Opportunities and Challenges from Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) Technology

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Author(s): Ioannis Chochliouros (OTE S.A., General Directorate for Technology, Greece), Anastasia S. Spiliopoulou (OTE S.A., General Directorate for Technology, Greece), Stergios P. Chochliouros (Independent Consultant, Greece)and George Agapiou (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A., Greece)
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 10
Source title: Encyclopedia of Multimedia Technology and Networking, Second Edition
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Margherita Pagani (Bocconi University, Italy)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-014-1.ch151

Keywords: Information Science Reference / Media & Communications / Multimedia Technology

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Abstract

The tremendous growth in the mobile communications sector has had a profound technical, economic/business, and social impact in Europe and worldwide (Chochliouros & Spiliopoulou, 2005). In particular, various sectors’ effects combined with the rapid expansion of (fixed) broadband wireless technologies have generated, in several instances, suitable prerequisites (and/or conditions) for further development and exploitation, to successfully realize a diversity of convergencebased opportunities (Chochliouros, Spiliopoulou, & Lalopoulos, 2004; Yoon, Yoon, & Lee, 2005). Mobile devices are currently used in virtually every domain of human activity (i.e., private, business, and governmental). While the relevant penetration levels are likely to continue to enlarge (in fact, mobile phone penetration has now reached well over two billion subscribers globally), the most important future evolutionary progress will be the development of innovative broadband facilities-applications. Potential offerings of third-generation mobile (3G) infrastructure (and of its enhancements), together with other modern wireless technologies, especially Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs) and Wi-Fis (Kumar, 2004; Siau & Shen, 2003) affect the growth of the modern economy. The fast expansion of these technologies creates a paradigm shift that will make possible the appearance (and the adoption) of new data services, able to combine the advantages of broadband with mobility features (Commission of the European Communities, 2004a). To this important perspective, all related applications can exercise an essential impact in various fields (technical, commercial, financial, regulatory, social, etc.) and, most significantly, they can produce considerable economic effects by potentially modifying the way that business is done. However, as most of the innovative electronic communications offerings can be accessed and exploited by converged means and resources, the “combined” usage of fixed and mobile infrastructures/facilities can be the basis for further development and progress. Moreover, if looking forward, the convergence of telecommunications-, broadcasting-, and Internet- based facilities will result in the proliferation of high-speed multimedia services, delivered over such networks/infrastructures. Recent market experiences have demonstrated that 2.5G/3G infrastructures (and RLANs) will coexist and provide complementary services (Commission of the European Communities, 2004b). Users can thus benefit themselves of high-speed wireless access when near a hot-spot, and receive 3G services over a broader area. Therefore, convergence of fixed and mobile services, through unified fixed/mobile offerings, is expected to bring additional opportunities for novelty.

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