Motorola to sell 3G technology to rival Company has 'deep relationship' with German competitor

Motorola Inc., the No. 2 cell phone maker, scored big with an agreement to supply its 3G--third generation--phones and technology to rival Siemens, the third-place manufacturer and German electronics giant.
Mike Zafirovski, executive vice president of Schaumburg-based Motorola and president of its Personal Communications Sector, which makes cell phones, said Motorola now has "a very long-term and deep relationship with Siemens," its erstwhile rival.
He said the companies work- ing together will help advance the 3G market as Siemens leapfrogs into 3G using Motorola technology.

Apple Licenses 3G Technology

Apple recently agreed to license InterDigital’s wireless technology.
The deal is worth $56 million and under the initial terms set by the two companies will last for seven years. Is a 3G version of the iPhone in the works?
The patent being licensed by Apple covers both 2G and 3G technologies and also manages bandwidth and helps control power efficiency and roaming functions.
With 3G in the technology mix, though, it’s hard not to speculate that this could be the beginnings of a 3G version of the iPhone.
Until now, there has been little evidence that Apple intends to release a 3G version of the iPhone, though it has long been hoped for.
Over the weekend, there were several sightings of T-Mobile advertisements in Germany for the iPhone, and included in the spec list is HSDPA 3G and storage capacity that is beefed up to 16GB.
Whether or not these ads are PhotoShop trickery or genuine is unknown.
Either way, Apple would likely not license 3G technology if it didn’t plan to use it… at some point. When exactly that will be is anyone’s guess

Apple Licenses 3G Technology

Apple recently agreed to license InterDigital’s wireless technology.
The deal is worth $56 million and under the initial terms set by the two companies will last for seven years. Is a 3G version of the iPhone in the works?
The patent being licensed by Apple covers both 2G and 3G technologies and also manages bandwidth and helps control power efficiency and roaming functions.
With 3G in the technology mix, though, it’s hard not to speculate that this could be the beginnings of a 3G version of the iPhone.
Until now, there has been little evidence that Apple intends to release a 3G version of the iPhone, though it has long been hoped for.
Over the weekend, there were several sightings of T-Mobile advertisements in Germany for the iPhone, and included in the spec list is HSDPA 3G and storage capacity that is beefed up to 16GB.
Whether or not these ads are PhotoShop trickery or genuine is unknown.
Either way, Apple would likely not license 3G technology if it didn’t plan to use it… at some point. When exactly that will be is anyone’s guess

3G Working

3G Technology
Here is a simple introduction to some aspects of 3G radio transmission technologies (RTTs). You will find the subjects covered in this section useful if you later consider the more detailed discussions in the sections on 3G Standards and 3G Spectrum.
Simplex vs. Duplex
When people use walkie-talkie radios to communicate, only one person can talk at a time (the person doing the talking has to press a button). This is because walkie-talkie radios only use one communication frequency - a form of communication known as simplex:
Simplex: Using a walkie-talkie you have to push a button to talk one-way.
Of course, this is not how mobile phones work. Mobile phones allow simultaneous two-way transfer of data - a situation known as duplex (if more than two data streams can be transmitted, it is called multiplex):
Duplex: Allows simultaneous two-way data transfers.
The communication channel from the base station to the mobile device is called the downlink, and the communication from the mobile device back to the base station is called the uplink. How can duplex communication be achieved? Well, there are two possible methods which we will now consider: TDD and FDD.

From 2G to 2.5G (GPRS)
The first major step in the evolution to 3G occurred with the introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). So the cellular services combined with GPRS became 2.5G.
GPRS could provide data rates from 56 kbit/s up to 114 kbit/s. It can be used for services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for Internet communication services such as email and World Wide Web access. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user actually is utilizing the capacity or is in an idle state.
GPRS is a best-effort packet switched service, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain Quality of Service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection for non-mobile users. It provides moderate speed data transfer, by using unused Time division multiple access (TDMA) channels. Originally there was some thought to extend GPRS to cover other standards, but instead those networks are being converted to use the GSM standard, so that GSM is the only kind of network where GPRS is in use. GPRS is integrated into GSM Release 97 and newer releases. It was originally standardized by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), but now by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

From 2.5G to 2.75G
GPRS networks evolved to EDGE networks with the introduction of 8PSK encoding. Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), or IMT Single Carrier (IMT-SC) is a backward-compatible digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates, as an extension on top of standard GSM. EDGE can be considered a 3G radio technology and is part of ITU's 3G definition, but is most frequently referred to as 2.75G. EDGE was deployed on GSM networks beginning in 2003—initially by Cingular (now AT&T) in the United States.
EDGE is standardized by 3GPP as part of the GSM family, and it is an upgrade that provides a potential three-fold increase in capacity of GSM/GPRS networks. The specification achieves higher data-rates by switching to more sophisticated methods of coding (8PSK), within existing GSM timeslots.
EDGE can be used for any packet switched application, such as an Internet, video and other multimedia.

From 2.75G to 3G
From EDGE networks the introduction of UMTS networks and technology is called pure 3G.

Migrating from GPRS to UMTS
From GPRS network, the following network elements can be reused:
Home location register (HLR)
Visitor location register (VLR)
Equipment identity register (EIR)
Mobile switching centre (MSC) (vendor dependent)
Authentication centre (AUC)
Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) (vendor dependent)
Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)
From Global Service for Mobile (GSM) communication radio network, the following elements cannot be reused
Base station controller (BSC)
Base transceiver station (BTS)
They can remain in the network and be used in dual network operation where 2G and 3G networks co-exist while network migration and new 3G terminals become available for use in the network.
The UMTS network introduces new network elements that function as specified by 3GPP:
Node B (base station)
Radio Network Controller (RNC)
Media Gateway (MGW)
The functionality of MSC and SGSN changes when going to UMTS. In a GSM system the MSC handles all the circuit switched operations like connecting A- and B-subscriber through the network. SGSN handles all the packet switched operations and transfers all the data in the network. In UMTS the Media gateway (MGW) take care of all data transfer in both circuit and packet switched networks. MSC and SGSN control MGW operations. The nodes are renamed to MSC-server and GSN-server.

What is 3g?

3G refers to the third generation of developments in wireless technology, especially mobile communications. The third generation, as its name suggests, follows the first generation (1G) and second generation (2G) in wireless communications.

1G
The 1G period began in the late 1970s and lasted through the 1980s. These systems featured the first true mobile phone systems, known at first as "cellular mobile radio telephone." These networks used analog voice signaling, and were little more sophisticated than the repeater networks used by amateur radio operators.
2GThe 2G phase began in the 1990s and much of this technology is still in use. The 2G cell phone features digital voice encoding. Examples include CDMA and GSM. Since its inception, 2G technology has steadily improved, with increased bandwidth, packet routing, and the introduction of multimedia.
3G includes capabilities and features such as:
Enhanced multimedia (voice, data, video, and remote control).
Usability on all popular modes (cellular telephone, e-mail, paging, fax, videoconferencing, and Web browsing).
Broad bandwidth and high speed (upwards of 2 Mbps).
Roaming capability throughout Europe, Japan, and North America.
While 3G is generally considered applicable mainly to mobile wireless, it is also relevant to fixed wireless and portable wireless. A 3G system should be operational from any location on, or over, the earth's surface, including use in homes, businesses, government offices, medical establishments, the military, personal and commercial land vehicles, private and commercial watercraft and marine craft, private and commercial aircraft (except where passenger use restrictions apply), portable (pedestrians, hikers, cyclists, campers), and space stations and spacecraft.
3G offers the potential to keep people connected at all times and in all places. Researchers, engineers, and marketers are faced with the challenge of accurately predicting how much technology consumers will actually be willing to pay for. Another challenge faced by 3G services is competition from other high-speed wireless technologies, especially mobile WiMAX, and ability to roam between different kinds of wireless networks.
The current status of mobile wireless communications, as of July 2007, is a mix of 2nd and 3rd generation technologies.