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Technology explained for the not so technically inclined.

The terminology that experienced radio communication experts use on a daily basis is often difficult for others to understand. TIS places great emphasis on transparency with customers and prospects. In this vain, we would like to explain how a few technical systems, products, and innovations work - in plain English – without the use of highly technical terms.

In short: Bluetooth is a radio technology which connects different devices within a local area.

During the mid 90’s Ericsson was commissioned to conduct a study, to identify an adequate replacement for cable connections. On the basis of this study, the companies Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Toshiba, and Intel defined a standard, which defines binding specifications for a wireless radio transmission standard – Bluetooth was born.

The name Bluetooth dates back to the Danish King Blåtand (commonly known as King Bluetooth), who lived from 910 to 986 a.d. He united large parts of Scandinavia to one kingdom. This new networking standard for the networking of mobile phones, computer (periphery) etc...  was to create the same unity in the communications market, as once King Bluetooth brought to Scandinavia.

The Bluetooth standard’s main objective is to create local area wireless connections between different devices (PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, printers, projectors, etc…). A significant benefit of this standard is that these devices can independently connect with one another – making establishing a connection very simple. The Bluetooth range is ten meters, for special applications a range of up to 100 meters is also possible. Energy saving functions built into Bluetooth ensure longer battery operating periods of the individual devices.

In the mean time, Bluetooth is being supported by a large number of hardware and software manufacturers. Theses hardware and software manufacturers came together to form a common forum, namely the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group). Bluetooth devices have become a common part of day to day life. As a rule, every modern day mobile phone is equipped with Bluetooth, even the hands free kits for cars connect mobile phones to the vehicle entertainment system via Bluetooth.

What sets this standard apart: Any device, which is officially designated as a Bluetooth device, can communicate via this standard with other Bluetooth devices – regardless of the manufacturer. This is why a certification process is required to issue a Bluetooth label. The certification process ensures compatibility between all devices.

Furthermore, Bluetooth eliminates the disadvantages associated with infrared interfaces (example with a cell phone or PDA or a television remote control). A line of sight between the devices enabling the devices to connect is no longer required.

EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) is a technology which increases data transmission rates within the “normal” (GSM) mobile radio networks. EDGE is the next generation development of the GSM mobile radio standard and can be integrated into the mobile radio network by network operators.

Maybe you've experienced the following: When you are on the road and you access the Internet via your mobile phone to "surf" the Internet you are using GPRS. GPRS offers the same connection speed as a modem that you would use at home (max. 57 kBit/s). Due to the fact that UMTS, the faster alternative for mobile Internet and e-mail (384kBit/s), is not available everywhere, EDGE could be a real alternative. T-Mobile sounded the starting shot for EDGE in Germany at the 2006 CeBIT. T-Mobile is presently conducting field tests with EDGE. As soon as the mobile radio operators base stations support EDGE technology and you have an EDGE supported mobile device (mobile phone, PDA, etc…), you will be able to take advantage of EDGE’s faster transmission rates (64 to 128 kBit/s) as compared to GPRS for mobile Internet.

Currently EDGE has been implemented in 75 countries. Due to the fact that most European countries are implementing UMTS in the near future, EDGE will most likely only play a minor role. In countries, such as the United States, in which the UMTS licensing process is taking its time, EDGE could become an interesting and attractive alternative.

GPS is the abbreviation for Global Positioning Systems, a satellite supported navigation system. GPS was originally conceived by the US Department of Defense for military use. Military uses include positioning and navigation of warships and military aircraft.

The GPS system consists of a network of GPS satellites that are positioned around the globe. In addition, the so-called GPS receiver (also known as “GPS-Mice”) is needed to receive and analyze the satellite signals. The GPS receiver can calculate its position by triangulating the data it receives from more than three satellites. The receiver, however, only plays a passive role in locating and visualization of the location of vehicles. To ensure the dispatcher "knows" where a specific vehicle is located, the position calculation of the GPS receiver in the vehicle must be transmitted to the main office by suitable technical means. To facilitate this, a mobile communication system is required. In simplified terms one could say that an intelligent, active locating system contacts the GPS receiver via radio waves.

At first GPS was exclusively used for military purposes. GPS is, however, increasingly being utilized in the civilian world - around the globe. The most well known application example of a GPS system is the navigation system for vehicles. With the help of an external or integrated GPS receiver, today navigation systems "know” the exact location of a vehicle, in which the system is installed, within just a few feet. This significantly simplifies route calculation and route changes, because "Navi" knows the exact position of the vehicle.

Galileo is a new European satellite navigation system, specifically developed for civilian use. The system is to be up and running by late 2010. The system is comprised of thirty satellites (27 plus three backups) which circumnavigate the earth at an altitude of approximately 23,260 km, as well as a network of base stations, which control the satellites.

In 2004, the serving US Secretary of State and the chairman of the EU Secretaries of State agreed that the Galileo system would be compatible with GPS, so that both satellite supported navigation systems can be used in parallel. 

How accurate is GPS?

The topic of our last Newsletter column “Technology for the not so technologically inclined” was entitled “What is GPS?” Here is a brief recap of the column: GPS is the abbreviation for Global Positioning System, a satellite supported navigation system. GPS was originally conceived by the US Department of Defense for military use. Military use includes positioning and navigation of warships and military aircraft. Today it is also being used for civilian applications, which require locating and positioning. The most well known application example of GPS is the navigation system for vehicles.

There are, however, a great number of different GPS aspects, which we could not address in this general excurse. We would, however, like to address a significant factor here.

One of the most frequently asked GPS questions is how accurate is it’s positioning, i.e. exactly how precise is the navigation system with regard to the positioning of a GPS receiver. Up to May 2000 the positioning accuracy of the GPS system was within approximately 100 meters. This high degree of inaccuracy is ascribed to the military origin of the navigation system. Due to the priority military use of GPS, the US military reduced the GPS signal range of accuracy for civilian use. The so-called “Selective Availability” was applied to civilian use of the system. On May 2, 2000 the White House issued an order to revoke the “Selective Availability” of the system. Since then much more accurate positioning is possible with GPS. Depending on the technology and the price of the GPS receiver, the system is accurate within just a few meters. With this special add-on technologies and extremely expensive receivers, the system can even be accurate up to just a few centimeters.

Taking the high costs associated with the extremely accurate GPS receivers into account the respective scenario for individual applications is decisive in determining the cost benefit ratio of the application. As such the cost and the value add the more accurate systems offer, would not justify their use in tracking vehicles. The cost benefit ratio of accuracy to the next centimeter would be disproportionate for this application scenario.

GPRS is the abbreviation for General Packet Radio Service. This service is based on the current mobile telephone standard GSM. GPRS is used for the mobile transfer of data. This form of data transmission divides the individual data information into small data packets. The data packets are then sent and data packets are reconstituted to the original information at the receiver i.e. mobile telephones, PDAs or MDEs among other devices.

If GPRS is activated, only a virtual permanent connection exists with the counterpart, the so-called always-on operation. A transmission channel is only used if real data is being transmitted. Due to the fact that only data packets are being transmitted, the user does not pay for the duration of the connection, rather only for the amount of data transmitted (volume-related invoice).

It should first be noted that both terms have several things in common: Both roaming and handover originate from the field of communications technology. Moreover both technologies are based on the same technology.

If, for example, you are using your mobile telephone, you will most likely have frequently experienced both phenomena - without having been aware of it. Even though roaming and handover is also used with other devices than a mobile phone (for example WLAN telephone) and in other networks other than mobile radio networks, (for example: WLAN network within a company), the simplest way to explain the terms is by using mobile phones in connection with mobile radio networks as an example.

If you have entered into a contract with a German mobile communications provider (for example with T-Mobile or Vodafone), you are still able to use your mobile phone outside of the country. Regardless, if you are on vacation in Spain, France, or Switzerland – thanks to roaming you can use your mobile phone in other countries as if you were at home. To provide this service, your mobile communications provider in Germany entered into a so-called roaming agreement with foreign providers, both providers connect their respective networks with the required signalization and data connections of that of their counterpart. With roaming you can use your mobile phone by accessing a foreign mobile communications network (international roaming). Such agreements not only exist between providers located in different countries, but also between providers within the same country. For example o2 has its own mobile communications network; it does however not cover the entire country. For this reason o2 entered into a roaming agreement with T-Mobile, if the o2 network is not available in rural areas (national roaming), the o2 customer is automatically connected to the T-D1-Network.

Handover, on the other hand, does refer to a process between two communication networks; it refers to a phenomenon within a network. A mobile communication network consists of many cell towers and base stations. Each base station covers a specific area - the so-called cell. Your mobile phone checks into the nearest base station. If you are on the road with your mobile phone and you are moving from location A to location B, you may be leaving the original cell and you are approaching another cell's area. Your telephone i.e. data connection will not be interrupted during the transition from one cell to the next, because with the help of handover your phone checks into a different base station, this is processed in the background, without you noticing it. A handover is not only required when a mobile phone is moving from place to place and base station to base station. For example, mobile phones can check into a different base station, if a cell is overloaded or the reception quality is low. The handover can also happen in other communication networks: The GSM mobile communications network base station is the AccessPoint for your WLAN and/or DECT network.

Calling friends and family via a fixed line is a thing of the past – today people stay in touch with each other across the globe using Internet telephony. While you are surfing the web, you can simultaneously place a call via the Internet. In contrast to conventional telephony, voice transmission no longer requires a fixed line telephone connection; all that is needed is an Internet connection.

This type of telephony is called Voice over IP, or VoIP in its abbreviated form, because voice is transmitted via the IP network. The IP network is the Internet protocol, which is used both by computer networks and by the Internet to transfer data. A computer is, however, not required for Internet telephony, the only thing that is needed are special telephones and/or adapters, which utilize conventional telephones. The special telephone and/or adapter connects to the Internet and operates via VoIP.

The main advantage of Voice over IP as compared to conventional telephony are the comparably very low costs. All you need to use VoIP is an Internet connection – and with an Internet flat rate the costs remain manageable.

If a field employee accesses his E-mails at his hotel or exchanges data with the main office, he has to access the company network from outside the company network. If the employee connects to the company network via the Internet – and uses this connection as a medium to exchange the data, unauthorized individuals can access the data.

Increasingly companies are installing Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to protect often times sensitive and business relevant information during transmission. The manner in which VPNs operate is quite simple. A smaller network is created via encryption within a larger network (of the Internet). One can only access the smaller network with the corresponding addresses and password, so that only authorized users are able to communicate with another. A VPN creates a monitored private line within the Internet and connects computers or networks to another. Prior to transferring data, the data is first encrypted and sent subsequently. When the data packet has arrived at the other end, the VPN decrypts the original packet. Since the data basically flows through a tunnel, this process is also referred to as tunneling.

A particular VPN variant is offered by T-Mobile – the so-called Mobile IP-VPN. For this purpose a company employee receives a SIM card from T-Mobile. Should he use the SIM card in conjunction with a mobile device (PDA, notebook, mobile phone), he now can exchange encrypted mobile data via a VPN tunnel with the main office – without having to install additional software to do so. The VPN tunnel is made available via a T-Mobile server, which connects to the main office server.

The WiMAX-Standard (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a standard of the „Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers“ (IEEE) ´for wireless mobile data communication, specifically for broadband Internet. Theoretically it can exceed a range of over 50 km and a rate of more than 109Mbit/s (at a bandwidth of 28 MHz). Based on WiMAX performance the technology is a possible alternative to DSL lines and UMTS connections. In particular, it is an alternative to DSL networks, in cases in which the installation of cable networks is too expensive.

For this purpose 50,000 Euro WiMax communication towers would have to be erected. The WiMax communication towers have a transmission range of up to 50 km into rural areas. In cities, however, WiMax hotspots would have to be installed every 600 to 900 meters to ensure coverage, due to building interference. It is conceivable that in a few years 10 to 20 cells could be connected to form a local network.

To accelerate the development of this new communication standard as the future alternative to the last mile in the land line area, the communication industry leaders such as Intel, Fujitsu, Siemens and Nokia have already come together to form the WiMAX forum. Currently there is strong WiMAX demand in Latin America, Russia, and India, unlike the tepid demand in Western Europe, because Western Europe is still focused on UMTS.

If and how fast WiMAX will establish itself is still up in the air. It still needs to be determined if different provider and operator networks and devices will be 100 percent compatible. Different interpretation of the standard, for example in individual countries or by the manufacturers, often impede the worldwide sale of systems.

Regardless if it is in the office or at home, regardless if you are a technician or non-technician, the term “Wireless LAN" or in its abbreviated form “WLAN” is (almost) known to all. This wireless connection to a network is particularly well liked by homeowners who surf and email from their home computer or laptop. 

To secure the communications connection with regard to confidentiality of data, a standard has existed for years to encrypt data within WLAN: WEP is short for Wired Equivalent Privacy. The WEP standard, however, has proven to be faulty and has not lived up to security expectations. Many years will however pass before this new standard (802.11i) is fully implemented. This standard was defined as a result of market pressure. This standard only contains the agreed upon and important features of the new 802.11i standard: the WPA Standard.

This WPA encryption technology is significantly more secure than the current WEP standard, which one day may primarily be used by industry. WPA employs a so-called Pre-Shared Key, or PSK. With this key or password, which is defined in advance, the user device (for example a PSV3 solution mobile device) logs on to the respective AccessPoint. In order to prevent the key from being cracked or misused, new Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (in short: TKIP) keys are assigned in regular intervals.

An additional option in this context is the Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (in short LEAP). LEAP is a Cisco System proprietary standard. While currently all user devices that are logged on to an AccessPoint use the same authentication password, LEAP functionality ensures that each user device has its own authentication information (user name, password) assigned to it. What at first glance appears to be unnecessary additional installation work, can however prove to be a blessing should a key wind up in the hands of unauthorized individuals: Until now, if such a situation arises the password of each individual user device had to be changed, now all that needs to be done is to the change the corresponding key of one single device.

You may ask what this has to do with TIS. Recently the functionality of WPA encryption technology has become an integrated component of our TIS PSV3 software. As soon as hardware (for example your WLAN cards in mobile devices) also support these standards, you will be able to use the WPA encryption. The LEAP standard can also be used within the context of your PSV3 solution. For more information please contact the TIS GmbH sales and project team.