PCS Primer -- An overview of Personal Communications technology, development status and standards.
The Residential Gateway -- A suggestion for how to handle future residential network services.
Inside IEEE -- News Bytes on The National Job Listing Service, IEEE-USA testimony on employment security, National Engineers Week 1997, Washington Internships for Students of Engineering, and a special issue of the IEEE Technology and Society magazine.
Section Activities -- Section Email list, IEEE aliases, Anniversaries, Brainbuster
by Alan Triggs, Section Secretary
Personal Communications Services (PCS) is a generic term used to describe the 2nd-3rd generation of cellular/cordless service.
First generation - analog cellular in the early 1980s.
Second generation - digital cellular, providing enhanced features and improved performance in the late 1980s.
Third generation - intelligent network features, global roaming, and further improved performance (Year 2000+).
Now, as we transition from 2nd to 3rd generation we find ourselves in a unique time period, where wireline and wireless technologies converge, and cordless and cellular merge into one. That is the essence of PCS.
PCS was the term adopted by the FCC in 1990 to describe "a family of mobile or portable radio communications services which could provide services to individuals and businesses and be integrated with a variety of competing networks...The primary focus of PCS will be to meet communications requirements of people on the move." (The term PCN, Personal Communications Network, is more common in Europe.)
With the the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in August 1993, Congress, authorized the FCC to grant PCS licenses through competitive auctioning. In the past three years these auctions earned the US over $20 billion. A 120MHz portion in the 1900MHz region has been dedicated to PCS services and subdivided into 6 blocks (A-F), including blocks for narrowband PCS applications (paging, short messaging services, etc).
The country as well, has been split into blocks, or 'trading areas' - MTAs and BTAs (major and basic). There are 51 MTAs in the US, and 493 BTAs. To give you an idea of size, the DFW MTA contains 9.7 million people (primarily in the northern parts of Texas and Louisiana) and 22 BTAs. The DFW BTA is the largest, encompassing 25 counties. Areas such as Waco and Tyler are their own BTAs (also within the DFW MTA).
Each winner in the spectrum auction obtained a license for a particular MTA or BTA and a particular frequency block. PrimeCo Personal Communications won the license for the A-block in the DFW MTA. Hence, they will provide PCS to the 9.7 million people in this MTA in the A-Block frequency range (1850-1865MHz and 1930-1945MHz).
Sprint Spectrum won the B-Block license for this MTA, and will also provide PCS services, in competition with PrimeCo. The B-block frequency range is 1865-1880MHz and 1945-1960MHz. These two companies paid over $80M each for their licenses. DCR PCS Inc. took the C-Block reserved for small businesses. The D,E, and F blocks are currently being auctioned.
A PCS network is very similar to a cellular network, and can in fact, be considered as a smaller version of cellular. The heart of the network is the 'Mobile Switching Center' (MSC) providing the interface to the regular wireline or ISDN network. The MSC will also control a number of 'Base Station Controllers' (BSC).
The final major piece in the jigsaw is, of course, the terminal or 'mobile station' (MS) - previously 'the phone' in an old analog systems, now may be pagers, computers,...
As operators try to squeeze more capacity out of the limited spectrum available, the choice of technology for the air interface is a constant source of debate. Operators can deploy more copper or fiber for the wireline backbone, but they cannot add more Hertz to the bandwidth. Hence, we begin to hear terms such as CDMA, TDMA, GSM - let's try to clarify.
Supporting multiple users:
Most of the world impliments the 'Global System for Mobile Communications' (GSM) which was developed in Europe in the mid-80s as the leading digital cellular standard (in the 900MHz range). GSM and its later derivations, 'Digital Cellular System 1800' (DCS-1800) and PCS-1900 (changing GSM frequency range), have the advantage of being standards that define the complete network - not just the air interface - allowing an operator to use, for example, an Ericsson base station with Motorola mobile terminals and a Nortel MSC.
Other major air interface standards include the Interim Standards specified by TIA/EIA: IS-95 for CDMA, IS-54C for TDMA, and IS-136 (D-AMPS) a digital version of the existing analog system, as well as DECT, Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone, a low-tier PCS (closer to cordless than cellular) with a cell radius less than 500 meters.
Very soon, PrimeCo and Sprint Spectrum will offer PCS services in DFW using the IS-95 (CDMA) standard. AT&T Wirelss, the major cellular provider in the area, has already started advertising PCS terminals. Users will get a lighter terminal (smaller PCS cells require less power, therefore allow lighter batteries), have access to advanced features such as conference calling and paging, and best of all.... probably pay a lot less due to the increased competition!
by Clifford R. Holliday, Member
In 1995 a group of individuals from a variety of firms involved in the development of the telecommunications network of the future came together to check some basic assumptions underlying that future. One major problem that stood out was the technology burden planned for the end customer. To address that issue the group initiated a new concept - a necessary and basic enabler of the future - the 'Residential Gateway.'
The Residential Gateway is similar in part to other work going on in various standards bodies, such as DAVIC, ATM Forum, EIA, VESA, and IEEE 802.14. It is not meant to compete with, but integrate into, these implementation groups. However, the Residential Gateway concept uncompromisingly takes the position of the consumer in viewing network services and is dedicated exclusively to residential requirements, rather than compromising those needs with business and institutional related concerns.
To understand what the Residential Gateway concept is all about let's step back and consider what is (broadly speaking) proposed for our homes in the near future. The existing networks include twisted pair, telephone, and the cable TV coax (and to some extent, fiber). In addition there will be (not all necessarily at the same place and same time - although that coincidence is not precluded) DBS networks, hybrid fiber/coax networks, fiber to the home networks, ADSL networks, ATM networks, switched digital video networks, PCS networks, and probably others.
Ultimately, residential customers will be faced with the prospect of dealing with a very complicated multi-node switching problem. Two options exist to eliminate this problem; either give up the stated model of the network of the future (an unrealistic option - parts of the network are already in place), or devise a technology solution to handle the switching and hide the complexity from the consumer.
The idea of the Residential Gateway is to unburden the consumer by performing necessary functions in the background (similar in concept to the devices now available to automatically program VCRs). The Residential Gateway provides an intelligent device capable of terminating all of the proposed networks bound for the home. It also is capable of terminating all of the in-home networks (twisted pair, coax, X-10, security, HVAC, data/LAN, audio, video, etc.), and providing seamless (and painless) interconnections between inside and outside networks as well as a user-friendly control interface. Ultimately it allows the consumer to operate in-home devices over the network(s) of his choice, at the highest level of functionality, without concern to the switching and interface complexities involved.
While the Residential Gateway concept is primarily aimed at filling needs for the consumer, it also meets the needs of network operators and device (consumer electronic) designers by providing a standardized interface for their operation and design efforts.
For more information: Residential Gateway web http: //info.GTE.com/gtel/sponsored/rg or Clif Holliday at c.holliday@ieee.org
National Job Listing Service - IEEE-USA ushered in the third year of its popular National Job Listing Service by issuing a challenge and invitation to 1,600 CEOs of high-technology firms. IEEE-USA Chair Joel B. Snyder extolled the Internet-based employment service as the ideal vehicle for companies experiencing difficulty finding qualified technical talent in today's tighter engineering labor market. The National Job Listing Service has experienced explosive growth in its first two years. <www.ieee.org/jobs.html>
IEEE-USA Testifies on Employment Security - Richard J. Backe, in testimony prepared for the July 18 Capitol Hill Forum on Employment Security, called for a long-term national technology policy to ensure the proper supply, training and utilization of the nation's engineering work force. For information, contact Vin O'Neill, 202-785-0017, v.oneill@ieee.org.
National Engineers Week 1997 - (February 16-22) IEEE joins 17 other societies and 11 major corporations led by the National Society of Black Engineers and Motorola, in sponsoring National Engineers Week 1997. In addition to hundreds of local events, several nationally-organized programs will offer engineers opportunities for involvement, including Discover"E," Engineering Goes Public and the National Engineers Week Future City Competition. Contact Section PACE Chair.
Washington Internships for Students - IEEE-USA is looking for two oustanding engineering juniors with strong leadership skills and a keen interest in public policy to participate in the 1997 Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE), listed by The Princeton Review as one of "America's Top 100 Internships." For information: WISE homepage http://www.ieee.org/WISE or Chris Brantley, 202-785-0017, c.brantley@ ieee.org.
IEEE Technology and Society magazine - A special issue of the Technology and Science magazine (September 1997) will explore the revolution in health care taking place with the rise of the managed-care movement and aggressive cost-cutting by health care providers.
If you have an email ID, *please* send me a message with your address. I am updating my "master blaster" distribution list and will be adding these to it.
Don't have a *free* IEEE email alias address but would like one, follow these simple steps:
Thanx...Jeff Carrell - Electronic Communications Chairman, j.carrell@ieee.org
Recognizing our Section members for their long-time committment to the profesion on the anniversary of their joining IEEE.
35 yrs William E. Dillon, Member
25 yrs R. Gary Goodman, Member
20 yrs Robert R. Brandt, Member
James L. Woods, Member
Three engineers rented a hotel room that was supposed to cost $40 for the night. The desk clerk mistakenly charged them $15 each, payable in advance. Later he realized he had overcharged them, but couldn't figure out how to divide the five-dollar refund among the three engineers. So he pocketed two dollars and returned one dollar to each of the engineers. The engineers ended up paying $14 each, or $42. That, plus the clerk's two dollars, added up to $44. What happened to the other dollar?
Answer to last month's Brainbuster:
At a political convention there are 100 politicians. Each one is either crooked or honest. At least one is honest. Given any two of the politicians, at least one is crooked. How many are honest and how many are crooked?
Only one politician is honest and 99 are crooked.