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1887

Communications Engineer

Volume 3, Issue 1, February 2005

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Volume 3, Issue 1

February 2005

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    • Editor's letter
      News
      It all depends
      High demand
      Flying data
      High-tech factory
      A ticket to ride [near field communications]
      • Author(s): J. Walko
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 11 –14
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050101
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 11 –14 (4)
        The communications industry has spawned so many flavours of wireless - each accompanied by its own standard - that many in the sector, never mind consumers, are getting confused. The article examines the chances of success of yet another wireless networking protocol: near field communications (NFC). This very-short-range wireless standard is being talked of as a ubiquitous method of wirelessly accessing digital content and services. The technology operates over distances of a few centimetres, while combining the functions of a contactless reader, a contactless card and peer-to-peer functionality on a single chip. Unlike other wireless technologies, it relies on the device reader to provide power to the NFC chip through inductive RF coupling, thereby reducing the chip's standby power to zero, a major advantage for power-sensitive mobile devices. While compatible with currently deployed contactless card technologies, NFC complies with different standards and operates in the globally compatible and unregulated 13.56 MHz frequency range. Standardisation is a done deal, with bodies, such as the ISO (18092), the ECMA (340) and ETSI, having already ratified NFC. Its enthusiastic proponents foresee a huge potential for NFC.
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      In sync
      • Author(s): I. Wright
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 15 –17
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050102
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 15 –17 (3)
        The article provides a round-up of the main issues arising from the 2nd International Telecom Synchronisation Forum hosted by the IEE in November, 2004. The increasing dominance of packet-based transmission systems is bringing about dramatic changes in telecommunication networks, but one key aspect remains unmodified, the need for synchronisation. Some of the most important developments shaping the sector today were identified at the forum and include: GPS and Galileo developments; 3G mobile synchronisation requirements and design; metro access synchronisation in a packet environment; synchronisation testing, measurement and monitoring; synchronisation service level agreements (SLAs); robust operator network synchronisation designs. The three most important messages to emerge from the forum are: there is a need to reinforce synchronisation awareness and the importance of good quality synchronisation in a network to telecom operator senior managers; QoS at the network edge with regard to the way synchronisation is delivered to legacy applications or users must be considered as vital; international standards must be updated so that they can be used as the basis for synchronisation SLAs between network operators and their customers.
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      Commsmakers: at the table with Mr 3G [UMTS Forum]
      • Author(s): S. Harris
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 18 –21
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050103
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 18 –21 (4)
        The article takes a close look at the UMTS Forum, a key player in the world of 3G. In the late 1990s, the acronym 3G was guaranteed to trigger excitement amongst engineers, analysts and stock market traders alike. The third generation of mobile communication technology promised to revolutionise the way people communicated in many fields. There were, of course, plenty of technical challenges ahead, but that was why the engineers were so excited. The industry had plenty of champions to help it get off the ground. One significant player in this category was the UMTS Forum. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in London, the forum consists of companies from all the industry sectors, including operators, equipment makers, software companies and applications developers. The official mission of the organisation is to "promote a common vision of the development of 3G/UMTS and of its evolution, and to ensure its worldwide commercial success". While the world of third generation cellular communications finally starts to show the first signs of success, there is no denying that uncertainties remain. The forum's main current focus is on the fairly near-term goals of guiding regulators as they license spectrum and fighting for more spectrum resources.
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      Handy MIMO
      • Author(s): C. Waldschmidt ; C. Kuhnert ; M. Pauli ; W. Wiesbeck
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 22 –25
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050104
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 22 –25 (4)
        Emerging wireless communication systems require a combination of data rates, robustness and quality of service of unprecedented levels. The use of multiple antennas, at both the transmitter and the receiver, promises to enhance significantly the capacity offered by conventional systems. The reason MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) systems promise to be a key technology for the next revolution in wireless communications is that, in them, multipath propagation channels are not a burden; in fact, they are a benefit. The exploitation of diversity and parallel transmission of several data streams on different propagation paths at the same time and frequency allows for extremely large capacities compared to conventional wireless systems. However, if MIMO is to succeed, it will need to work seamlessly inside small mobile devices. Sophisticated signal processing - which is required for the multi-antenna systems - is currently one of the most active research areas in communications. Another key point of consideration when it comes to integrating MIMO systems into handhelds is RF technology. Multiple antennas squeezed into the housing of a handheld strongly interact and couple, which makes their design a real challenge from a physical point of view.
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      Can the operators kill the phone makers?
      • Author(s): M. Wooler  and  T. Murdoch
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 26 –27
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050105
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 26 –27 (2)
        The balance of power in the mobile industry appears to be turning in favour of the operators. While it is a different activity from the one they have grown used to, the likelihood is that network operators will soon be making a play in the development and supply of mobile handsets. In the same way that firms such as Tesco and Wal-Mart have gained control of the supply chain in the supermarket industry, the mobile operators - now global players in their own right - see the opportunity to capitalise on their 'ownership' of the customer. The article discusses how cellular operators could soon drive the handset vendors out of business.
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      Land of the rising nodes [ad hoc networking]
      • Author(s): B. Komiyama ; K. Mase ; C.K. Toh ; S. Obona
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 28 –31
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050106
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 28 –31 (4)
        Government, industry and academia are joining their research efforts to make Japan a force to be reckoned with in ad hoc wireless networking. In January 2001, in an attempt to become the world's most advanced IT nation by 2005, the government of Japan compiled the e-Japan strategy. A new document, the u-Japan initiative, followed in June 2004, with a stated goal of creating a ubiquitous network society in which anyone, anything, anywhere and at any time should be able to connect easily to networks by 2010. Comprehensive policy packages to promote research and business relating to both the e & u strategies are currently in progress. This decisive move towards a ubiquitously connected society has triggered a great deal of interest in ad hoc wireless networking. The article describes the projects on which Japan's industry, academia and government have been concentrating their research efforts.
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      Sell, sell, sell [spectrum trading]
      • Author(s): W. Webb
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 32 –35
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050107
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 32 –35 (4)
        The process of spectrum trading and liberalisation is making its debut in the UK. Radio spectrum is a major asset to the UK, contributing some £24bn to the economy each year and underlying several aspects of our lives. After carefully reconsidering the way in which this vital resource should be managed, Ofcom, the UK's telecommunications regulator, has recently published an important consultation document which sets out the government's plans for radio spectrum in the medium and long term. Spectrum has been managed in the UK for around 100 years, using the worldwide approach of the spectrum manager deciding on both the use of a particular band and which users are allowed to transmit in it. In recent years, as demand has started to exceed supply in some areas, this approach to spectrum management has started to become problematic. Where spectrum is scarce, 'beauty contests' and auctions have been used by governments to choose between competing would-be service providers. Auctions solve the problem to some degree in that they decide who can use the spectrum, but they do not allow users to change the use of that spectrum. Economists have suggested that if the market were able to determine the best use of the spectrum as well, great benefits to spectrum users and to society would result. The article outlines Ofcom's proposals.
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      Quality time [QoS in 802.11e]
      • Author(s): C. Guy
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 36 –39
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050108
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 36 –39 (4)
        Wireless local area networks (WLANs) based on the IEEE 802.11 standard are now widespread. Most are used to provide access for mobile devices to a conventional wired infrastructure, and some are used where wires are not possible, forming an ad hoc network of their own. There are several varieties at the physical or radio layer (802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g), with each featuring different data rates, modulation schemes and transmission frequencies. However, all of them share a common medium access control (MAC) layer. As this is largely based on a contention approach, it does not allow prioritising of traffic or stations, so it cannot easily provide the quality of service (QoS) required by time-sensitive applications, such as voice or video transmission. In order to address this shortfall of the technology, the IEEE set up a task group that is aiming to enhance the MAC layer protocol so that it can provide QoS. The latest draft at the time of writing is Draft 11, dated October 2004. The article describes the yet-to-be-ratified 802.11e standard and is based on that draft.
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      More MIPS per slot (ATCA or not)
      • Author(s): R. Low
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 40 –43
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050109
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 40 –43 (4)
        Embedded system designers have always had different targets and constraints from their desktop and server computing counterparts. Power management has a higher priority in embedded systems, a requirement driven either by battery life in portable devices or by heat dissipation limits in compact infrastructure equipment. Today, more than ever, power management is dictating system design and driving trends in electronic components. System architects working on communications infrastructure applications are adopting new approaches to managing power, particularly heat dissipation. One method is to build physically bigger systems, as conveyed by the advanced telecom computing architecture (advanced TCA or ATCA) specification, which can dissipate more heat. An alternative approach consists of maximising the processing power (or MIPS, million instructions per second) within stringent power dissipation limits of each board slot. Smart use of new processor features and technology is enabling low power, small form factor, low-cost and reliable systems. The article describes how chipmakers are using these methods to increase performance while keeping power consumption low.
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      What exactly is GPS?
      • Author(s): I. Poole
      • Source: Communications Engineer, Volume 3, Issue 1, p. 44 –45
      • DOI:  10.1049/ce:20050110
      • Type: Article
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      • p. 44 –45 (2)
        The Global Positioning System (GPS) has revolutionised the worlds of tracking and navigation in recent years. Never before has there been a system so cheap, flexible, convenient and accurate to determine the position of people and devices roaming anywhere around the globe. There are two other navigation systems being developed. One is the Russian GLONASS system, the other is the European Space Agency's Galileo. The article describes how the GPS satellite navigation system works.
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      Just out... [book reviews]
      Hot silicon from the oven

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