Generation UMTS

14th November, 2003

Above : Moby Dick - A Pure-IP 4G Architecture

US : NEC Europe Ltd announced the successful completion of the three-year “Moby Dick Project”, aimed at developing a seamless converged mobile network architecture based on Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). The project title “Moby Dick” stems from “Mobility and Differentiated Services in a Future IP Network”, fostering the evolution of mobile and wireless infrastructures toward the Internet and targeting the “Terrestrial Wireless System and Networks” area of the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme. An international consortium of twelve organisations (note) from the private and public sector with strong credentials in telecommunication, Internet technologies and network operation, including NEC, launched the project to develop, implement and evaluate a common IPv6 mobility-enabled network architecture, integrating Authentication, Authorisation, Accounting and Charging (AAA or AAAC) services, with support for Quality of Service (QoS). The group successfully demonstrated the achievement of these aims at a public seminar held on campus at the University of Stuttgart, Germany on November 6th. The initiation of the next project, Daidalos, also supported by the EU’s IST program, which will continue and strengthen the development begun with Moby Dick, will commence immediately.

Aiming to fulfil the needs of present and future mobile communications services, the Moby Dickgroup focussed on IPv6, developed and published by the Internet Engineer Task Force (IETF) as a basis for their next generation network architecture. The beauty of IPv6 mobility is that it offers smooth evolution from existing 2G and 3G network architectures - meaning that these will not become “obsolete” and dismantled before 4G or beyond can come into force – while simultaneously allowing the plug-in of future, yet to be developed network technologies. The Moby Dick architecture offers seamless handover between network access technologies over IP, a function crucial for effective video- streaming and audio communication.

The project was born amid the hyperbole of UMTS licence sales in 2000. The Moby Dickparadigm was to be based entirely on the Internet, with obvious cost advantages for operators and users, integrating licensed and unlicensed radio access networks. The MobyDickgroup decided that the IP layer would be directly on top of TD-CDMA. The TD-CDMA interface and the radio link protocol would exist but other network elements, such as RNC, HLR, VLR, SGSN, GGSN are replaced by functionally IP-based equivalents – MIPv6 home agents and access routers, AAA Servers and QoS brokers. The data transmission is pure IPv6 from end-to-end without a tunnelling protocol (like GTP), offering significant advantages and simplified inter-technology handovers.

The recent demonstration proved that it was possible, with acceptable quality, to transmit uninterrupted streaming to a mobile terminal; despite changing it’s point of attachment to the network several times – employing intra- and inter-technology handovers. Taking into account an initial registration of a mobile terminal to the AAAC system, charging for authorised usage and QoS negotiation throughout. Interfacing between three network access technologies, WLAN, TD-CDMA and Ethernet, the team moved a mobile terminal topologically among them, maintaining unbroken transmission of audio or video streams. The demonstration is described in fuller detail in the attachment ““Moby Dick” - Integrated Platform Final Demonstration- An Explanation “.

The integration of AAAC services and QoS means that a commercial network can not only deliver premium quality services that can be monitored to ensure minimum standards are supplied, but can also charge premium rates for the efficient provision of that service. The customer has a detailed and accessible record of his usage and charges available in an online database and the operator has a means of maintaining QoS to justify their charges. Authentication confirms proof of users identity, Authorisation gives permission for legitimate users to proceed, and Metering involves the generation of raw charging data. During the Accounting and Auditing phases, the provision of metering data for charging and the proof of service are appraised. Charging is calculated based on the accounting phase and security is maintained via standard IP security (IPsec).

In terms of what this means for users of future networks, it is safe to suggest that seamless mobility will provide users with the most suitable network access at any time and any place, offering significant cost benefits, in addition to continuous maintenance of requested service levels and communication security. Currently, parallel tests of this architecture using PDA’s are being conducted. The benefits afforded by this architecture will foster the evolution of mobile terminals into multifunctional communications devices, capable of a whole range of tasks, including voice, emailing, video streaming and conferencing, real-time access for uploading and downloading via the Internet while the user is on the move. Telematics, navigation or security and surveillance are other likely applications.