What is 3GSM?3GSM is the latest addition to the GSM family. 3GSM enables the provision of mobile multimedia services such as music, TV and video, rich entertainment content and Internet access. The technology on which 3GSM services are delivered is based on a GSM network enhanced with a Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) air interface – the over-the-air transmission element. Global operators, in conjunction with the 3G Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organisation, have developed 3GSM as an open standard. Brief History of GSM & the GSMA1982 – The Beginning Nordic Telecom and Netherlands PTT propose to CEPT (Conference of European Post and Telecommunications) the development of a new digital cellular standard that would cope with the ever a burgeoning demands on European mobile networks. The European Commission (EC) issues a directive which requires member states to reserve frequencies in the 900 MHz band for GSM to allow for roaming 1984 – GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile) Project endorsed by the European Commission 1985 – 1986 – EU Heads of State agree to reserve 900MHz spectrum band for GSM 1987 – Basic parameters of the GSM standard agreed in February. GSM Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formed, comprising 15 members from 13 countries committed to deploying GSM – Pan European Digital Conference
(PEDC) held in 1988 – GSM technology proven in validation trials 1989 – Groupe Speciale Mobile (transferred to an ETSI technical committee) defines the GSM standard as the internationally accepted digital cellular telephony standard 1990 – GSM adaptation work started for the DCS1800 band 1991 – First GSM call made by
Radiolinja in 1992 – Telstra Australia becomes the first non-European operator to sign the GSM MoU – First international roaming
agreement signed between Telecom – First SMS sent 1993 – 32 networks on air in 18 countries or territories – First truly hand portable terminals are launched commercially 1994 – GSM Phase 2 data/fax bearer services launched – GSM MoU membership surpasses 100 operators – GSM subscribers hit one million 1995 – GSM MoU is formally registered as an Association with 117 networks on air – Global GSM subscribers exceed 10 million – GSM World Congress held in – Formation of GSMA Regional Interest Groups (RIGs) 1996 – First GSM networks in – Pre-paid GSM SIM cards launched – GSM MoU membership approaches 200 operators from nearly 100 countries – 167 networks live in 94 countries – GSM World Congress moves to – GSM subscribers hit 50 million – GSMA Awards launched 1997 – 15 GSM networks on air in
the – First tri-band handsets launched 1998 – Global GSM subscribers surpass 100 million 1999 – WAP trials begin in – Contracts placed for GPRS systems 2000 – First commercial GPRS services launched – 3G licence auctions commence – First GPRS handsets enter the market – Five billion SMS messages sent in one month 2001 – First 3GSM network goes live – 3GSM World Congress held in – Fifty billion SMS messages sent in first three months – GSM subscribers exceed 500 million – First mobile phone colour screens launched 2002 – GSM introduced for 800MHz band – First Multimedia Messaging Services go live – 95% of nations worldwide have GSM networks – 400 billion SMS messages sent in the year – First mobile camera phones launched 2003 – First EDGE networks go live – GSMA creates new CEO-level Board – Membership of GSM Association breaks through 200-country barrier – Over half a billion handsets produced in a year 2004 – GSM SURPASSES ONE BILLION CUSTOMERS – More than 50 3GSM networks live – GSM Association and Ovum announce market data venture: Wireless Intelligence 2005 – GSM surpasses 1.5 billion customers – GSM dominates over 3/4 of wireless market – First HSDPA network goes live – Over 100 3GSM networks launched – 120+ 3GSM handset models launched or announced – First ever sub-$30 mobile phone announced – Over one trillion SMS sent in the year 2006 – GSM SURPASSES TWO BILLION CUSTOMERS – 3GSM World Congress Barcelona breaks record attendance – Over 120 commercial 3GSM networks in more than 50 countries and almost 100 million subscriptions – Approximately 85 HSDPA networks in commercial launch by year end – 66 HSDPA devices available from 19 suppliers, including 32 handset models – GSMA membership exceeds 900 companies (including over 700 operators) – Over 980 million handsets sold by year end 2007 – Heading towards 2.5 billion GSM customers – Further HSDPA network launches and introduction of HSUPA – GSMA celebrates 20th anniversary Today's GSMGSM is the technology that underpins most of the world's mobile phone networks. The GSM platform is a hugely successful wireless technology and an unprecedented story of global achievement and cooperation. GSM has become the world's fastest growing communications technology of all time and the leading global mobile standard, spanning 214 countries. Today, GSM technology is in use by more than one in five of the world's population – by June 2006 there were over 2 billion GSM subscribers, representing approximately 80% of the world's cellular market. The growth of GSM continues unabated with almost 400 million new customers in the last 12 months/ The progress hasn't stopped there. Today's GSM platform is living, growing and evolving and already offers an expanded and feature-rich 'family' of voice and multimedia services. GSM Association Welcomes First EDGE Deployment Cingular Wireless becomes first wireless operator to launch EDGE Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association and member of its Board said: "Cingular's deployment of EDGE marks an important milestone in delivering higher speed data services to mobile users using existing spectrum. As part of the 3GSM family of technologies, EDGE complements and can be deployed alongside 3GSM. "Cingular's initial EDGE
service is to be launched to its "This EDGE deployment demonstrates Cingular's commitment to the GSM evolutionary path and to offering its subscribers faster access to data services. EDGE will not only be crucial in the US, where dedicated 3G spectrum has still to be released, but it will also be an important complement to the GSM family of standards in other regions including Asia, Latin America and Europe," added Conway. Problems in GSMToday’s subscribers expect handsets to meet mass market expectations; that they work all the time, exactly as the customer expects them to, and without regard for the details for the supporting network. Perceived problems must be resolved by customer service people without delay, jargon, or excuses. The confusion and frustration among the customer service technicians is exacerbated by the fact that network problems can appear to be handset malfunctions to everyone except GSM experts. Though battery problems are often caused by the customer’s own misuse, all three of the customer complaints listed above can have their origins within the fixed network. As the costs of handsets falls, the industry becomes less tolerant of spurious warranty NFF returns. In an effort to bring order to the confusion, most manufacturers require authorized service centers to follow strict practices and complete tedious documentation when making warranty claims. The strict procedures attempt to assure uniform practice so that the occasional bad handset can, in fact, be discovered and repaired. SolutionsThe maturity of GSM technology means that the appropriate accuracy and resolution of different GSM handset testers is expected and assumed. Test equipment makers, who have already perfected their test and measurement technologies, are moving toward solving the NFF and documentation issues directly. All GSM handsets have a unique IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) code that identifies each of the manufacturers. The IMEI can be recovered from the phone during the earliest phases of the registration procedure that test sets perform on phones. The manufacturer’s identity, thus established, can be used to call up a test procedure unique to that manufacturer. Should a fault actually be found in the phone, the appropriate warranty procedure can be called up and run. This kind of comprehensive problem solving approach from the test equipment makers will go a long way toward clearing out the large number of NFF claims in GSM handset distribution channels. Operators are, after all, primarily interested in selling network time, not trying the patience of their subscribers with futile handset exchanges. This kind of knowledge-based approach to handset servicing is typical of many modern processes that require diligence and regular attention over time. As science, for example, has found dramatic cures for diseases in the past 50 years; most of today’s progress in healthcare comes from slow and disciplined attention to details over time: public sanitation and daily blood pressure medication are examples of modern successes. The success of a particular knowledge-based servicing scheme, depends on how easy it makes routine data base maintenance and other long-term disciplines for the user. Typcally test solutions, such as the IFR 2967, still have a place in the service environment for the more complex fault diagnosis. But test equipment manufacturers have to be aware that the next generation of test products must identify with the broader issues of the service environment and address a combination of test and logistical requirements in their test offerings. FutureIdeally, the GSM networks themselves should be able to flag misbehaving or marginal handsets. But, until that day comes, test sets should be placed wherever they are needed and be operated by local attendants who give the manufacturers a virtual presence throughout the testing process. For example, PC-based handset testers can be configured as LMNs (Local Measurement Nodes). A local service centre can dial into a manufacturer’s warranty server, which takes over the testing process as it gives simple hookup instructions and commands to a local attendant. As GSM networks become more converged themselves, future handset testers will need to more closely simulate modern networks. Test sets will need to be able to set up HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) calls. They will also need to simulate some of the data services available in the networks. The simulations can reside in the test set itself, or they can come from a third party service provider over a dial-up link. The differences between handset test sets and actual base stations will blur as the importance of the radio interface is eclipsed by the services GSM networks provide. The customer service center will slowly change from traditional phone repair shops into sophisticated centers where the reasons why, for example, older phase 1 and phase 2 handsets may not respond properly to multimedia applications in evolved networks can be sorted out. The new service centres will become more concerned with clearing up confusion in the way handset behavior is perceived by subscribers then sorting out the causes of misbehaving radios. Source of information
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