umts services and applications

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© Nokia Networks Oy 1 (51)

3G SYSTRA

3G/UMTS Mobile Services

Training Document




2 (51) © Nokia Networks Oy 6-65761Issue 4.0 en

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Contents

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Contents

1 Module objectives ................................................................................ 5

2 Introduction to mobile applications .................................................... 6

3 Potential applications ........................................................................ 10 3.1 Applications categorisation from the business area point of view ......... 10 3.1.1 Person-to-person communications ....................................................... 11 3.1.2 Mobile Internet ..................................................................................... 12 3.2 Potential application utilising the UMTS circuit switched service .......... 13 3.2.1 Video call and video services ............................................................... 13 3.2.1.1 Video telephony ................................................................................... 14 3.2.1.2 Video download ................................................................................... 14 3.2.1.3 Video streaming ................................................................................... 15 3.3 Potential applications utilising the UMTS packet switched

service ...................................................................................... 15

3.3.1 Voice over IP ....................................................................................... 15 3.3.1.1 Push to talk over Cellular ..................................................................... 15 3.3.1.2 Voice and video over IP ....................................................................... 16 3.3.1.3 Point-to-multipoint, multicast via SGSN ................................................ 16 3.3.2 Data 17 3.3.2.1 Web browsing ...................................................................................... 17 3.3.2.2 Interactive games ................................................................................. 18 3.3.2.3 High-priority transaction services (E-commerce) ........... ....................... 18 3.3.2.4 Two-way control telemetry ................................................................... 18 3.3.2.5 E-mail (server access) ......................................................................... 19 3.3.2.6 Voice messaging and dictation ............................................................. 19 3.3.2.7 Presence .............................................................................................. 20 3.3.3 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) ................................................. 20 3.3.3.1 MMS Architecture ................................................................................ 22 3.3.3.2 MMS Flow examples ............................................................................ 23

4 User Location ..................................................................................... 29 4.1 Location Service (LCS) ........................................................................ 29 4.1.1 Cell ID based method........................................................................... 30 4.1.2 OTDOA-IPDL ....................................................................................... 30 4.1.3 GPS 31 4.2 Location Based Services (LBS) ............................................................ 31

5 Virtual Home Environment (VHE) ...................................................... 34 5.1 What is a Virtual Home Environment? .................................................. 34

5.1.1 Mobile applications from the USIM and terminal point of view .............. 35 5.2 (UMTS) SIM Application Toolkit - (U)SAT ............................................ 37 5.3 Mobile (Station Application) Execution Environment (MExE) ................ 39 5.3.1 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)/ Wireless Telephony

Application (WTA) ..................................................................... 39





5.4 Customised Application for Mobile Network Enhanced Logic(CAMEL) ................................................................................... 41

5.5 Open Service Access (OSA) conception .............................................. 43 5.6 Nokia Mobile Internet solution (optional topic) ...................................... 45 5.6.1 Mobile Business (mBusiness) .............................................................. 46

5.6.2 Mobile commerce (mCommerce) ......................................................... 47

6 Review questions ............................................................................... 49

Further information ............................................................................................ 51



Module objectives

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1 Module objectives

The aim of this module is to give the student the conceptual knowledge needed forexplaining what the GSM/UMTS mobile applications are. Topics to be covered in

this module include the differentiation between UMTS services and applications, ageneral discussion of the Virtual Home Environment, and the introduction of themost important service platforms.

After completing this module, the participant should be able to:

• Outline the Virtual Home Environment concept (VHE)

• Briefly explain the difference between a tele-, bearer- and supplementary

service within the VHE concept

• Name the UMTS services

• Sketch the ideas of (U)SAT, MExE, CAMEL, and OSA

without using any references.





2 Introduction to mobile applications

In our everyday life we are familiar with the concept of a mobile service. Forexample, a mobile phone call is a mobile service. A short message (SMS) is another

type of application. As operators and subscribers evolve into the future, the need fordifferent types of applications is increasing. Today the subscribers expect anincreased number of applications and greater value. For an operator with a large

subscriber base, more usage time is one way of ensuring continuing growth. This

usage time, for example phone calls, has a limit on the amount everybody is willingto use. Therefore, when defining the 3G Specifications, the emphasis is on the

unlimited prospect of seamless services and applications that can be provided.

One common misconception that people have is that applications are introduced in

UMTS. This is not true, as GSM already offers both integrated network and IN(Intelligent Networks) applications. GPRS in today's network adds the facility of

supporting packet data (e.g. Internet) with relatively quick set-up and transfer times.

UMTS Services

The term application refers to “services as seen by the subscriber”. Applications

have not been standardized in UMTS. The (GSM/UMTS) network offers serviceelements, which are used by applications. The applications form the value added for

the subscriber (see also Next Generation Network Group). A set of services havebeen made available by UMTS, which are:

• Circuit switched services, which are the teleservices, such as speech call,

facsimile call, CS data.

• Packet switched services, which are based on the PS connectivity provided

by PDP contexts.

• message services, including SMS and CBS.

The services speech call, facsimile, and SMS are both services and applications.

“Circuit switched data” is only a service – the subscriber gets a circuit switchedbearer for data transport. The bearer itself adds no value to the subscriber. Thesubscriber requires the CS data bearer to run a data application, where content is for

instance exchanged between the handheld device and an application related contentserver. The same is true for packet switched services, which are used to establish a

packet switched bearer. Again, the PS bearer alone adds no value to the subscriber.But when the subscriber can use the bearer in combination with an application, thena value added is generated. For instance, a subscriber can use a PS bearer between

the handheld device and the Internet to gain content via the application

HTTP/TCP/IP.

Consequently, the GSM/UMTS services must be selected in such a way, that the

application running on top of it can be served in the best possible way.



Introduction to mobile applications

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Service model

Therefore, the spirit of the UMTS specifications is to separate the applications and

the network from each other as completely as possible. This can be expressed in themodel drawn in the following picture.

Service Platform Service Platform

Content Content

Access Methods:

- WCDMA

- GSM900/1800

- etc.

Open / Proprietary Interface

Open Interface

UE Node B RNC

Uu Iub/Iur Iu

Core Network

Applications Applications

Terminal & USIM 3G Network

Figure 1. Service model

In principle, the radio access network (RAN) could be implemented with any

technology but the core network (CN) and the user equipment (UE) must support theaccess method used.

The terminals and the network together form the physical platform. The service

platform layer maintains the applications offered and it is located on top of the

physical platform. It should be noted that this model is logical and in real life the

physical platform and service platform are somewhat mixed up together in the sameequipment. On the core network side, the service platform is often distributed on

many different pieces of equipment, for instance in the Home Location Register(HLR).

The interfaces between the physical platform and the service platform are eitheropen or proprietary. Where possible, the Nokia solution supports standardised

interfaces.

Service platforms offer completely open interfaces towards applications. Actually,

one of the requirements of UMTS is that the system must offer open interfaces forapplication development and this is it. For instance, WAP (Wireless Application

Protocol) is one occurrence of open application development interfaces.





Application provider model

Due to the layered structure presented previously, the commercial points related to

the application creation and provision will remarkably change compared to GSM. Inthe early phase of GSM, every application for the end user basically came from the

equipment vendor. Either it required fine-tuning of the equipment or the operator

was not able to establish a service itself. In UMTS, the open interfaces enable asituation where basically anyone may create a applications and create application

related content to be supplied to the end-users.

Bearer/Carrier Provider (3G Network)

Application Provider

Content Provider Content Provider Content Provider

Application Provider Application Provider

End-Users

Figure 2. Application Provider Model

From the point of view of the telecommunications business, the emphasis is moving

rapidly from equipment to application and content. This model, indirectly specified

in UMTS, fastens that development. Indications of this development can already beseen in the existing GSM networks.

For instance, stock exchange rates can be queried through the GSM network. In this

case, the carrier provider (operator) and application provider are the same, but thecontent for the service is queried somewhere else, such as from the stock exchange

database.

Service platforms

Service platforms are entities, which offer the implementation means for

applications. A service platform is a logical entity often containing several pieces of

equipment. As the majority of existing applications (December 2002) were adoptedfrom GSM:

• VMS (Voice Mail System) for Voice Call Completion

• Service Delivery Platform: A set of service enabling servers that supportdifferent types of applications. A typical example is the SMSC (Short

Message Service Centre) for Short Message Delivery.



Introduction to mobile applications

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• Service Creation & Execution Platform is built upon the principles of IN

(Intelligent Network) and is almost obligatory to provide the envisionedservices.

Fiber Fiber

AXC

MWR

ATM Access

Internet

RANCore Network

Control Plane

Gateway PlanePSTN

2GSGSN

3GSGSN GGSNRNC

BSC

Node B

BTS

Node B

HLR

3GMSC

NMS

VoiceServers

Service Creation& ExecutionPlatform

SCP

Service DeliveryPlatform

Figure 3. Core network service platform elements

The new WCDMA radio interface will improve the quality and convenience of these

applications. It will also enable higher packet data rates, which is highly importantfor the new e-mail and Internet services. The circuit connections can initially bemade to the GSM switches to provide speech and other circuit switched services ofup to 64 Kbps.





3 Potential applications

Applications are the “end user services”. They are no longer standardized. It is up tooperators and value added service providers to determine the need for an application

and implement them. GSM/UMTS offer the bearer and call control to exchangecontent and content related signaling information between the mobile device and theapplication driven content server.

Potential applications

The following is a list of the applications that have been planned for GSM/UMTS to

realize:

• News and traffic flashes

• Public video phoning

• Ticketing services and interactive shopping

• Desktop video conferencing

• Voice recognition and response

• Interactive and virtual school

• Universal SIM with credit card function

• Virtual banking

• Currency downloading

• Video on demand

• On-line library and books

In addition to these, the supplementary services used in GSM are available from the

very beginning of the 3G.

3.1 Applications categorisation from the business areapoint of view

The different potential applications can be categorized into five distinct groups:

• Person-to-Person Multimedia Communications

• Mobile Internet

•

Business Solutions• Mobile Commerce

• Location Based Services




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Although it is difficult to predict, which services will be the most popular; it is

foreseen that the more lucrative services will be those that are working together.

Micro-Payment

Transact Transact PIM

ChooseTheatre

MakeBooking

MakePayment

ChooseRestaurant

GetMap

GetTrain

GetBus

FindParking

MakeBooking

MakePayment

Enterin Diary

CreateReminder

CheckAvailability

Entertainment

Common Enabling Layer

Check - location- preferences- diary

Check - Credit Card Details

Check - Fund Availability

Check - Home Location- Preferences- Theatre Location

Travel

Figure 4. Sample of using a multitude of services

In the previous figure, we use searching based upon our location to find a theatre.The mobile network allows users to make an instant reservation (Nokia mCommercesolution). Then, as the user travels to the chosen theatre, the mobile network

provides a map application, assisted with location based services suggesting meansof traveling towards the destination. Finally the user updates a Personal Information

Management application (PIM) with the information of the travel and theatre.

3.1.1 Person-to-person communications

Person-to-person communications is the interaction and sharing of end user createdinformation between the individuals. Today, person-to-person communication is

mainly related to voice calls and Short Message Service (SMS). In 3G, person-to-person communications will evolve to new types of messaging and telephony,

including:

• Chat (one to many)

• Calendar and email (including synchronization)

• Rich call and video telephony

• Picture messaging and multimedia messaging

Evolution of messaging will bring richer content into the messages. With multimedia

messaging, it is possible to combine the conventional short messages with much





richer content type – photographs, images, and eventually also video clips. In

addition to sending messages from one hand set to another, it is also possible to sendmessages from handset to email.

SMS

PictureMessaging

MultimediaMessageService

MobileMultimedia

Text Text &Graphics

Digitalimageinput

Newcontenttypes

Time

Versatility of Contentand User Benefits

Figure 5. Development of person-to-person messaging

Student Facts:During the month of June 2001, around 20 billion SMSs were sent globally. InSeptember 2002, 27 billion of them were sent. During 1999 and 2000, Norwaysaw an increase of 1000% SMSs. Italy saw an increase of 700% during 7months.

3.1.2 Mobile Internet

The introduction of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has shaped the mobileindustry into the direction where mobile technology is combined with the Internet.

The added value provided by Mobile Internet (as opposed to fixed Internet) could besummed up with four key words:

• Personalized thus always relevant to me

• Available wherever I need it

• Immediacy information when I need

• Real time latest version, as it happens

The question to ask is: "What can I do with it?" The figures below give an exampleof how the Mobile Internet can be used for a subscriber's life style. The categories of

services can be divided into information and entertainment.




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INFOR-

MATION

NEWS

General Headlines Financial &

Business Politics Tabloids Culture &

Entertainment Sports Lottery

BANKING & FINAN-CIAL SERVICES

Stock indexes Stock prices Metal prices Stock alert Currency rates Interest rates Account balance Credit/debit balance Cheque balance Money transfers Bill payments Automatic call Account status

flash Stock purchase Financial products

purchase

LOCAL SERVICES(CITY GUIDE)

Taxi Restaurants Cinema Theatres Concerts Exhibitions

Night Clubs Emergency services Pharmacies Household

assistance Weather Time Directory services ATM Locator

BUY & SELL

Classifieds- Cars- Properties- Jobs

Auctions Shopping

-

Small dailyitems- Specific

promotions Tickets

TRAVEL

Traffic (traffic jams,radar, control,…)

Publictransportation

Navigation services Train schedules

Flight schedules Hotels Holiday packages

SpecialInterest

Mobile telephones Internet sites and

services Computers and

hardware Automobile

MUSIC

Ringtones Short clips

(e.g. MP3)

TV

Program-me schedules

Highlights

LIFESTYLE

Gastronomy Hobbies Fashion Parties

FUN

Jokes Sayings Dream

analysis

CHATS

Topicspecific

Private

PICTURES

Icons Logos Photos Postcards

GAMES

Puzzles Quizzes “Tamagotchi” Games Gambling/Betting

ASTROLO-GY

Horoscopes Astrolove Biorhythm Specific

Horoscopes

DATING

Chats Dating

services

ENTER-

TAINTMENT

Figure 6. Mobile Internet services

As mentioned previously in this module, there is a misconception that these servicesare only introduced in UMTS. However, there is nothing limiting the

operator/content provider in introducing these services today. Although in circuitswitched networks there are limitations in terms of speed and connection set-up. The

advantage of GPRS should overcome, or reduce, these limitations.

3.2 Potential application utilising the UMTS circuitswitched service

3.2.1 Video call and video services

A likely evolution of mobile video services is that they will evolve from the currentmultimedia messaging of still and animated pictures and presentations, to video

messaging and playback. Video download and video streaming services will followshortly after, though exactly when these services will be introduced will naturally

differ from country to country. Nokia believes that “See What I See” (SWIS), video

telephony and broadcasting will be interesting applications in the future.





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Figure 7 Evolution of mobile video technology

3.2.1.1 Video telephony

Thsi service refers to making or receiving a video call where the mobile user can see

as well as talk to the other person. In effect, it allows the user both visual and verbal

communications since users can see each other. The conversation experience can befurhter improved by allowing one or both users to see what the other person sees. It

is thus possible to not only see each other but a more general concept of sharing isallowed for


Figure 8 Video call application

The mobile device’s display, including screen size and resolution, as well as local

memory, make mobile video content different from content from other media,making it essential to design the content to suit the mobile device and the method of

distribution. In order to ensure that video services take off, a vast database of video

content must be developed, one that is constantly improved with new ideas andsubstance. The video formats in which the video content has been encoded, such as

the open standards 3GPP file format, can be used throughout the evolution of video

services.


Figure 9 Mobile video examples

3.2.1.2 Video download

This as the name implies, refers to the delivery of video clips to a mobile device,

usually through discovery such as browsing and then followed by a WAP or TCP/IP

session where the clip is sent to the device to be viewed or stored. Digital rightsmanagement will define the usage rules for commercial quality content, while theavailable memory capacity of the device will determine storage possibilities

In video downloading cases, wireless profile of TCP/IP is a key enabler for the

download of larger files. Although large video files can be downloaded over the




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WAP stack, the download time is substantially faster with the same network

bandwidth if the transfer is done over the TCP/IP stack. This is better for the user, asthere it reduces the ‘waiting’ time while the file is being delivered from a server to

the user’s device. The evolution of the underlying network to EDGE and WCDMAwill secure capacity and cost-effectiveness. Similarly, roaming agreements between

operators are required.

3.2.1.3 Video streaming

Streaming commonly indicates immediate consumption of on demand or live video

content on a mobile device and where the content is not stored on the device. Thismethod allows the consumption of large video fi les without any dependence on

device memory, since the file is not physically stored on the client. This can becompared to the broadcast model of watching television programs.

Control of Quality of Service is needed in the radio access and core network to

ensure that video applications work properly. This can be done by networkdimensioning and configuration to ensure sufficient capacity for streaming users.

Early GPRS is based on best effort, where capacity is shared evenly among the usersin a cell. In WCDMA and later EGPRS networks, it is possible to provide the user

with a guaranteed bit rate for good service performance.

3.3 Potential applications utilising the UMTS packetswitched service

One of the main reasons for the implementation of UMTS networks is the

anticipated demand for data services. This chapter presents different types of packetswitched services and some of the main requirements for these.

3.3.1 Voice over IP

The most well known use of voice telecommunication is telephony speech

(e.g. GSM), but with Internet and multimedia, a number of new applications will

require this scheme, for example voice over IP and video conferencing tools. Real-time conversation is always performed between peers (or groups) of live (human)

end-users. This is the only scheme where the required characteristics are strictlygiven by human perception (the senses).

3.3.1.1 Push to talk over Cellular

PoC is a direct, real-time voice communications service. The principle of the service

is simple: just push to talk. Thanks to the direct connection, calls can be started toboth individuals and groups with just a push of a key. The half-duplex (one way at atime) call connection is almost instant.





The technology uses the capabilities of the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) as

specified by 3GPP. It is based on a half-duplex, always-on VoIP (Voice over IP)service over the second generation GSM/GPRS network. Push to talk uses the SIP

(Session Initiation Protocol) service architecture as SIP messaging, making newapplications - such as voice chat and group chat messaging - possible. Groups can

also be created using SMS, which is familiar and easy for the user to control.

3.3.1.2 Voice and video over IP

Videophone implies a full-duplex system, carrying both video and audio, and is

intended for use in a conversational environment. As such, the same delayrequirements as for conversational voice will apply in principle, with the added

requirement that the audio and video must be synchronized within certain limits toprovide 'lip-synch' (that is, synchronization of the speaker’s lips with the words

being heard by the end-user). In fact, due to the long delays in even the latest videocodecs, it will be difficult to meet these requirements.

Once again, the human eye is tolerant to some loss of information, so that some

degree of packet loss is acceptable depending on the specific video coder andamount of error protection used. It is expected that the latest video codecs will

provide acceptable video quality with frame erasure rates up to about 1%.

Figure 10. Video telephony

3.3.1.3 Point-to-multipoint, multicast via SGSN

When the user is looking at (listening to) video (audio), the scheme streams apply.

The real-time data flow is always aiming at a live (human) destination. It is a one-way transport called unidirectional continuous stream.

This scheme is one of the newcomers in data communication, raising a number of

new requirements in both telecommunication and data communication systems.




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• Audio streaming is expected to provide better quality than conventional

telephony, and requirements for information loss in terms of packet loss willbe correspondingly tighter. As with voice messaging, however, there is no

conversational element involved and delay requirements can be relaxed, evenmore so than for voice messaging. An example of audio streaming is the web

radio station.

The main distinguishing feature of one-way video is that there is no conversationalelement involved, meaning that the delay requirement will not be so stringent, and

can follow that of streaming audio. An example of one-way video is monitoring yourhome via the Internet

3.3.2 Data

Although there may be some exceptions, as a general rule it is assumed that from a

user point of view, a prime requirement for any data transfer application is toessentially guarantee zero loss of information. At the same time, delay variation isnot applicable. The applications, therefore, tend to distinguish themselves on the

basis of the delay that can be tolerated by the end user from the time the sourcecontent is requested until it is presented to the user.

The Release 5 feature HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) marks a

similar boost for WCDMA that EDGE does for GSM. It provides a two-fold increasein air interface capacity and a five-fold increase in data speeds in the downlinkdirection. HSDPA also shortens the round-trip time between the network and

terminals and reduces variance in downlink transmission delay

3.3.2.1 Web browsing

In this category, we will refer to retrieving and viewing the HTML component of aweb page. Other components (e.g. images, audio/video clips) are dealt with under

their separate categories. From the user point of view, the main performance factor is

how fast a page appears after it has been requested.A value of 2 - 4 seconds per page is proposed. However, improvements on these

figures to a target figure of 0.5 seconds would be desirable.

Mobile browsing delivers formatted Web pages to the user’s terminal and displays

them on the screen, enabling interaction with active elements on the page, such aslinks and forms. In the case of “pull,” the user consumes the product by clickinglinks and form buttons to request the next page. Mobile browsing also supports

“push”which is an action initiated by the server to deliver content to the terminal.Users may receive a Service Initiation push message, asking for permission to

display a page, or a Service Load push message, which, depending on the user’ssettings, can automatically load a page and then display it, or simply have it ready inthe cache for immediate display later.






Figure 11 Web browsing with modern mobile browser

3.3.2.2 Interactive games

Requirements for interactive games are obviously very dependent on the specific

game, but it is clear that demanding applications will require very short delays, and a

value of 250 ms is recommended consistent with demanding interactive applications.


Figure 12 Interactive gaming

3.3.2.3 High-priority transaction services (E-commerce)

The main performance requirement here is to provide a sense of immediacy to theuser that the transaction is proceeding smoothly. A value of 2 - 4 seconds is

suggested to be acceptable to most users.

A mobile wallet in the terminal can improve the convenience of mobile commerce

significantly. By providing local storage of, for example, payment and accesscredentials and support or federated identity technologies, such as Liberty, the

terminal wallet reduces the number of actions required by the user during a browsingsession.

Instead of the consumer remembering and typing payment card numbers and accessprofiles (PINs and passwords), the mobile wallet can provide them to the serviceprovider automatically through an intuitive user interface. In addition, a mobile

wallet can extend this automation to shipping address information that wouldotherwise be entered manually. Lifecycle management can be facilitated by over-the-

air (OTA) provisioning of the credentials to be stored in the mobile wallet. Instead of

the user keying in the data manually, he can simply receive, for instance, credit carddetails from the card issuer over-the-air. Credentials storage is secure and protected

by terminal security architecture and a password. Future opportunities for the mobilewallet can include support for operator-based payment services, such as server -

wallets and premium SMS, new card association technologies for browser-basedpayments, such as 3D secure, as well as an open development environment.

3.3.2.4 Two-way control telemetry

Two-way control telemetry is included here as an example of a data service that

requires a real-time streaming performance. Two-way control implies a low allowed

delay. A value of 250 ms is proposed, but a key difference between the voice and




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video services in this category is the zero information loss tolerance, needed when

for instance controlling important industrial processes. There are billions ofmachines waiting to be able to communicate. An ice-cream vending machine wants

to tell the supplier that it’s running out of chocolate cones, enabling the vendingoperator to better schedule his onsite visits. An electricity meter wants to send

consumption figures to the energy provider’s billing system, thus providing morefrequent meter reading. Or the other way around – using your mobile handset, you

may want to activate the alarm system at your cottage remotely, check if the doors at

your home are locked or tell your greenhouse to water your plants.

3.3.2.5 E-mail (server access)

E-mail is generally thought to be a store and forward service, which in principle cantolerate very long delays. It is important, however, to differentiate between

communications between the user and the local e-mail server and server-to-servertransfer. When the user communicates with the local mail server, there is an

expectation that the mail will be transferred quite rapidly, although not necessarilyinstantaneously. Consistent with the research findings on delay tolerance for web

browsing, a requirement of 2 - 4 seconds is proposed.

Figure 13. Electronic postcard

3.3.2.6 Voice messaging and dictation

Requirements for information loss are essentially the same as for conversationalvoice, but the key difference here is that there is more tolerance for delay since there

is no direct conversation involved. The main issue therefore is how much delay can

be tolerated between the user issuing a command to replay a voice message and theactual start of the audio. There is no precise data on this, but a delay on the order of a

few seconds appears reasonable.





3.3.2.7 Presence

Presence is a familiar concept to those using instant messaging services on the fixed

Internet. With mobile phones, presence will not only enhance messaging but willintroduce a service of its own that can be used in many other applications and

services. It will be at the center of all communication and mobile telephony will

benefit from presence information just as it has done from messaging. Instantmessaging is the first presence-enabled application that utilizes presence information

in the operator's presence server.


Figure 14 Presence groups

A definition of presence, is a dynamic variable profile of the user, which is visible to

others and used to represent oneself, share information and control services. Inessence, presence is two things: a user’s status to others and others’ status to theuser. Status may contain information such as personal and device status, location or

context, terminal capabilities and preferred contact method.

3.3.3 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

The MMS evolution

SMS is currently the most successful data service in GSM. In September 2002, morethan 27 billion SMS messages were transmitted. It is expected, that SMS will grow

in numbers of transmitted messages. In the year 2002 about 11% of an operator’sincome was earned with the short message service.

Nokia was the first handheld supplier to use the SMS infrastructure for another kind

of application. Instead of just sending text messages, download of simple pictures orringing tone became possible with Nokia Smart Messaging phones. Smart messaging

enabled the subscribers to personalize their messages to a higher degree.

The great success of Smart Messaging resulted in a standard for enhanced SMScapabilities: Enhanced Message Service (EMS), which was developed by the 3GPP.

EMS allows the transmission and reception of ring tones, sounds, animations, simple

pictures, etc. Hereby, the user can even create own pictures and tones. EMS supportsboth phone personalization and person-to-person messaging. The main advantage of

EMS from the operator’s point of view is that no investment in an EMSinfrastructure is required. EMS is based on and uses the existing SMS infrastructure.

MMS was specified with UMTS Release 4. During the specification process, the3GPP worked with several assumptions: Firstly, the potential transmission rates will




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be higher than in the second generation, thus allowing a higher data rate and more

flexible bearer allocation. Secondly, many mobile phones will have colored screensand higher resolution than earlier models. Given the new options both in terms of

bearers and terminal capabilities, the aim was to specify a more advanced option fortransmitting pictures, music, text, and video. MMS was thus specified to allow the

transmission of larger messages, containing a wide range of content. It supportsperson-to-person communication, and both service providers and subscribers can

generate content.

timeline

SMStextonly

SmartMessaging

& EMS

Text,simple graphics,ringing tones

MultimediaMessaging

Service

music

video

stills

etc.

Figure 15. Short message evolution

The MMS message

An MMS message can be compared with a standardized envelope – neither content,nor size, was specified. The MMS message is represented by a standardized

presentation language: SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language). A

SMIL page holds information on how, where, and when to display the differentmultimedia elements.

The media elements – such as pictures, text, and sound – are combined to a singlemessage, using MIME. MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension.

MIME is a standard, which specifies how several media are placed within a message.(In the Internet, the message is the email; in the mobile network, it is the MMS

message.)

A wide range of media types are supported, such as audio (e.g. MP3), video (e.g.

MP4), text (e.g. ISO-8859-1), and pictures (e.g. baseline JPEG). Several mobile

phone manufactures have agreed in supporting a minimum set of media types toguarantee interoperability.





S M S - m e s s a

g e

Standardised„envelope“:

encapsulatedmessages

Content:Minimum set ofsupported mediatypesrecommended:• text• audio• images• video

variable size

addressesMSISDN or URL

Figure 16. MMS “envelope”

MMS today

More than 40 operators have already started the commercial launch of MMS

(December 2002). The GPRS infrastructure is currently in use for the MMStransport. MMS over WAP is the common way nowadays to transfer MMS message.

But MMS was specified independent from WAP, so other means of MMS transport

may be possible in the future.

3.3.3.1 MMS Architecture

The MMS Architecture consists of several network entities. Please note, that some of

them can be combined within a single network element.

• MMS User Agent (UE) MMS is based on the client server principle. A MMS UA can reside on themobile equipment. But it can be also made available on external devices, such as

laptops, PDAs, and other devices. These external devices can be connected to a

UE to use MMS via the radio interface. But MMS was specified in such a way,that it can be deployed e.g. on a fixed network personal computer.

The MMS UE interacts with the Multimedia Message Service Environment

(MMSE). The MMSE incorporates MMS service elements, which are responsiblefor the delivery and storage of MMS messages. The MMSE entities are the

• MMS Server

This network entity is responsible for managing incoming and outgoingmessages. It is also in use as MMS storage.

• MMS Relay This network element is responsible for the interworking between different




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messaging systems. It can be connected to voice mail servers, E-mail servers,

Fax servers, etc. In addition to that, it is also responsible for CDR generation.

Although MMS Server and MMS Relay were specified as two individual networkentities in UMTS Release 4, most vendors are offering their functionalities in one

network element. Nokia calls its MMS Server/Relay MMS Center. MMS over

WAP is currently the common way to transfer MMS message. But MMS wasspecified independently from WAP, so other means of MMS transport may bepossible in the future

The figure below shows the MMSC including its reference points (MM1 to MM8).Please note, that most reference points are not open! Only the format of the user data

is specified. (Reference point MM2 is between the MMS Relay and the MMSServer.)

MMSC enter

HLR

Subscriber

database

Externalapplication

MM1

MM5

MM6MM7

MM8I-MMSCMM4

Billingsystem

MM3

Legacysystems

Figure 17. MMS Center and its reference points

3.3.3.2 MMS Flow examples

UE to UE MMS transfer

In this example, we outline an MMS transfer between two UEs. Hereby, we assume

that the multimedia messages are transmitted via WAP. Before multimedia messages

can be exchanged, MMS related signalling between the MMS UA and the MMSCenter must take place. To transmit the signalling information, we need a bearer

between the UE and the MMS Center. In this example, a bearer is made available viathe packet switched domain. A PDP context between the UE and the “external PDN”WAP was established. This bearer is used to transmit MMS messages over WAP.





a. The UE invokes a WSP/HTTP POST operation with the M-Send.req

message embedded as the content body. This message is submittedusing a URI that addresses the MMS Center that supports the specific

terminal. The UE composes a transaction ID for the submitted message.This ID is used by the UE and the MMS Center to provide linkage

between the originated M-Send.req and the response M-Send.conf messages. The value used for the transaction ID is determined by the

UE, and no interpretation is expected from the MMS Center.

b. The MMS Center assigns a message ID to the message whensuccessfully received for delivery. The ID is used in activities that need

to refer to the specific sent message, e.g. sending the possible delivery

report later. Upon receipt of the M-Send.req message, the MMS Centerresponds to the WSP/HTTP POST with an answer that includes the M-

Send.conf message in its body (body=HTTP level payload). Theresponse message provides a status code for the requested operation. If

the MMS Center is willing to accept the request to send the message,the status is ‘accepted’ and the message includes the message-ID

composed by the MMS Center.

M-Send.req

M-Send.conf

Message sending

SGSN

GGSN

GPRS BB

MSC /VLR/HLR

SMSCenter

BTSBSC

BTSBSC

WAP GW

PPGMMSCenter

Figure 18. UE to UE MMS over WAP (step 1 and 2)

3. The headers of the PDU (the ones that the sender's MMS Center has added to theoriginal PDU) are used to generate a notification to the recipient, and aredelivered with the message body parts to the recipient at retrieval. The MMS

Center creates a transaction identifier before sending the notification. Theidentifier is unique up to the following M-NotifyResp only. If the MMS Client

requests deferred (delayed) delivery with M-NotifyResp, the MMS Center maycreate a new transaction identifier.The notification uses SMS as bearer; the MMS Center sends the M-

Notification.ind to the SMS Center. The SMS Center further forwards the

message to SMS-GMSC. The SMS-GMSC asks routing info from HLR, i.e. the




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location of the MSC that the recipient UE was last connected with

(SendRoutingInfoForShortMs) . SMS-GMSC forwards the message to MSC

(ForwardShortMessage). MSC checks VLR to make sure that the UE has not

been barred or otherwise restricted from using the network (SendInfoForMT-

SMS). MSC forwards the message through the BSS to the receiving UE.

4. The information in M-Notification.ind includes the URI that will be used toactually retrieve the message in a subsequent operation by the receiving

terminal. The terminal may use additional information about the message (e.g.

message size, expiry) to determine its behaviour. For example, the UE may delaythe retrieval of the message if it exceeds a defined size. The receiver of the M-

Notification.ind tells the action to be taken to the MMS Center with the M-

NotifyResp.req, which is routed to the MMS Center the same way as the M-

Notification.ind .

M-Notification.ind

M-NotifyResp.req

Sending notificationDeferring message

SGSN

GGSN

GPRS BB

MSC/VLR/HLR

SMSCenter

BTSBSC

BTSBSC

WAP GW

PPGMMSCenter

Figure 19. UE to UE MMS over WAP (step 3 and 4)

5. The URI (MMS Center address) required for the retrieval, sent in the preceding

M-Notification.ind message, is used in the GET request.

6. The data returned (M-Retrieve.conf) includes the multimedia message. Theheader component can provide additional information, such as the tariff class,

which is useful in AT messages.7. The MMS Center may decide to request an acknowledgement from the UE to

confirm the delivery status of the retrieval. It may make this decision based on

whether it needs to provide a delivery notice back to the originating UE or not.Alternatively, it may make that decision based upon an expectation that it would

then be able to delete the message from its own store.





WSP GET.req

M-Retrieve.conf

Fetching message

M-Acknowledge.req

SGSN

GGSN

GPRS BB

MSC/VLR/HLR

SMSC enter

BTSBSC

BTSBSC

WAP GW

PPGMMSCenter

Figure 20. UE to UE MMS over WAP (step 5, 6, and 7)

8. The MMS Center sends the M-Delivery.ind message to the originating MS using

WAP PUSH to inform when message delivery has occurred.The Message ID identifies the message. It is generated when the original messageis posted. It also provides addressing information of the originally targeted entity.

9. M-read-rec.ind message is sent by the receiver’s UE to the MMS Center toinform when the receiver has opened the message.

10. The MMS Center sends the M-read-orig.ind message to the originating MS using

WAP PUSH to inform when the the receiver has opened the message.




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M-Delivery.ind

Delivery reportRead-Reply

M-read-rec.ind

M-read-orig.ind

SGSN

GGSN

GPRS BB

MSC/VLR/HLR

SMSCenter

BTSBSC

BTSBSC

WAP GW

PPGMMSCenter

Figure 21. UE to UE MMS over WAP (step 8, 9, and 10)





E-Mail and MMS

E-Mails are nowadays a very popular means of communication both in business and

private. Here we can see a flow example of mobile E-mail transfer via MMS.

The MMS Center (MMS Relay functionality) converts the MM to an E-mailmessage and sends it to the Mail Server. The communication between Mail GW and

Mail Server is based on SMTP (/MIME) protocol. SMTP understands only pure textbased data and is used for the actual data transfer. MIME is used for attachment

support. The Mail Server acknowledges the MMS Center that it has received the

message. This is an acknowledgement belonging to the SMTP protocol.

M-Send.req

M-Send.conf

SMTP Mailmessage

SMTP-levelacknowledgement

E-mailserver

GPRS BB

GGSN SGSN

IP network

WAP GW

BTSBSC

MMSCenter

Externalapplication

Figure 22. E-mail connectivity



User Location

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4 User Location

For a mobile subscriber, the current location of his terminal may add value to him.His terminal equipment can be combined with a navigation aid, which helps the

subscriber to find his route in a foreign city. Knowing the user’s location is alsohelpful for emergency services in order to help the calling person faster.

Two concepts have to be separated, when we talk about the subscriber’s location:

• Location Service (LCS) LCS offers the possibility to identify the current location of the subscriber’s

terminal. The current location is reported in a standard format, such asgeographical co-ordinates. The location information can be made available

to the subscriber himself, the ME, the network operator, the service operator,

and for PLMN internal operations. LCS is specified.

• Location Based Service (LBS) LCS can be used to enable the provision of location based services (LBS).

These applications are service provider specific and are not specified.

4.1 Location Service (LCS)

LCS, which can be offered without subscription to basic telecommunication

services, reports the location of the subscriber’s terminal. The location informationcan be used for charging, lawful interception, emergency calls, positioning services,

as well as location based services (LBS).

A set of location services exists. They are characterized by following attributes,which vary with from location service to location service:

• Accuracy

describes the difference of the ME actual location and its estimated (andreported) location

• Privacy

describes the confidentiality of the location information

• Coverage area

describes the geographical area, within which the location service isadequately supplied

• Transaction rate

describes how frequently the location measurement has to be conducted to

support the location service.

Standard UE positioning methods

The standard positioning methods supported within GSM/UMTS Rel. 99:





• Cell ID based method

• OTDOA-IPDL (Observed Time Difference of Arrival -Idle Period Downlink)

• GPS (Global Positioning System).

These will be briefly explained in the following.

4.1.1 Cell ID based method

In the cell ID based (that is, cell coverage) method, the position of an UE isestimated with the knowledge of its serving base station. The information about the

serving base station and cell may be obtained by paging, location area update, cellupdate, URA update, or routing area update.

4.1.2 OTDOA-IPDL

OTDOA-IPDL (Observed Time Difference of Arrival - Idle Period Downlink) is a

method with network configurable idle periods (In the Nokia Solution, it has beennamed mCatch)

The OTDOA-IPDL method involves measurements made by the UE and LMU

(Location Measurement Unit) of the UTRAN frame timing. For instance, theobserved time difference between different System Frame Numbers (SFN) can be

used. These measures are then sent to the SRNC (Serving Radio Network Controller)

where the position of the UE is calculated through triangulation estimate. Thelocation can here be defined down to between 70 - 50 meters.

The Base Station may provide idle periods in the downlink in order to potentially

improve the hear ability of neighboring BSs. The support of these idle periods in the

UE is optional. The support of idle periods in the UE means that the OTDOAperformance is improved when idle periods are available. Alternatively, the UE mayperform the calculation of the position using measurements and assistance data.



User Location

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BTS

BTS

BTS

Figure 23. Locating the subscriber

4.1.3 GPS

GPS (Global Positioning System) is one approach. These methods make use of UEs,

which are equipped with radio receivers capable of receiving GPS signals. The UEreceives signals from many satellites and the position of the UE can be calculated

very accurately. But one has to remember that there has to be a line of sight to the

satellites, which means that the GPS does not work properly indoors or in bad

weather conditions.

4.2 Location Based Services (LBS)

Location based services do not form a separate application category of their own;rather combine LCS information with an application. Applications like games,mobile chat and mCommerce among others can be location-dependent. Please note,

that location based services are not standardized.

Location based services – Integrity, security and service related issues

Different applications can access information on the subscriber's location. The

standards dictate that the subscriber can control whether the location information iskept or not (except if there is local government legislation).

An example of how useful this location information is could be a car device that can

download maps or information based upon your location.






Figure 24 Location Based Service examples

Location aware applications and services stand out because they provide theconsumer with:

• Enhanced personal navigation and route finding. For instance, by listeningto the turn-by-turn directions on how to get to a meeting.

• Enhanced personal communication when using e-mail or MMS: For

example, the user can receive a picture with attached location as an

invitation to a house-warming party.

• Location aware personalized information, e.g. “where are the nearest

restaurants?” This can be done with no need to enter the current address or

city district information, making the service faster and easy to use.

• Location aware games and entertainment, e.g. “catch the enemy spiesaround you while taking the bus to school”.

• Increased safety, e.g. locating lost hikers.

• Professional tracking services e.g operate a fleet of trucks and optimize

usage knowing where they are.

In many countries this is a legal requirement in the case of emergency calls.

For example in the U.S., the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has statedthat, by October 2001, emergency calls from mobile stations should be located with

accuracy of 125 meters or better. This E911 requirement has been the mostimportant single driving factor for current MS location activity.

Operators can also benefit from location information for network planning purposes.

They can track user movements and detect hot spots with dense traffic. Operatorscan delineate areas with poor radio coverage or use location information to enhance

basic services. Special tariff zones provide a particularly good example of such aservice enhancement. A cellular operator can offer reduced tariffs for subscriberswhen they call from their home zone.

However, operators can earn revenue from offering related position servers, such aslocation specific advertising. This is because they know the user's location, personal

profile information or segmented channel. Push advertisements can be subscription

based so that the mobile user can indicate to the operator the information he is

interested in, according to his personal profile.



User Location

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Figure 25. Sample application

Location information can be utilized by the applications in many different ways. For

instance, by knowing the location, the menu of available services can be narroweddown to the ones that are interesting in relation to the location. Furthermore, the

content could change according to the location; for example, information of theclosest restaurants or the closest hotels could pop up on the mobile terminal's screen

based on the current location.

As you imagine, there is an endless amount of services that could utilize theinformation. For an operator, the existing network can be utilized although new

network elements are needed to help in taking measurements from the network and

location servers. Also, supporting servers are also needed.

Today's networks and mobiles also have location-based services, based upon the cell

ID and location area. This information is used already for charging and routing ofcalls.





5 Virtual Home Environment (VHE)

5.1 What is a Virtual Home Environment?

With GSM systems, one obvious drawback as far as roaming is concerned was theportability of the subscriber services. In order to increase the value added to the

subscriber – and thus the potential to earn revenue for the operator – a wide range of

personalized services are expected. If a large set of diversified applications exist,which are not specified, a framework has to be designed to enable seamless

application provisioning between networks. From the subscriber’s point of view, the

applications should be always available, regardless of location, and the application ispresented to him in the same way as if he is in his home PLMN.

Virtual Home Environment (VHE) is a concept for Personal Service Environment

portability across network boundaries and between terminals. The purpose of VHE isthat users should consistently be presented with the same personalized features inany terminal, any network and any location. User Interface customization and

services should be provided in a seamless manner between networks and terminals(within the capabilities of the terminal and the network). Currently; CAMEL,MExE, OSA and USAT are the mechanisms supporting the VHE concept.


Figure 26. Subscriber's expectations: Seamless services

Each application toolkit has a specified application execution environment. Theapplication execution environment is used to run specific, non-standardized

applications. The options to personalize applications exist. The application toolkitsfor operator specific services are (U)SAT, MExE, and CAMEL.

The VHE can be viewed both from the user perspective and network perspective.

From a users point of view VHE is enabled by user profiles as in the figure below.The home environment allows a user to personally manage one or more user profiles

(e.g. activate, modify, deactivate etc.) The network side of VHE; (the Home

Environment and Home Environment –Value Added Service Provider) is also able tomanage one or more user profiles (e.g. activate, modify, deactivate etc.).

Furthermore it is necessary to enable the identification of a user's personalized dataand services information directly or indirectly from the user's profile and anauthorized Home Environment –Value Added Service Provider must have access the

user's profile. In some cases it required that Value Added Service Providers are



Virtual Home Environment (VHE)

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enabled to control and have limited access to the user's profile (e.g. for general user

preferences and subscribed services information).


Figure 27 VHE; A set of service control from the user point of view

The home environment (VHE) from a network point of view is designed to be

able to provide and control services to the user in a consistent manner even in

cases when a user is roaming. It is also necessary to provide the means to

create and maintain a set of user profiles and support the execution of services

through its Service Toolkits in the network, the USIM and in the ME. The

VHE must be able to uniquely identify the user in any of thetelecommunication networks supported by the Home Environment.


Figure 28 VHE from a network point of view

5.1.1 Mobile applications from the USIM and terminal point of view

In principle, a UMTS application is anything that can be delivered via a UMTS

bearer. This opens a wide range opportunities, but, on the other hand, it sets high

requirements for the terminals. As in GSM, the UMTS mobile phone is made of twocomponents, the USIM and the terminal:





Figure 29. SIM card

Because nobody requires every potential application (and is willing to pay all the

development costs which come with the application), terminal differentiation willoccur.

The standards have specified how additional network-independent services, such asSAT and MExE, should operate within terminals (see the next subsections).

Mobile terminal operating systems

A mobile terminal consists of hardware, an operating system, and applications. Thethree main contenders to set the standard for handheld operating systems are:

• Symbian with its EPOC operating system

• Microsoft with Windows CE (Consumer Electronics)

• 3Com with its Palm operating system

The Nokia wireless operating system for the next generation of smart phones,including the 9210(i) Communicator, is the EPOC operating system. By using a

standard operating system, it means that applications that are not dependent on aparticular phone can be built. This should open the way for more applications forsubscribers.

• The UMTS SIM (USIM) has

open application programminginterfaces (APIs). The option for

download application programs

exist.• The mobile equipment (ME),

which is also called mobileterminal (MT), is able to handle

RT/NRT bearers. Depending on

the application platforms it

supports, open application

programming interfaces support

the execution of applications on

the ME.




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Figure 30. Sample Symbian operating system

5.2 (UMTS) SIM Application Toolkit - (U)SAT

General idea of APIs

It is possible to specify open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for themobile equipment (ME) and the SIM-card. Application programs can then use these

APIs. (U)SAT specifies APIs for the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In other

words, this APIs represent an enhanced set of SIM-ME interfaces. The SIM-MEinterfaces are used by the SIM-card to trigger ME functions and vice versa. The

SIM-card cannot be accessed from outside application servers. There is only oneexception: If the supplier of the SIM-card allows it, application programs can be

downloaded on the SIM.

The APIs for the ME are called terminal adaptation functions. They can be used to

interact directly with higher layer protocols such as USSD (UnstructuredSupplementary Service Data), SM (Session Management), CC (Call Control), and

SMS protocols. The ME can be accessed from external application servers.

(U)SAT working principle

Universal Subscriber identity module Application Toolkit (USAT) provides astandardized execution environment for applications stored on the USIM/SIM card

and the ability to utilize certain functions of the supporting mobile equipment.

SAT/USAT provides mechanisms which allow applications, existing in theUSIM/SIM, to interact and operate with any ME which supports the specified

mechanism(s) thus ensuring interoperability between a USIM/SIM and an ME,

independent of the respective manufacturers and operators. A transport mechanism isprovided enabling applications to be down-loaded and/or updated.





The central idea of USAT is to execute an application program on the SIM-card.

Information required for the application can be retrieved from an application relatedcontent server. The location of the content server and how to establish a connection

to the content server is specified in the application program on the SIM-card


Figure 31 SAT / USAT concept view

Example

Content provider can remotely provision content to user’s mobile equipment byexchanging codes embedded in short messages between the application client on the

SIM and the content/application server. In the (U) SAT specification, SMS is a key

mechanism for personalizing the SIM in each user’s GSM phone. In the figurebelow, a simple service request and response by means of SAT is illustrated. As you

can see, most of the interaction takes place locally between the user and the MS/UE.Only the specific service request and the response are transmitted as short messages

in the air interface.


Figure 32. SAT service example – weather forecast service

(U)SAT and security

A significant aspect of SAT/USAT is the highly secure environment provided by the

USIM/SIM card. This is further enhanced by the fact that the subscriber and the

issuer of the USIM/SIM and also the SAT/USAT applications have a "trustedrelationship" (e.g. the subscriber trusts the issuer of the card to charge correctly for

the resources used). This allows certain features, such as call control, to be

implemented with a degree of freedom, which would not be acceptable in a "non-trusted relationship". Because of this, (U)SAT is often seen as prerequisite for

applications with high security requirements, such as mobile banking and mobile

commerce.




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5.3 Mobile (Station Application) Execution Environment(MExE)

MExE working principle

Mobile Execution Environment (MExE) provides a standardized executionenvironment in an ME, and an ability to negotiate the Mobile Equipments supported

capabilities with a MExE service provider, allowing applications to be developed

independently of any UE platform. A User Equipment (consisting of the ME and

SIM/USIM) can then be targeted with a range of implementations for MExE fromsmall devices with low bandwidth, limited displays, low processor speeds, limited

memory, MMI etc. At the other end of the scale are sophisticated User Equipmentswith a complete MExE execution environment

The aim of MExE is to provide a comprehensive and standardized environment on

the mobile equipment (ME) for executing operator or service provider specificapplications. MExE is designed as a full application execution environment on the

mobile terminal. A set of mobile terminal operating system such as Symbian orWindows CE can be used, which were optimized for small, handheld devices such asmobile phones or PDAs. Similar to (U)SAT, a set of open interfaces (so-called

terminal adaptation functions) are specified for the ME. These standardized

interfaces allow the execution of applications on the handheld device, an interaction

with external application related content servers, independent of the used operatingsystem.


Figure 33 MExE architecture

Strongly simplified, we can say that MExE converts a mobile phone to a small

mobile computer. Manufactures of mobile phones have agreed in using WAP/WTAand/or Java virtual machines in order to design and program applications locally on

the mobile equipment. For that reason, WAP/WTA and Java were explicitlymentioned in the MExE specifications. Because of that, WAP/WTA and Java are

listed below in separate subsections. Please note, that neither WAP nor Java are

specified within MExE.

5.3.1 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)/ Wireless Telephony Application(WTA)

The Internet and mobile communication were the fasted growing markets in the 90s.Consequently, solutions were searched after to allow mobile Internet access. A

standard for mobile Internet access must be globally unified future proof and suitable





for the radio interface limitations of several mobile communication standards. The

independence from a mobile communication standard was archived by specifyingWAP bearer independent. Also security aspects have to be considered for a wireless

Internet access in order to avoid eavesdropping.

WAP was released 1999 as new mobile Internet protocol standard. WAP was

explicitly designed to meet the challenge of an efficient radio interface usage. Inaddition to that, a content format was defined which enables the display of contenton small screen handheld devices.

WAP working principle

Basically the WAP architecture is similar to the “normal” Internet architecture:

There is the client sending a request, and on the other side there is a server, which

returns response to the client. The special issue about WAP is given by the fact thatthe client is a mobile station.

The content for the mobile phones is stored on standard WWW servers. Thus, they

use TCP/IP. A WAP Gateway between the mobile phone client and the WWW

server is required to translate WAP into the standard Internet format. (Http/TCP/IP).Besides translating the protocols the WAP Gateway also compresses the text based

Internet content to a binary format that is used on the air interface.

WWWServer

WAPuser

agent

WAPGateway

response (WML)

coded request (URL)URL request

coded response (bin. WML)

decoding

coding

Figure 34. WAP infrastructure

Within WAP, the Wireless Markup Language (WML) is standardized based on the

XML framework. WML copes with the problem that normal HTML pages are toobig to be shown on most handheld devices like PDAs and mobile phones. One

problem is rooted in the fact that HTML has no fixed page size. WML consequentlyreduces the page size dramatically to a size that can be presented on a mobile device

screen. These small pages are called cards. The content of one card will never besufficient for an application and so the application content is spread upon a whole

stack of cards that is called a deck . As the content is distributed between severalcards in one deck, a navigation trough different cards is required, which is one of the

most demanding and time consuming tasks when writing WML applications. Links




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within a WML deck refer to the same deck they are carried out without delay

because the whole deck is stored in the memory of the mobile device. But links toother decks are also required. They trigger a new download from the server.

Internet-Content:Hypertext Markup Language HTML

- large pages- each page unique

address (URL)- texts &pictures- links- programs

HTML

pagestoobig

pagestoobig

Internet-Content for mobiles:

Wireless Markup Language WMLWML-Cards instead of HTML-pages

(Browser)Last Name:

Moonen|

OK alpha

(Browser)Which language do

you want to use ?

[English]

OK

(Browser)

1 Last Name

2 First Name

3 Department

Edit Find

Several Cards =one Deck = URL

(Browser)

1 Last Name

2 First Name

3 Department

Edit Find

(Browser)

1 LastName

2 First Name

3 Department

EditFind

Figure 35. WML, cards, and decks

5.4 Customised Application for Mobile NetworkEnhanced Logic (CAMEL)

The inauguration of CAMEL

In fixed networks and early GSM networks, the signalling between core network and

IN application platforms was made through INAP (Intelligent Network ApplicationPart). This allowed the core network to send and receive signalling messages about

the applications that the users have.

However, this protocol was vendor-dependant and as a result, if a subscriber was

roaming, the services provisioning normally did not work. A well-known example of

this is the prepaid subscription. Therefore, a new protocol was introduced in GSMoffering complete service portability on an advanced IN platform: CAMEL

(Customised Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic). Provided that

CAMEL is used both in the Home and Visited PLMN, the subscriber is able to“carry” all applications with her from one network to another. CAMEL is carried on

the protocols CAP (CAMEL Application Part) and MAP (Mobile Application Part)between operators.

CAMEL architecture

CAMEL specifies three network entities:





• Service Switching Point (SSP) For IN and CAMEL services, the SSP is implemented in the (G)MSC. Thefunctional entity is an enhanced IN call control unit. It interfaces the

(G)MSC and the SCP.

•

Service Control Point (SCP) The SCP is a function entity, which contains the CAMEL service logic. It issometimes called service execution platform, because here the subscriber

specific IN applications are made available. It interfaces the SSP, HLR,

GMLC (Gateway Mobile Location Centre, for location services), andgsmSRF (GSM Specialised Resource Function, among others for variable

announcements, such as account announcements for prepaid subscribers).

The interaction between CAMEL network elements and CAMEL supporting

networks requires the protocols MAP (Mobile Application Part) and CAP (CAMELApplication Part).

home PLMN

interrogating PLM N

SCP

HLR

MSC/VLR GMSC

visited PLMN

SSP SSP

incoming lineroaming lego u t g o i n g l e g ( M

O c a l l )

M A P

M AP

C A P

M AP

C A P

VL R

M A P

Figure 36. CAMEL architecture (simplified)

Why is it possible, that for a roaming subscriber, applications are made available asif he is in the home PLMN? When the mobile phone registers in the supply area of a

MSC/VLR, the subscriber profile is downloaded to the VLR. The subscriber profileholds the address of the SCP in the home PLMN, which is responsible to run thesubscriber related service logic. For instance, the subscriber uses the number “777”

to listen to messages delivered to the subscriber’s voice mail system. The number

“777” is unknown to the visited PLMN. But the SSP/MSC in the visited PLMNforwards the service request to the SCP in the home network. The SCP resolves the

request, and returns e.g. an ISDN number to the MSC/SSP, which can be used to

establish a dial-in connection to the VMS in the home network. Thus the voice mailservice is available in all visited networks, which support CAMEL, the same way asit is in the home PLMN.




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5.5 Open Service Access (OSA) conception

OSS solutions: advantages and drawbacks

There are three operator specific service (OSS) solutions: MExE, (U)SAT, andCAMEL. Let us look on the advantages first: With the help of OSS solutions,applications are not standardized. Thus the operator can offer a wide range of

customized services. This enables the operator to conduct both price and “end userservice” competition.

The portability of applications is – at least in principle – given. Depending on the

OSS solution, there exist standardized interfaces and/or bearers for the transport of

application related data. One example for a standardized interface is the signalingprotocol CAP (CAMEL Application Part).

But CAP is a very good example to demonstrate the limitations of the OSS solutions.

When a new application has to be introduced, it must be programmed. Whenprogramming new applications, a lot of drawbacks can be observed in CAP:

• CAP is a mobile specific SS7 protocol. The programmer of a new

application must thus have a profound knowledge of SS7 itself, and the

mobile specific CAP. In addition to that, he must be familiar with theconceptions of the mobile communication system, be it GSM and/or UMTS.

To gain the required know how is both time consuming and costly.

• The CAMEL interfaces are standardized, but not the vendor specific

CAMEL platforms. Each supplier of CAMEL solutions has his own

CAMEL service creation environment. The programmer of the application

must be familiar with that too. If for instance an application is verysuccessful with one operator, it is not necessarily easily installed by one and

the same programmer in another operator’s network. The programmer mustfirst familiarize himself with the new vendor specific service platform,

before implementing software solutions

• The OSS infrastructure is located within the (mobile) operator’s

infrastructure. The designer of the application must take this infrastructureinto account, such as the topology of the network (to optimize the

application provision in the HPLMN).

As can be seen, making applications available is complicated and costly even with

OSS.

OSA conception

The application designer needs a specified set of capabilities from the PLMN. For anOSA application designer, the PLMN is a black box. The OSA application designer

is not aware of an operator’s network topology

OSA specifies open application programming interfaces (APIs) between the PLMN(service capability servers (SCS)) and the application (application server). The APIs





represent a very accurately specified signaling between the application (outside the

PLMN) and the PLMN itself. The APIs can be used to trigger events.


Figure 37 3GPP service architecture

For instance, an application may require information, whether the subscriber is in the

home cell. If the subscriber is in the home cell, the mobile services are offered to

him with a special price. An API for mobility management is used to inform thenetwork to deliver the required location information. The same API is then used to

return the information about a cell (location) change of the subscriber.

There is another API with which the application gets informed about the (mobile)terminal capabilities. Given the subscriber’s terminal capabilities, the application can

then decide how to present the user data. In neither example does the OSAapplication designer need to know, how the mobile operator retrieved the requiredinformation internally. All the application designer and the operator have to agree on

is a set of standardized APIs, which can be used between the application and thePLMN.

ApplicationServer

Application Server

Fiber

Core Network

2GSGSN

3GSGSN GGSN

HLR

3GMSC

VoiceServers

Service Creation& ExecutionPlatform

SCP

Service DeliveryPlatform

Core Network

Service Capabilities

• bearers in accordance to QoSparameters

• mechanisms for makingservices available

Appli-cation

Appli-cation

Appli-cation

Appli-cation

Appli-cation

Application Server

access via open APIs

Figure 38. OSA conception




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Summary

The 3GPP specifications define the OSA as a standard for communication between

the applications and the network is through an API (Application ProgrammingInterfaces). API is a set of standard procedural and functional calls within a

framework, which support applications that can be developed by third parties. The

application logic is separated from the network and the application can be run by theoperator or at a 3

rd party service provider.

The Advantage of OSA is that new service development is independent of thenetworking technologies. Also, new service development can utilize off-the-shelfproducts. This concept is very similar to (U)SAT and MExE. (U)SAT means the

specification of open APIs for SIM capabilities; MExE means the specification ofopen APIs for ME capabilities; OSA results in the specification of open APIs

between applications and PLMN capabilities.

5.6 Nokia Mobile Internet solution (optional topic)The Nokia Mobile Internet concept is developed to support multimedia services thatare location-aware and personalized. The concept is built on the mobility aspect of

the mobile network and the enhanced performance of 3G network. Nokia MobileInternet and Messaging Services concept includes the following products:

• Nokia Short Message Service Centre (SMSC)

• Nokia Multimedia Message Service Centre (MMSC)

• Nokia Messaging Platform

• Nokia Profile Directory

• Nokia MAX Platform (Portal platform)





Mobile network

Internet/Intranet

Content

Person to personmessaging

MMSC SMSC

SMSC =Short Message Service CenterMMSC =Multimedia Message Service CenterNMP = Nokia Messaging Platform

Personalization

MAXPlatform

Profile

Directory

Location based service

Location Server

Information RetrievalNMP

Figure 39. Nokia Mobile Internet and Messaging Services concept

In the above figure person-to-person messaging is achieved through the use of the

messaging centres. WAP access is made through the NMP server to the Internet. Ifthe subscriber is using a location-based service, the information on the subscriber's

location can be retrieved. With the choice of so many services, it is important thatthe operator and the subscriber are able to personalize the environment. This is made

through the profile directory and MAX platform.

5.6.1 Mobile Business (mBusiness)

Businesses were early to identify the efficiency and productivity gains provided bymobile communications. It is expected that similar benefits and high usage will berealised when IP and mobility are combined with quality of service and bandwidth in

UMTS.

Improved connectivity to the enterprises' systems and information will enable use of

enterprise management solutions to the business user on the move. These solutionsinclude customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning

(ERP), supply chain management (SCM), business to business commerce and

market place management applications. Additionally, telemetric applications will be

exploded with ready access to the resources of the business wherever they may bephysically located.

A key requirement in providing these enhanced connectivity services and

management solutions will be transaction security, access and authorisationmanagement, mobility localisation, voice-data convergence and synchronisation.

Nokia is developing all the enabling elements to address these requirements.





Multi Media Kiosk

Vending Machine

Loyalty cards

Local payments

Transportation

OnlineLocal

Auction

Music downloading

Online banking

Ticketing

Online payments

Application downloading

Figure 40. Examples of where mCommerce could be used



Review questions

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6 Review questions

Please take time and answer the following review questions:

1. Which of the following are UMTS services?

a. cs data services

b. Web browsing

c. SMS

d. speech call

e. VoIP call

f. voice mail service

2. Identify “operator specific services” (OSS):a. cell broadcast service

b. packet switched service

c. SIM application toolkit (SAT)

d. CAMEL

3. (U)SAT specifies open application programming interfaces between

a. SIM and ME

b. SIM and a remote application server

c. SIM and SCP

d. ME and RNC

4. WAP/WTA was developed to

a. support exclusively MexE

b. to design and program application locally on the ME

c. to allow interaction between the SCP and the ME

d. to support radio interface protocols.

5. The abbreviation OSA stands for Open Systems Architecture.

True o False o





6. Which of the following sentences best describes a bearer?

a. A traffic channel only for speech

b. A signalling connection between the core network and the radio access

c. A variable channel that can carry different types of data

d. A fixed-bit-rate data channel

7. VHE is the abbreviation for Virtual Home Environment. Which of the following

is, or will be, a characteristic of the VHE (more than one)?

a. Allows the subscribers to use their services whilst roaming.

b. The subscribers can customise their own environment.

c. It is the same as a SMSC (Short Message Service Centre).

d. VHE is possible because of CAMEL.

e. VHE is located within the HLR.

f. It is only possible in UMTS.

c.

8. Location Services

a. can be offered only in combination with a subscription to basictelecommunication services

b. are a prerequisite for roaming

c. used for determining the position of the mobile terminal

d. and Location Based Services have the same meaning

d.



Review questions

Further information

The specifications give detailed information on how services should be implemented

into the network. The service classification of Release 2000 can be found fromSpecification 22.976. The below figure is taken directly from the specification and

identifies where to find information on the types of services that have been coveredin this module.

Toolkits:

CAMELMExE

SIM ATKOSA

LCS"Internet tools"

SoLSAetc...

Circuitteleservices

(22.003)

Telephony

FAXSMS

Valueadded

non-callrelatedservices

(e.g. eMail,MMS,

WWW, News,

etc…)

IPmultimediaservices

OtherBearer

servicesSMS,UUS,

USSDGPRS(22.060)

CircuitBearer

services(22.002)

Supplementary

services(22.004)

Figure 41. Service classification, taken from Specification 22.976

In addition to the bearer description in the above figure, for more information on theVHE, refer to 22.970. This gives the overview of the specification and is useful in

locating detailed information. For information on the wireless protocols of SAT andMExE, refer to the stage 1 (overview) specifications of 22.038 and 22.057

respectively.

If you are interested in finding out more information on the supplementary services,the stage 1 specifications can be found in the range starting from 22.072 until 22.097

inclusive. Stage 2 and stage 3 (implementation and technical realisation) can befound from the specifications, but the stage 1 should give you a start on how to find

the desired information.

Finally, if you wish to read more about the UMTS service principles and service

capabilities, then we recommend references to 22.101 and 22.105. At the time, thereis little literature in the general media about services. Remember to check the Nokia

web site (www.Nokia.com) for the latest information.

umts services and applications

Documents