January 2006

Beyond 3G
The mobile phone has become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, with far-reaching
effects on the way in which we communicate. Being connected any time, any place,
anywhere has in fact become an integral part of telephony. In addition, with the
democratisation of mass-market broadband Internet and the ADSL access boom,
everyone can now have access to digital contents. It has also led to the development
of associated uses (photo, music, video, etc.).

At a time of 3G and questions on what tomorrow’s mobile telephony will bring, one
may wonder whether the joining of these two worlds is not irrevocable. Offering high-
speed access no matter where, no matter when, seems to be the logical next step
both in terms of usage and technological opportunities.

Third-generation mobile systems: what next?

Since the first generation of so-called “analogue” mobile radio networks was created
in 1980, the mobile telephone has seen many upheavals. In 1991, with the
appearance of GSM, second-generation (or 2G) mobile telephony, it became a
veritable phenomenon. Gradually, almost everyone started to have a mobile phone.
2002 saw the arrival of UMTS, and 3G was born. To define a new generation of
mobile systems that would see the light of day by 2010, the notion of 4G was
introduced in the early 2000s. The idea was to perpetuate the logic of replacing one
mobile generation with another every 10 years.

Beyond 3G rather than 4G

However, the term “4G” soon lapsed into disuse. “Beyond 3G” was chosen instead
for its ability to join various concepts. In fact, the idea of rolling out one single new
radio interface with even higher performance – replacing its predecessors – seemed
to have been abandoned. Today’s wireless-expert community in fact no longer seem
to look at a single high-performance solution for all fields and uses, but rather an
improved cooperation between the various existing wireless technologies (mobile
radio coverage, but also local wireless networks, etc.). No 4G therefore, but rather an
intelligent radio offer.

Another argument against the rollout of as full and widespread a radio coverage as
possible, based on a single technology, is that the number of mobile users today
equals or even surpasses that of classic fixed-line subscribers. Evolution in the
mobile world can therefore, for reasons of scale and economy, no longer happen
independently from other media. The notion of successive generations each
independent from the previous therefore seems obsolete.

Internet and the digital revolution

January 2006
Moreover, the widespread development of the Internet and mobile phones, combined
with the digital revolution, has generated new behaviours among users. Mobile
phones have on the one hand introduced the idea of being connected anytime, any
place, but also of simplicity and personalising your own handset. On the other hand,
broadband Internet has eliminated time constraints and shrunk distance, but also
opened a new window to the world and wide access to contents. With their high-
speed ADSL access, users have become accustomed to freedom of choice and the
sharing of large files at reasonable cost.

The new challenge for operators, and therefore France Telecom as well, is to take
these changing user behaviours into account by proposing an integrated broadband
service offer in any situation (at home, on the move or at work). For this, they will
have to make use of all available networks, integrating all accesses, whether wireless
or fixed.

Business Everywhere: a convergent offer

Since June 2004, France Telecom’s Business Everywhere has been offering a range
of solutions that enable you to work everywhere, in total security, through various
networks: WiFi, 3G, EDGE, or even GPRS. To re-create his work environment, the
user simply needs a laptop PC or a PDA. When he has a moment (in a hotel, an
airport waiting area, etc.), he can manage his work email in real time, access his
company’s databases and intranet, or browse on the Internet. This offer, specially for
people who travel a lot, is a forerunner of future mass-market offers of high-speed
access anytime, any place. In fact, by creating an offer that is simple (one connection
kit, one dedicated hotline, one contract and one bill) and safe, based on the
convergence of different media, France Telecom is demonstrating its desire to cover
all situations and needs that people on the move might encounter. Eventually,
multimodal devices will eliminate the need for laptops.

What R&D is doing

To set up service continuity, existing technologies of course have to be upgraded.
The evolution of GSM towards EDGE was a first step. Widening UMTS coverage but
also in future offering even higher bit rates thanks to upgrades such as HSDPA
(High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), is another. Moreover, work on the
cooperation between WiFi and UMTS is in its finalising stage. It is also of crucial
importance to keep a watch on new radio access systems. If a new technology has
interesting features, R&D endeavours to define what is missing for it to be able to
communicate with other wireless communication systems. New systems must in fact
complement the existing ones. This work is mainly undertaken by workgroups in
standardisation bodies. Similarly, in terms of network architectures, R&D tries to
determine how core and access networks will cooperate.

An indispensable presence in standardisation

For many years, France Telecom’s R&D has been participating upstream in the
design of new wireless interfaces, both in European projects and in standardisation
January 2006
bodies such as 3GPP, ETSI, IETF (standardisation for the IP world) and, more
recently, IEEE. In the case of 3GPP, for instance, France Telecom has long been
involved in everything concerning UMTS and its evolutions: UMTS, HSDPA or Super
3G as part of 3GPP LTE (Long-Term Evolution).

Participation in various research projects

Since September 2001, France Telecom’s R&D has been a member of the WWRF
(Wireless World Research Forum). The purpose of this forum is to offer a worldwide
R&D exchange platform on the subject of wireless telecommunications. It was
founded in August 2001 on the initiative of mostly European manufacturers and
academics, and today counts 180 members.

Besides various industrial research projects in China, Japan and Korea, France
Telecom’s R&D is taking part in some leading European projects as part of the 6th
framework programme (Winner, Ambient Network, Daidalos, E2R, Magnet, etc.).
France Telecom is also member of the European technology platform eMobility, ever
since its launch in March 2005. Topics broached range from usage and service
surveys, to sensor and communicating-object networks, not to mention the
optimisation of radio interfaces and new spectrum-management methods.

French research projects

In France, the R&D Division is also involved in the competitiveness hub System@tic,
which specialises in the management of complex systems and software and their
applications in security, telecommunications, simulation and automobiles. As a
member of the executive office and co-leader of the telecommunications sector
together with Alcatel, this competitiveness hub enables France Telecom, working
right from the onset with large companies in their fields, to fine-tune its know-how in
software management, fixed/mobile continuity, very high speed, etc.

France Telecom’s R&D also participates in the Agence de l'Innovation Industrielle

(AII). Within this public, government-operated establishment with its industrial and
commercial character and mission to promote and support large industrial innovation
programmes, France Telecom takes part in the “Multimedia Network for the Future”
(“Réseau Multimédia du Futur”) project in partnership with Alcatel, Sagem and
Thalès. This forward-looking project (horizon 2008) is aimed at building the
necessary bricks and equipment to steer the transformation from virtual access to a
universal high-speed access network and a reliable, high-quality transport network.

France Telecom takes part in all these projects through its own integrated-operator
process, which it applies to each of the themes.

Cognitive radio and new radio-engineering tools

Since 2000, under the impetus of the American FCC (Federal Communications
Commission), international experts in radio technologies have been working on the
concept of cognitive radio. Today, frequency allocations are very rigid, with one band
allocated per system. Thanks to cognitive radio, each transmitter/receiver pair could
January 2006
determine in which frequency range and with what type of interface it could operate.
PDA and other small mobile devises could thereby organise themselves, using the
radio spectrum in a simple way, unencumbered by heavy mechanisms and without
disturbing each other.

Moreover, the emergence of new access technologies makes the rollout of access
networks more complex. Besides having to choose parameters for each technology,
the operator must also choose between several access solutions to find one that
offers the best possible quality of service. In this multi-service context, there is a
growing need for tools that will ensure that the technologies are used in a pertinent
way. France Telecom’s R&D is therefore actively working on these issues, so that it
will be possible to choose the best solution according to its service and cost
objectives, and its frequency resources.

Challenges and stakes for France Telecom

For France Telecom, the main challenge is to coordinate all networks so that high-
speed access anytime, anywhere, can happen in a way that is transparent to the
user. France Telecom must therefore fulfil its role with the user by informing the latter
in real time of his or her access possibilities: explaining e.g. why high-speed access
is momentarily unavailable and when it will be available again. The operator guides
the user, is always present and answers his or her requests as often as possible.
France Telecom therefore offers high-speed connectivity with all the quality of service
that it implies. The technologies that support the service may evolve, but they remain
in the background. France Telecom retains a degree of additional flexibility in order
best to serve its customers at all times, while at the same time managing several
technologies and access networks in a cooperative, complementary way. This gives
France Telecom more leeway to implement new wireless solutions.

It can also create a new technology very early in the development process, test it and
adopt it if the results are satisfactory. Cohabitation with other radio technologies can
in fact be difficult to predict. Not only must the spectral efficiency of a new technology
be taken into account. Each wireless solution brings its own risks. But by offering
several different technical access solutions, France Telecom has more flexibility and
can provide backup if the expected performance is not achieved.

This enables the operator to manage the complexity in the user’s place, and
therefore offer him agnostic or multimodal devices, in other words ones that are
compatible with all network technologies. At the same time, France Telecom ensures
continuous increase in bit rate.

Bimodal devices

These past few months, several European operators (BT Fusion in the UK or
9Telecom in France) have embarked on trials of bimodal GSM/WiFi phones. France
Telecom’s R&D is not outdone, since it is currently working on the subject in various
projects. Among these, HomeZone is a convergent service concept based on the
January 2006
users’ use of mobile phones, connected at home to their Livebox. They can thereby
benefit from the advantages of ADSL and Livebox on their mobile phone from the
moment they get home (in the HomeZone), and make use of the features of the
various mobile sources in the home. The user therefore has one single
communication environment. For voice, this implies abundance offers; for data
services, it means higher bit rates and faster Internet browsing. More generally, it
could enable the mobile phone to become part of the home environment (automatic
synchronisation of photos with the PC, remote access to one’s “home network”, etc.).
Besides freeing up mobile wireless resources, this services will also improve
coverage for certain customers who can’t “receive” inside their homes. In the same
vein, a partnership has just been concluded to develop GSM/WiFi devices that can
switch between networks automatically. When a person leaves his office, entirely
WiFi equipped, the phone switches to the GSM network without interruption, and vice
versa.

Uninterrupted services
For France Telecom, the aim is therefore to give its customers a telecommunications
offer that continues to be richer and more immediate. An efficient and safe multi-
technology network must therefore be installed. Besides numerous experiments
within the Group (fixed, Internet, mobile), various partnerships are established,
especially with manufacturers, in the fields of standardisation and research. This
service continuity is expected to reach maturity by 1010/2015.

With films, photos and music all becoming digital today, the challenge for tomorrow is
to let the customer access this digital life at any time, any place, anywhere.

Links
Wireless World Initiative website

Business everywhere: how to work anywhere, safely and simply

Presentation of the Business Everywhere offer

Oléan VPN’s Business Everywhere offer

Progressive convergence towards IP

Glossary
GPRS: Global Packet Radio Service. This evolution of the GSM standard (which
uses the same frequency range as the latter) adds a packet system to the GSM
circuit network, allowing data sharing. GPRS, or the 2.5G network, gives bit rates of
up to 40 Kbps in optimal conditions.
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EDGE: Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution. An intermediary solution between
GPRS (2.5G network) and UMTS (3G), which is why it is sometimes called 2.75G.

UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. So-called “third-generation”

(3G) wireless communication standard that allows peak bit rates of 2 Mbps in the W-
CDMA version (Release 99).

ADSL: Asymmetric DSL. One of the first DSL technologies with asymmetric bit rates.
ADSL is a technique by which analogous phone services and high-speed services
can be transported simultaneously on an existing telephone pair at up to 6-8 Mbps
downstream (exchange to user) as opposed to 640 kbps in the upstream direction
(user to exchange).

3GPP : 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Collaboration agreement dating back to

December 1998, and which unites a number of telecommunication-standardisation
bodies.

IEEE: Institute of Electrical Engineers. American equivalent of ETSI, the European

Telecommunications and Standardisation Institute.

WiFi: Wireless Fidelity. Wireless telecommunications standard for local networks

(inside buildings). This technology can link up a dozen or so phone sets in a 100m
radius with a bit rate of 11 Mbps.

IP: Internet Protocol. Network protocol that forms part of the protocol stack or Internet
Protocol Suite (TCP/IP).