Wireless Intelligent Networking

by Gerry Christensen, Paul G. Florack, Robert Duncan

Overview

An introduction to intelligent network (IN) concepts, technology and applications for use in mobile communications networks. It is designed to help the reader succeed in bringing new services to market by explaining the technology, relevant standards, marketability concerns, product development issues, and even evolutionary trends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580530842
Publisher:	Artech House, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/31/2000
Series:	Mobile Communications Library Series
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.13(d)

About the Author

Gerry Christensen is director of product management at the SignalSoft Corporation. He received his B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Florida and his MBA from Auburn University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer.

Paul G. Florack is director of product management and development at Illuminet, Inc. He received his B.A. in Mathematics from Potsdam College, his B.Sc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Clarkson University, and his MBA from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Robert Duncan is Director of Network Planning at QWEST Wireless, LLC. He holds an MS in Computer, Information, and Communications Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and is a Certified Quality Engineer (American Society of Quality Control).

Read an Excerpt

1. Fundamentals of Mobile Communications

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were taking a rare get-away vacation to a secluded cabin in a scenic national park. Mr. Johnson had been reluctant to take this vacation since his company was in the middle of a major acquisition, and he was waiting for an important call that would close the deal. Mr. Johnson left instructions to call his personal 500 number if anyone needed to reach him. Before they had even unpacked, a device in his shirt pocket began to beep. It was the call he was waiting for. His personal number service had located him and delivered the urgent call.

To celebrate, the Johnsons decided to take a ride through the heavily wooded national park. As fly-fishing enthusiasts, they wanted to find the closest fly-fishing gear dealers in the area before they left. Mrs. Johnson pulled a small device out of her purse and after a few entries on the keypad she had a text message list of all the fly-fishing dealers in the area, so they went out armed with addresses and directions.

It was after dusk when the light rain that had been falling suddenly turned into a heavy downpour. They decided to drive back to their cabin. Just as the rain reached a torrential level, a deer darted in front of their car, causing Mr. Johnson to swerve to avoid it. The car ran off the road out of control into the woods, where it finally came to a halt after ramming into a tree. Mr. Johnson was unconscious, and his wife was dazed. She pulled a device out of her purse and within seconds was speaking to an emergency operator who had pinpointed their location and dispatched an ambulance.

The story is fictional, but the personal communications examples in the story are not. The device the Johnsons used in every case was a wireless phone. The functions performed in this fictional story, such as call origination and call delivery while roaming, single-number service, real-time information access based on location, text messaging, and location-based emergency 911 service are all made possible through wireless intelligent networking, the subject of this book.

1.1 Personal Communications Concept

Personal communications is the concept of anytime, anywhere, anyhow seamless communications. Personal communications users have a mobile device or mobile station (MS) that not only allows them to communicate with clear voice quality but to read and compose text messages, and access a common set of service features like three-way calling no matter where they are. Furthermore, calls in progress are not interrupted when travelling between service areas. In short, wireless personal communications systems provide full mobility.

Personal communications services also include a number of advanced data services. Users are able to send and receive text messages, read electronic mail, and access the World Wide Web. Wireless service providers are beginning to enhance features by basing them on the location of the mobile subscriber and by accessing network databases that provide additional call routing intelligence. Pursuant to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate (CC Docket 94-102) for improved emergency call response, the location of a mobile emergency 911 caller will be provided to the nearest 125 m at least 67% of the time. Furthermore, industry experts predict that intelligent network control functions based on location, dialed digits, time of day, and so on will soon be commonplace. The benefits of mobile communication over wired communications are creating a world where a personal communicator can be a viable substitute for a traditional landline telephone as the primary means of communication.

These capabilities are made possible through advances in areas such as radio technology, digital switching, electronic miniaturization, out-of-band signaling, and advanced software logic. This chapter will discuss the origins and evolution of mobile communications, introduce some fundamental concepts in mobile communications, and describe various existing wireless service implementations and future directions.

1.2 Origins of Radio Technology

"Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you."

Those first words transmitted over an experimental telephone line were spoken in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. Bell's liquid variable resistance transmitter was based on the principal that the human voice could be telegraphed using the vibrations of a permanent magnet to induce a vibrating current in the coils of an electromagnet. Eventually this invention and Bell's critical patent for "Improvements in Telegraphy" led to the creation of the Bell Telephone System. Over the next 100 years, telephone networks were constructed across the world with millions of miles of copper wire connecting telephone subscribers to the traditional wireline circuit switched network referred to as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

Remarkably, the local-access part of this network has remained relatively unchanged. It requires a twisted copper pair from the serving wire center to the subscriber location. Telecommunications users had to use telephone devices that were hard-wired to the PSTN. This requirement was not acceptable to many users who needed mobility, particularly businesspeople needing to stay in touch with a home office.

Bell himself believed that wireless communications would be as important as his invention of the telephone. In fact, he developed a photophone that was able to transmit speech over light waves. While technology limitations prevented any practical use at the time, Bell's attempt to employ radiant energy to transmit voice was ahead of its time. Two decades later Guglielmo Marconi pioneered radio technology.

Radio technology is based on the radiation of electromagnetic waves and is the basis for modern wireless communications systems. The evolution of the technology can be traced back to the late 1800s. The Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell was the first to advance the idea that electromagnetic waves were similar to light waves, and that light rays were conducted by an electromagnetic field. He published his ideas, which were based on mathematical theory rather than actual laboratory experiments, in 1873 in a book entitled Electricity and Magnetism.

Maxwell's theories were advanced and proven by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz a decade later. Hertz demonstrated the existence and propagation of electromagnetic waves using an induction coil and "spark gaps" to create an oscillator device, which was capable of producing the oscillating motions of electromagnetic waves. He devised receivers or detectors to measure the waves.

It was Hertz' work that inspired Guglielmo Marconi, a brilliant young Italian man with an inquisitive mind. He was fascinated by Hertz' experiments and the potential commercial applications of wireless telegraphy. After several experiments transmitting electric waves across the room in his attic, he made his first significant transmission in 1895, transmitting the letter Sin Morse code to a receiver nearly one mile away. After further advances, Marconi was convinced that he had developed the technology to provide a viable wireless telegraph system, and presented the concept to the Italian government. Unfortunately, his ideas were not well received, so Marconi went to England, where he patented his concepts in 1897. While sometimes criticized for not actually inventing anything but rather advancing the ideas of others, Marconi's unquestionable talent was as a businessman. At the age of 23, he launched the Wireless Telegraph and Signal Co. Ltd. and subsequently commercialized numerous wireless radio applications. Developments in television, mobile radio, and even the microwave oven can be traced back to Marconi's early work, and to this day he is known as the father of radio.

Wireless systems first gained notoriety in marine applications. In 1909, two ships, the Republic and the Florida, collided off the coast of Nantucket. The Marconi operator aboard the Republic sent an emergency distress signal and call for help. The transmission was received at an inland station, saving 1,400 passengers. Three years later on the maiden voyage of the infamous Titanic, wireless communications again saved the lives of hundreds of passengers. More lives could have been saved had a nearby ship, the California, not turned off its radio system. In another interesting twist, Marconi had been was invited to be a passenger on this voyage but declined due to work commitments. His wife, Beatrice was a ticketed passenger but had to cancel when their son became ill.

While early work on radio focused on telegraphy applications, transmission of the human voice continued to be intriguing to many. Another radio pioneer, Reginald Fessenden, believed radio waves were similar to the lower-frequency alternating current (AC) voltages used in power circuits. With an engineer named Ernst Alexanderson, he developed a transmitter by building an AC generator that produced high frequencies that would radiate from an antenna. In 1906 they completed a wireless voice transmission between Brant Rock, Massachusetts, and a ship at sea along the Atlantic coast. Real progress in voice communications required additional advances in areas such as vacuum tube oscillators, and eventually integrated circuit design, but the concept of using electromagnetic waves produced by generating an alternating current through an antenna remains the fundamental concept behind radio transmission...

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xvii
	Preface	xxi
	Acknowledgments	xxvii
Part 1	Introduction to Mobile Communications, Network Signaling, and Intelligent Networking
1	Fundamentals of Mobile Communications	3
1.1	Personal Communications Concept	4
1.2	Origins of Radio Technology	5
1.3	Evolution of Mobile Communications	7
1.4	Fundamental Mobile Communications Concepts	9
1.4.1	Electromagnetic Waves	9
1.4.2	Bandwidth	10
1.4.3	Modulation	10
1.4.4	Frequency Reuse	11
1.4.5	Multiplexing	11
1.4.6	Radio Technology	11
1.5	Wireless System Architecture	15
1.5.1	Mobile Switching Center	15
1.5.2	Mobile Station	16
1.5.3	Cell Site	16
1.5.4	Frequency Reuse Implementations	17
1.5.5	Handoff	17
1.5.6	Mobility Management	18
1.6	Wireless Service Implementations	19
1.6.1	Government Frequency Allocation	19
1.6.2	Carriers and Technology	22
1.6.3	Mobile Communications Technology Evolution	22
1.6.4	Wireless Intelligent Networking	23
2	Mobile Communications Standards	25
2.1	Purpose of Standards	25
2.2	Standards Groups and Related Organizations	26
2.2.1	International Standardization	26
2.2.2	National and Regional Standardization	27
2.2.3	Trade and Special Interest Groups	29
2.2.4	GSM Association	30
2.2.5	GSM Alliance	30
2.2.6	Standardization for Mobile Packet Data Environment	31
2.2.7	Mobile Wireless Internet Forum	32
2.2.8	Joint Initiative toward Mobile Multimedia	32
2.2.9	Wireless Data Development Groups	32
2.3	Overview of the Standards Creation Process	33
2.3.1	Structure and Organization	33
2.3.2	TIA Committee TR45	34
2.3.3	SMG	35
2.3.4	Three Stage Specification Process	35
2.3.5	Standards Acceptance Process	36
2.4	Radio Technology Standards	36
2.4.1	NMT	37
2.4.2	TACS	37
2.4.3	AMPS	38
2.4.4	D-AMPS	38
2.4.5	CDMA	38
2.4.6	GSM	38
2.4.7	PDC	39
2.4.8	ESMR	39
2.4.9	Satellite Technologies	39
2.5	Mobile Network Standards	40
2.5.1	ANSI-41	41
2.5.2	GSM MAP	41
2.5.3	ANSI-41 versus GSM MAP	41
2.6	Wireless Intelligent Networking Standards	43
2.6.1	WIN	44
2.6.2	CAMEL	44
2.7	Evolution to Third-Generation Wireless Standards	44
2.7.1	HSCSD	46
2.7.2	GPRS	46
2.7.3	EDGE	46
2.7.4	W-CDMA	46
2.7.5	Summary of Third-Generation Wireless Standards	47
3	Wireless Signaling and Intelligent Networking	49
3.1	Overview of SS7 Network Signaling	50
3.1.1	What Is Signaling?	50
3.1.2	Common Channel Signaling	51
3.1.3	Signaling Services	52
3.2	Physical SS7 Network	54
3.2.1	Service Switching Points	55
3.2.2	Signal Control Point	56
3.2.3	Signal Transfer Point	56
3.2.4	Signaling Links	57
3.2.5	SS7 Network Deployments	60
3.3	SS7 Protocols	61
3.3.1	OSI Reference Model	61
3.3.2	Message Transfer Part	63
3.3.3	SCCP	67
3.3.4	Upper Layers	70
3.4	Signaling in a Wireless Network	75
3.4.1	Wireless Network Elements	76
3.4.2	Wireless Network Reference Models	78
3.4.3	MAP	79
3.4.4	Mobility Management	80
3.5	Intelligent Networking	88
3.5.1	Call Control	88
3.5.2	Service-Independent Architecture	88
3.5.3	Service Creation	89
3.5.4	IN Modeling	89
Part 2	Evolution of Wireless Intelligent Networking Technology
4	The Evolution of Wireless Intelligent Networking	93
4.1	Origins of Intelligent Networking	93
4.1.1	Automatic Switching	94
4.1.2	Stored Program Control	95
4.1.3	Common Channel Signaling	95
4.1.4	Intelligent Network	97
4.1.5	Advanced Intelligent Network	98
4.2	Wireless Intelligent Networking	98
4.2.1	Wireless Intelligent Networking versus WIN	99
4.2.2	WIN	100
4.2.3	CAMEL	104
4.3	Relationship of Wireless Intelligent Networking Standards	105
4.4	Migration from Point Solutions to Network-Based Solutions	105
4.4.1	Impetus for Migration	106
4.4.2	Advantages of Network-Based Solutions	106
4.4.3	Operational Challenges of Network-Based Solutions	107
5	Wireless Intelligent Networking Capabilities	109
5.1	Intelligence in Telecommunications Networks	109
5.1.1	Fixed Network Intelligence	110
5.1.2	Mobile Network Intelligence	110
5.1.3	Drivers for Improved Mobile Network Intelligence	110
5.2	Standardized Intelligence for Mobile Networks: WIN and CAMEL	111
5.2.1	Enabling Architecture and Standardized Capabilities	111
5.2.2	Phased Development of Standards	111
5.3	Wireless Intelligent Network	112
5.3.1	Pre-WIN	113
5.3.2	WIN Phase I	113
5.3.3	WIN Phase II	122
5.3.4	WIN Phase III	126
5.3.5	Service and Feature Support Between Incompatible Networks	128
5.3.6	Summary of WIN	130
5.4	Customized Applications for Mobile Enhanced Logic	131
5.4.1	CAMEL Phase I	132
5.4.2	CAMEL Phase II	133
5.4.3	CAMEL Trigger Detection Points	133
5.4.4	Service and Feature Support Between Incompatible Networks	133
5.4.5	Summary of CAMEL	136
5.5	WIN and CAMEL Implementation Issues	137
5.6	WIN and CAMEL Operational Issues	138
Part 3	Mobile Communications Business Issues
6	Mobile Market Environment and Trends	143
6.1	Competition	143
6.1.1	More Carriers = Greater Choice for Consumers	143
6.1.2	Downward Price Pressure = Lower Revenue per Unit	144
6.1.3	Consolidation and Alliances	146
6.1.4	Need for Differentiation	147
6.1.5	Who Owns the Customer Anyway?	147
6.2	Technological Advancement	148
6.2.1	Radio	148
6.2.2	Switching	154
6.2.3	Networking	155
6.2.4	Network Intelligence	158
6.3	Consumer Behavior and Enterprise Needs	158
6.3.1	Personal Communications	159
6.3.2	Need for Mobility	159
6.3.3	Greater Usage and Dependence	160
6.3.4	Calling Patterns	160
6.3.5	Wireless/Wireline Integration	162
6.3.6	Increased Desire for Control	162
6.3.7	Access and Control of Information, Content, and Transactions	163
6.3.8	Electronic Commerce	165
6.3.9	Enhanced and Value-Added Services	166
6.3.10	Expectations of Greater Value	166
6.4	Regulation	167
6.4.1	Regulatory Bodies	167
6.4.2	Regulatory Developments	167
6.4.3	Effect on Wireless Intelligent Networking	168
7	Creating Market and Product/Service Value	171
7.1	Value-Added Products and Services	171
7.2	Basic Issues	172
7.2.1	Market Needs and Readiness	173
7.2.2	Development Capability	173
7.2.3	Realization of Return on Investment Needs	173
7.2.4	Product/Service Economic Analysis	174
7.2.5	Product Development Process	177
7.2.6	Product Development Process Example	180
7.3	Technology Availability	180
7.3.1	Standards	182
7.3.2	Application Development	183
7.3.3	Network Element Readiness	183
7.3.4	Spectrum Availability	185
7.4	Strategy Formulation	185
7.4.1	Focus in a Defined Area	185
7.4.2	Market Strategy	186
7.4.3	Promote Value and Loyalty through Effective Business Processes	187
7.4.4	Gain and Retain Market Share	188
7.4.5	Leverage Emerging Capabilities for Many Services/Features	188
7.5	Pre-WIN/CAMEL Alternatives	189
7.5.1	Proprietary Solutions Based on TCAP Signaling	189
7.5.2	ISUP-Based Call Control Solutions	190
7.5.3	Summary	190
7.6	In-House Versus Outsource	191
7.6.1	Vendor Solutions	192
7.6.2	Application Development	192
7.6.3	Wholesale Service Alternatives	192
7.6.4	Summary	193
Part 4	Leveraging Intelligence for Improved Network Capabilities and Advanced Services
8	Evolution of Wireless IN Services: From Emulation to Differentiation	199
8.1	Intelligent Network Solutions to Wireless Fraud	200
8.1.1	Pre-Call Validation	201
8.1.2	Cloning Fraud	201
8.1.3	Detection via ANSI-41 Messaging	201
8.1.4	Roamer Verification and Reinstatement (RVR)	202
8.1.5	Authentication	203
8.2	Network-Based HLR	206
8.2.1	Initial Rationale and Benefit of Deployment	207
8.2.2	Deployment Issues: Feature Availability	208
8.2.3	Deployment Issues: Operational Concerns	208
8.2.4	Long-Term Strategic Advantages	209
8.3	Wireless Adds Wireline Services	209
8.3.1	Emulation of Basic Wireline Features, IS-53 Standardizes Look and Feel	210
8.3.2	Emulation of Wireline IN Services	211
8.3.3	Integration of Wireline + Wireless Services ("Fixed/Mobile Convergence")	229
8.4	Wireless-Specific Services Emerge	251
8.4.1	Messaging	251
8.4.2	Location Technology and Services	255
8.5	Wireless Data	269
8.5.1	Emergence of Data Prominence	269
8.5.2	WIN Must Evolve to Encompass Internet-Based Services	270
8.5.3	A New View of Network Intelligence (SCPs and Web Servers)	270
8.5.4	Access to Web Information = Unlimited Applications	271
8.5.5	Information Acess (Circuit- and Packet-Switched Access)	273
8.5.6	Third-Generation (3G) Wireless Technology	274
8.5.7	Electronic Commerce	275
9	Evolution of WIN Architecture: Embracing the Internet and Data Services	279
9.1	Trends for Next-Generation Networks: Convergent IN + IP Technologies	281
9.1.1	Industry Trends	281
9.1.2	Networking Requirements for a Converging Voice/Data Network	282
9.2	Hybrid IN + IP Networks	284
9.2.1	Convergence of IN (SS7) and IP Signaling	285
9.2.2	PINT: IP Subscriber Services Adding IN Telephony Services (IP [left arrow] IN), Yielding a hybrid IP + IN Service	292
9.2.3	SPIRITS: IN Subscriber Services Adding IP Services (IN [left arrow] IP), Yielding a Hybrid IN + IP Service	293
9.2.4	IP Telephony: IP Subscribers Inherit IN Telephony Services (IP [left arrow] IN), Yielding an IP-Based Telephony Service	297
9.2.5	IN Access to IP-Based Service Logic--WAP Services as an Alternative to WIN	305
9.3	Open Service Creation	308
9.3.1	Promise of Competitive Applications Market	308
9.4	Conclusion	310
Appendix A	Intelligent Networking Architecture and Design Concepts	313
Appendix B	Mobile Communications and Internet Organizations	335
Appendix C	Selected Terms and Acronyms	343
	Bibliography	399
	About the Authors	403
	Index	405

Editorial Reviews

Intended for telecommunications professionals who wish to know more about wireless intelligent networking, this volume presents an introduction to intelligent network (IN) concepts, technology, and applications for use in mobile communications networks. Discussion covers wireless IN standards, recommended business strategies and applications, the technology behind roaming, and the convergence of wireless and Internet communications. It also covers SS7, INAP, GSM, CAMEL, ANSI-41/WIN, ISUP loopback signaling, and proprietary IN technologies. Suitable as a reference, the volume offers plentiful diagrams and an extensive glossary. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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