1.

4 WIRELESS INTERNET ARCHITECTURES

The general wireless system architecture, which includes connections to the Internet,
is shown in Figure 1.8.4 A wireless device is connected to a base station through
one of the wireless Internet networks (see Section 1.4.1); the base station is wired
to a telecommunications switch. In 2.5G systems, the telecommunication switch is
used to send voice calls through the circuit-switched telephone network, and data
through the packet-switched Internet. However, 3G systems use the packet-switched
Internet for both voice and data.
1.4.1 WIRELESS INTERNET NETWORKS
The wireless part of the Internet architecture, shown in Figure 1.8, is referred to as
wireless Internet network. Wireless Internet networks can be classified as:
Wireless personal area networks (PANs)
Wireless local area networks (LANs)
Wireless wide area networks (WANs)
The main difference between these networks is in the range they cover. Wireless
PANs and LANs operate on unlicensed spectrum; wireless WANs are licensed,
wellregulated
public networks. They can all be used as access networks to the Internet,
as discussed in Section 1.4.2.
1.4.1.1 Wireless PANs
Wireless PANs have a very short range of up to 10 meters. They are used to connect
mobile devices to send voice and data in order to perform transactions, data transfer,
or voice relay functions. They are used in personal computers to replace keyboard
and printer cables and connectors. Two popular technologies for wireless PANs are
infrared (IR) and Bluetooth technologies. Infrared devices use IRDA standard and
The Fundamentals of the Wireless Internet 15
are used to transmit data among a variety of devices, including cell phones, notebooks,
personal digital assistants, digital cameras, and others.
The Bluetooth network, called a piconet, is used to connect up to eight devices.
It uses frequency hopping spread spectrum technique implemented with Gaussian
frequency shift keying (GFSK). The Bluetooth network is intended for wireless
connection between mobile devices, fixed computers, and cellular phones.
1.4.1.2 Wireless LANs
Wireless LANs are used to substitute fixed LANs in the range of about 100 meters.
They are used in office buildings and homes to connect devices using a wireless
LAN protocol. Typically, wireless LANs have a fixed transceiver, which is a base
station that connects the wireless LAN to a fixed network. Popular wireless LANs
include DECT, home RF, and 802.11 networks.
DECT is a standard for cordless phones that operate in the frequency range from
1880 to 1900 MHz in a range of 50 meters. It is based on TDMA technology. Home
RF network is used to connect home appliances. It uses SWAP (Shared Wireless
Access Protocol), which is similar to DECT, but carries both data and voice. It
supports up to 127 devices in the range of about 40 meters. 802.11 is a standard
developed for wireless LANs that cover an office building or a group of adjacent
buildings. Standard 802.11b (a revision of an original 802.11 standard) subdivides
its frequency band of 2.4 to 2.483 GHz into several channels. Its specification
supports direct sequence spread spectrum technique
1.4.1.3 Wireless WANs
Wireless WANs are licensed public wireless networks that are used by Web cell
phones and digital modems in handheld devices. With a single transceiver (also
called base station or cellular tower), the range is about 2500 meters; however,
wireless LANs usually have multiple receivers that make their range practically
unlimited. The most popular wireless WANs are cellular networks that consist of
multiple base stations positioned in a hexagon (see Figure 1.9). Cellular networks
can be classified as mobile phone networks that primarily carry voice, and they
typically use circuit switching technology, and packet data networks that primarily
carry data and use packet-switching technology.
Table 1.3 summarizes basic features of three wireless networks.
1.4.2 WIRELESS INTERNET TOPOLOGIES
A typical wireless device that has one radio and one antenna can either connect to
a public, cellular phone network (WAN), to a private wireless LAN, or to a PAN.
1.6 WIRELESS INTERNET APPLICATIONS
The wireless Internet will keep a large number of people in motion. Four wireless
applications drive the wireless Internet: messaging, browsing, interacting, and
conversing.
4 In messaging applications, a wireless device is used to send and receive
messages. The device uses Short Message Service (SMS) and other e-mail protocols.
In browsing applications, a wireless device uses a minibrowser to access various
Web sites and receives Web services. In interacting applications, the applications
run on wireless devices and include business and personal applications, and
standalone
games. In conversing applications, a wireless device calls voice portals (such
as Wildfire) to get voice information from Web services.
However, there are still a number of challenges in the development of wireless
applications. The desktop computer will continue to be a dominant platform for
generating content; however, professionals and consumers will increasingly use
wireless devices to access and manage information. The great challenge for developers
is to tailor content to the unique characteristics of wireless devices. The main
objective is to provide quick and easy access to the required information rather thanto
provide a complex directory tree where the user will easily get lost. Another
challenge for developers is the design of user interfaces, which should be simple
because of the limited size of the wireless devices.
The 2.5G and 3G wireless systems will allow new applications to include rich
graphical content. Software vendors have been developing authoring tools for creating
WAP-compatible WAP sites that include rich graphical content and animations.
Examples include Macromedia and Adobe that are offering WAP and i-mode versions
of their products. Macromedia Spectra, a product for creating dynamic, interactive,
and content-rich Web sites, has been extended so a developer can easily add
wireless Internet by creating WML code rather than HTML.
Firepad developed a vector-based graphics application for mobile devices. This
application uses a high-speed vector rendering engine for complex applications such
as geographic information systems and CAD drawings, as illustrated in Figure 1.16.
In the next section, we present several wireless applications that, in our opinion,
are a major force in further driving the development of wireless Internet.
1.6.1 MESSAGING APPLICATIONS
Messaging in mobile networks today mainly involves short text using the SMS
protocol. The GSM has estimated that24 billion SMS messages are sent each month.
However, it is expected that soon wireless devices will support pictures, audio, and
video messages. At the same time, the popular messaging services on the Internet,
such as e-mail, chat, and instant messaging, are extending to wireless environments.
1.6.2 MOBILE COMMERCE
M-commerce applications refer to conducting business and services using wireless
devices. These applications can be grouped into (1) transaction management
applications,
(2) digital content delivery, and (3) telemetry services.
Transaction management applications include online shopping tailored to wireless
devices with online catalogs, shopping carts, and back-office functions. Other
transaction applications include micro transactions and low cost purchases for subway
or road tolls, parking tickets, digital cash, and others.
Digital content delivery includes a variety of applications:
Information browsing for weather, travel, schedules, sport scores, stock
prices, etc.
Downloading educational and entertainment products
Transferring software, images, and video
Innovative multimedia applications
According to the recent study by HPI Research Group,7 the following are the
top ten mobile entertainment features:
1. Sending SMS messages
2. Checking local traffic and weather information
3. Using a still camera
4. Getting latest news headlines
5. Sending photos to a friend
6. Using a video camera
7. Booking and buying movie tickets
8. Getting information on movies
9. Listening to radio
10. Requesting specific songs
Entertainment on mobile devices is attractive because it is almost always with
the user, whether commuting, traveling, or waiting.
Telemetry services include a wide range of new applications:
Transmission of status, sensing, and measurement information
Communications with various devices from homes, offices, or in the field
Activation of remote recording devices or service systems
1.6.3 CORPORATE APPLICATIONS
Banks and transport companies were among the first businesses to deploy wireless
applications based on WAP for their customers and employees. In banks, the goalwas
to reduce consumer banking transaction costs, while transport companies wanted
to track transportation and delivery status online.
Gartner Research Group expects most corporations to implement wireless applications
in four overlapping phases:7
1. The first group of applications is readily justifiable and includes highvalue,
vertical niche solutions, such as field force automation.
2. The second phase includes horizontal applications such as e-mail and
personal information management applications.
3. The third wave of applications consists of vertical applications, such as
mobile extensions to CRM (Customer Relationship Management), sales
force automation, and enterprise resource planning systems.
In the long term, Gartner expects that 40 to 60 percent of all corporate systems
will involve mobile elements.
1.6.4 WIRELESS APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS
WASPs allow wireless access to various software products and services. Business
WASP applications are targeted to mobile business people, field personnel, and sales
staff. Other WASP applications include:8
Mobile entertainment services
Wireless gaming
Wireless stock trading
In-vehicle services, such as traffic control, car management, etc.
1.6.5 MOBILE WEB SERVICES
Web services include well-defined protocol interfaces through which businesses can
provide services to customers and business partners over the Internet. Web services
specify a common and interoperable way for defining, publishing, invoking, and
using application services over networks. They are built on emerging technologies
such as XML, SOAP (Simple Access Object Protocol), WSDL (Web Service
Description Language), UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration),
and HTTP.
Mobile Web Services provide content delivery, location discovery, user authentication,
presence awareness, user profile management, data synchronization, terminal
profile management, and event notification services. Initially, wireless terminals
are likely to access Mobile Web Services indirectly, through application servers. The
application server will manage the interactions with the required Web services.
1.6.6 WIRELESS TEACHING AND LEARNING
Web-based distance learning could be extended to wireless systems. For example,
the project Numina at the University of North CarolinaWilmington is intended to explore
how wireless technology can be used to facilitate learning of abstract scientific
and mathematical concepts.9 Students use handheld computers (with appropriate
software) which are connected to the wireless Internet. The system provides
interactive exercises, and integrates various media and hypertext material.