3Com Corporation today announced the development of a packet-switched wireless network platform that will deliver unprecedented wireless data access speeds and new network economies to service providers and their customers. 3Com is building the system in a strategic initiative with Motorola, Inc.
The wireless giant plans to deploy the new 64-kbps wireless platform for service providers who wish to offer wireless Internet/intranet access and other smart phone-based wireless communications services.
This new initiative extends an existing 3Com-Motorola relationship, in place since 1997, for the joint development of circuit-switched Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems for data products, explains 3Com SA`s pre sales manager, Paul Ruinaard. This relationship will be worth several million dollars in revenue to 3Com over the next three years.
3Com Total Control Platform to Deliver New Service Capabilities
The new wireless platform is being designed as an application for 3Com`s Total Control multi-service access platform for service provider networks. The Interworking Function (IWF) of the Total Control platform accepts incoming CDMA signals and transports them over an IP backbone infrastructure to their destination. Customers can use CDMA data connections for sending and receiving fax messages and e-mail, browsing the Internet, and accessing their corporate intranets.
"CDMA is a very efficient, high-capacity technology that spreads multiple conversations across a wide segment of the broadcast spectrum," says Ruinaard. "Each telephone or data call is assigned a special code that identifies it as part of a unique conversation."
High-Speed Wireless Access to Support New Applications
He points out that the new 64-kbps CDMA capability catapults wireless personal communications services (PCS) into speed ranges so far enjoyed only by users of terrestrial networks.
To date, wireless circuit-switched networks have been limited to 14.4-kbps speeds, and wireless packet-based networks have reached their maximum at 19.2 kbps. These speed limitations can hinder the use of some high-bandwidth data or multimedia applications.
"This next generation of CDMA data technology will make capacity and connection improvements that will support a broader variety of applications and thus attract new users to a wireless access solution," says Irfan Ali, senior vice president and general manager, 3Com Carrier Systems. "In addition, this new system will yield access link efficiencies that will enable service providers to easily scale their networks in step with subscriber growth as they move towards converged networking. This initiative further extends the leadership position that we have already established in the field of wireless data services."
"All the elements are falling into place for the accelerated growth of wireless data. CDMA operators are eager to quickly enter this market and are demanding data capabilities from their suppliers," says Naqi Jaffery, wireless industry analyst for Dataquest
Packet-Switching Boosts Scalability
As with landline networks, packet-switching offers significant efficiencies that enable greater network scalability and support larger volumes of customers than circuit-switched networks. Instead of nailing up connections between two points and leaving bandwidth idle during periods when no transmission is taking place, packet-switching allows full use of network bandwidth.
It does so through the use of statistical multiplexing, which separates packets and disperses them to fill the entire transmission link, then reassembles them at their destination. In addition, users do not have to manually set up and tear down phone calls to communicate using packet-switched networks. Instead, they can be "always connected," much as users on a local-area network are continually online.
The new packet-switched CDMA system is expected to ship before the end of the year. 3Com`s award-winning Total Control multi-service access platform provides telecommunications carriers, service providers and large enterprises with a powerful and complete networking solution, including support for remote access, IP telephony and virtual private networking applications. The software-upgradeable platform is designed for service reliability, using redundant power supplies and modular application cards to prevent a single point of failure.
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With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people in more ways to information than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. 3Com `More connected`. For further information, visit 3Com`s World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.
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3Com Corporation
With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people in more ways to information than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. 3Com `More connected`. For further information, visit 3Com`s World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.
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