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ased. Context based services, especially towards<br />
young people, are comprehensively<br />
treated in two other papers in this issue [12][13].<br />
Access Technology Trends<br />
Heterogeneous Radio Access<br />
Traditionally, a mobile radio system – like GSM<br />
– has been synonymous with a specific radio<br />
access technology. With the introduction of 3G<br />
(UMTS) things have started to change. Even if<br />
UMTS has its own radio interface – UTRAN –<br />
it was of great importance during the standardisation<br />
to make the system as compatible with<br />
GSM/ GPRS as possible. The original UMTS<br />
concept included a satellite access part for largearea<br />
coverage, although a definite solution has<br />
yet to be standardised. At the moment, work is<br />
ongoing to integrate the upcoming HIPER-<br />
LAN/2 technology into UMTS, the idea being to<br />
use HIPERLAN/2 as a supplement to UTRAN<br />
in hot-spots where additional capacity is needed.<br />
The UMTS case points in the direction of the<br />
future, where a number of different access technologies<br />
are expected to play together in an integrated<br />
manner as shown in [10]. It is important<br />
to note that 4G does not mean a specific new<br />
radio technology, but rather a way to integrate a<br />
number of different technologies – with reconfigurable<br />
radio being a central element.<br />
Observe that the 4G access portfolio covers<br />
much more than just traditional cellular technologies<br />
like GSM. 4G is not a new cellular system,<br />
but rather the convergence of a range of<br />
systems like cellular, WLAN, broadcasting and<br />
so forth.<br />
Interworking<br />
With the multitude of access forms that are expected<br />
in future mobile communication it is<br />
important to clearly understand and find novel<br />
solutions for access network interworking. This<br />
is reflected in EU’s IST programme [14], where<br />
several projects deal with these issues. The<br />
BRAIN project looks at interworking between<br />
a network based on an improved HIPERLAN<br />
type technology and cellular networks like<br />
GPRS and UTRAN, [9][11] while the WINE-<br />
GLASS project covers interworking between<br />
UTRAN and more traditional WLANs. In the<br />
DRIVE [15] and MCP projects, the focus is on<br />
interworking between terrestrial broadcast systems<br />
and cellular systems to support multimedia<br />
applications in cars.<br />
Interworking is also an important issue for <strong>Telenor</strong>.<br />
There are projects dealing with both hybrid<br />
access as well as a common IP based core network.<br />
Telektronikk 1.2001<br />
A journey abroad by plane can illustrate how the short range<br />
communication and location services can be utilised in different<br />
situations:<br />
• When booking a hotel room the booking registration together with the accurate<br />
position of the hotel is stored in the personal pocket terminal. Also a map<br />
of the foreign city is downloaded.<br />
• The ticket for the transport to the airport is paid for and stored using the terminal.<br />
The receipt is also stored in the terminal. To pay for the ticket money<br />
is transferred electronically from the terminal by the short range communication.<br />
• The electronic ticket for the flight is automatically controlled at the airport and<br />
information on gate number and updated departure time is conveyed to the<br />
terminal. If requested, a map showing the existing position of the passenger<br />
and the position of the gate can be downloaded to the terminal. Also estimated<br />
walking time to the gate can be given.<br />
• At the gate the ticket is automatically validated by short range communication.<br />
• On arriving at the destination the electronic passport is controlled in an automatic<br />
way.<br />
• On the bus to the city centre the terminal communicates with the internal<br />
information system on the bus, the bus stop closest to the hotel is presented<br />
on the terminal and the position of the bus stop is indicated on the map. A<br />
walking route from the bus stop to the hotel is also presented on the map.<br />
• Arriving at the hotel a short range communication takes place between the<br />
information system of the hotel and the terminal. As both the terminal and the<br />
hotel system have the room reservation the terminal is recognized as an<br />
enabler to access the room and an electronic key is loaded into the terminal.<br />
• When it is time for dinner the terminal will provide information of nearby<br />
restaurants.<br />
Software Defined and Reconfigurable<br />
Radio<br />
From the end user perspective, a multi access<br />
type scenario contains two extreme cases:<br />
a) One terminal for each access type, e.g. a TV<br />
set for digital terrestrial TV (DTV) and a cellular<br />
WAP phone for GPRS. This is essentially<br />
what we have today, but in the future it<br />
is expected that there will be a close interaction<br />
between the different terminal types. One<br />
solution is the virtual terminal concept as described<br />
in [16]. With this concept all the different<br />
terminals, or communication devices,<br />
will be considered as one big virtual terminal<br />
with multiple input and output capabilities.<br />
From the network perspective only one terminal<br />
is seen – the virtual terminal – to which all<br />
kinds of services are delivered. The virtual terminal<br />
then decides which communication device<br />
is most appropriate for interaction with<br />
the user at the given time.<br />
9
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