IP telephony (VoIP) will make it possible to deploy additional telecommunication lines to remote areas, with sufficient bandwidth for integration of multimedia services: voice, image, and data. In the meantime, the objective of the Wi-Fi Alliance members is to enrich user experience through the interoperability of their products.

References

• ITU, Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones 2002. ITU Database Indicator 2002.

• CDG. Carrera Hacia el futuro: La migración hacia la 3G Móvil. http://www.cdg.org/technology/3g/resource/3GWorldUpdate_9-06_SPAN.pdf. 2006.

• 3G Américas. Mobile Broadband: EDGE, HSPA and LTE. Rysavy Research. Septiembre 2006.

Authors

Telecomunicaciones Movilnet

Gerencia de Evolución Tecnológica

José G. Pena (joseg.pena@movilnet.com.ve )
Daniel Matos (daniel.matos@movilnet.com.ve)
Karina Salas (karina.salas@movilnet.com.ve )
Saray Hernandez (saray.hernandez@movilnet.com.ve )
Victor Taborda (victor.taborda@movilnet.com.ve )