7.8 Transitional Support


There are two important aspects to be considered related to the introduction of IP in wireless and cellular networks:

  • The introduction of IP services, where IP connectivity is one of the various services provided to the mobile nodes

  • The introduction of IP mechanisms for the network infrastructure

IP services have been introduced in cellular networks (e.g., GPRS) as described in other chapters of this book. Provisioning of IP connectivity and IP services is currently supported mostly through mechanisms designed specifically for cellular networks (e.g., for mobility management), and in some cases IP is used as transport (e.g., GPRS).

The introduction of IP mechanisms to support provisioning of IP services and the migration toward more complex IP services (e.g., multimedia services through SIP) in future IP wireless networks represents a significant disruption in the concepts and technology used in cellular networks. An important issue to be considered in this framework is the transition between current networks to future IP wireless networks.

Network operators and service providers have made large investments in terms of network infrastructure, licenses, and service agreements for current cellular networks. Therefore, it is to be expected that the introduction in cellular networks of any IP-based disruptive technology is justifiable only by a high rate of growth in the demand for data and IP multimedia services. A low growth rate for data services will push operators toward the introduction of new services to attract more users while at the same time minimizing the modifications to the network infrastructure. On the other end, a high growth rate for data and multimedia services will lead operators to choose more aggressive solutions to allow more advanced and appealing IP-based services and solutions to optimize provisioning of IP-based services. Network operators will therefore need to develop strategies to cope both with low and high growth rates for data services, allowing both for slow evolution of their networks and aggressive modifications to the network based on disruptive solutions. Smooth evolution and disruptive evolution are transition issues to be considered.

In this scenario, the issue of transition between current networks and future networks is twofold:

  • In the case of slow growth of data services, network operators need to maintain backward compatibility between services and network technologies in order to allow for smooth evolution. Revenue from slow growth of data services would not justify large investments in new and disruptive technologies, while at the same time new and more appealing services will be needed to widen the customer base.

  • In the case of slow growth of data services, network operators need to maintain some level of backward compatibility in order to support existing terminals. In the case of slow growth, the number of terminals not using the latest technology may be significantly large; therefore, backward compatibility is a must to guarantee that operators maintain a customer base without requiring customers to update their terminals.

In conclusion, particular attention needs to be placed on the technical solutions adopted in IP wireless networks for support of new services and for the evolution to new network architectures in order to guarantee that any evolutionary or disruptive step will allow for backward compatibility.



IP in Wireless Networks
IP in Wireless Networks
ISBN: 0130666483
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 164

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