NEW ORLEANS-Nortel Networks announced its wireless Internet Protocol evolution plan at
Wireless ’99 and said it aims to reduce a wireless operator’s total cost per megabit for data transmissions from 37 cents
currently to 4 cents within five years.
“Nortel Networks has set a goal to drive the overall cost of operating a
mobile network down by an order of magnitude,” said John Roth, Nortel Networks vice chairman and chief
executive officer. He said this sets a cost-performance benchmark against which wireless networks will be measured in
the future.
The announcement echoes the current general theme in the industry for finding ways for carriers to
derive more revenue, capacity and speed and lower costs to justify building out mobile data networks in the first
place.
“The promise of mobile data and Internet services as convenient and ubiquitous as wireless phone
service can be realized only with a profound, fundamental change in the cost of operating wireless networks,”
said Roth.
Roth introduced the terminology Mobile Webtone, which plays off the term “dialtone” used
in the wireline world. Mobile Webtone describes the idea of bringing the advantages of mobility to the Internet
available today from fixed, wireline networks. To achieve this, Nortel said it will move wireless operators from
traditional circuit-switched network architectures to next-generation, IP-optimized, packet-based unified networks
solutions.
Nortel’s concept for Mobile Webtone includes a new paradigm in network design, available product and
service offerings and evolutionary radio technology, said the company.
Nortel stated its new design paradigm
includes:
establishing a single, consistent network architecture for telephone and data;
reducing
facilities costs by distributing access, transport and switching functions using packet routers and switches;
reducing
operating costs by consolidating service and management functions;
compressing the voice payload to reduce
network elements and circuit-switched links; and
migrating new service development and control functions to
commercially available IP-based computer platforms.
“Nortel Networks’ Mobile Webtone shows a keen
understanding of the importance of the packet network architecture and the advantages and cost efficiencies it can offer
network operators,” said Jane Zweig, executive vice president of consulting firm Herschel Shosteck Associates
Ltd.
Nortel said the products and services it has now to help operators begin delivering Mobile Webtone include
Passport 8300 switches for Global System for Mobile communications data networking; Contivity Extranet switches
for enterprise mobile office applications; Bay Networks’ routers, local area network switches and BayStack 660
wireless LANs; Cellular Digital Packet Data radios; and e-mobility services such as group conferencing, wireless
prepaid, information messaging and standalone home location register.
As for radio technology, Nortel said it
supports an evolutionary program including General Packet Radio Service and the EDGE solution for GSM and Time
Division Multiple Access networks; 1XRTT for Code Division Multiple Access networks; and then evolution to third-
generation standards.
