1he h|story of 8roadband and |ts |nf|uences on the smart

phone market
1he lnLerneL has been around for a very long Llme really speaklng slnce Lhe flrsL emall was
senL ln Lhe 1970s lL galned wldespread aLLenLlon ln Lhe 1990s and lLs popularlLy has
skyrockeLed slnce 8ack Lhen we had Lo dlal a connecLlon Lhrough our Lelephones whlch ran
aL a palnfully slow 36k
8roadband breaLhed new llfe lnLo Lhe lnLerneL ln Lhe early 2000s ln Lhe years slnce
broadband Lechnology has gone from sLrengLh Lo sLrengLh by glvlng lnLerneL users fasLer
connecLlon speeds wlLhouL dlsrupLlng Lhelr Lelephone usage 8roadband baslcally means
LhaL Lhe slgnal ln one llne can be spllL beLween Lelephone and lnLerneL so users can use
Lhem slmulLaneously and aL much greaLer speeds
1he advenL of broadband neLworks meanL LhaL people were able download flles songs 1v
shows and movles aL greaLer speeds 1hls opened up a whole new world ln onllne medla
on 36k slLes llke ?ou1ube [usL werenL posslble
now Lhe days of dlalup are long gone And gone Loo ls Lhe Llme when Lwo or Lhree blg
players domlnaLe Lhe markeL
8ecenLly weve seen Lhe rlse of new broadband Lechnology such as moblle broadband and
cable broadband 1he former leLs you geL onllne on Lhe go whlle Lhe laLLer has dramaLlcally
boosLed connecLlon speeds
re8roadband Internet Access
ln Lhe early Lo mld1990s lnLerneL speeds were resLrlcLed by Lhe bandwldLh consLralnLs of
Lhe Lransmlsslon medlum ln Lhe case of a Lyplcal Lelephone llne Lhe maxlmum aLLalnable
speed was abouL 38kbps a 36kbps modem was never able Lo operaLe aL full efflclency
1hls analogue sysLem ls lncluded as a parL of broadband lnLerneL hlsLory as lL ls Lhe flrsL
pracLlcal lmplemenLaLlon of publlc accesslble lnLerneL
Larly LLherneL and slmllar lnLraneL local area neLwork meLhods are noL lncluded unLll Lhe
laLLer parL of Lhe flrsL decade of Lhe 21sL cenLury when LLherneL over phone llnes ls galnlng
a small fooLhold ln Lhe broadband arena
Advent of the Integrated Serv|ces D|g|ta| Network
ln order Lo meeL Lhe growlng demand for hlgher Lransfer speeds Lhe slngle lSun llne
deflned as a copperLocopper wlLh no lnLervenlng load Lransformers whlch resLrlcL
bandwldLh allowed Lhe full 36k analogue slgnal Lo be LransmlLLed Lo Lhe cusLomer from
Lhe Lelephone company frame A dual lSun llne Lwo palrs of copper wlre Lyplcally aLLaln
speeds of 128kbps
8ecause of Lhe speclallzed naLure of Lhls connecLlon lL was a very expenslve upgrade 1hls
Lechnology has been ln exlsLence slnce Lhe 1960s wlLh lLs popularlLy peaklng ln Lhe mld
1990s when lL was usurped by uSL
Introduct|on of D|g|ta| Subscr|ber L|nes
ln Lhe laLLer 1990s Lhe ulglLal Subscrlber Llne (xuSL) became a vlable read affordable
Lechnology lnlLlally a symmeLrlcal servlce lL could upload as qulckly as lL could download
lL qulckly was modlfled Lo be an asymmeLrlc uSL wlLh upload speeds Lyplcally oneLenLh of
Lhe speed of downloadlng
ConLrary Lo lLs name uSL ls noL a dlglLal Lransmlsslon lL ls an analogue Lransmlsslon wlLh
some lnLervenlng dlglLal sampllng Laklng place ln Lhe Lelephone exchange Lo sample Lhe
audlo slgnal Cver Lhe years Lhere have been aL leasL 20 dlfferenL verslons of xuSL Lhe
dlsLlncLlons Lyplcally lndlcaLed by a preflx leLLer or leLLer
LaLely sufflx numbers and symbols have been added Lo furLher reflne Lhe parLlcular
proLocol Speeds approachlng 20Mbps are posslble dependlng on Lhe proxlmlLy of Lhe
Lelephone exchange and oLher conslderaLlons nomlnal speeds of 2Mbps Lo 3Mbps are
more reallsLlc
Lnter the Cab|e Carr|ers
ConcurrenLly wlLh Lelephone company advances cable provlders were also presslng Lhe
unused bandwldLh of coaxlal cable wlLh slgnlflcanLly greaLer speeds Lhan copperbased
LwlsLed palr uSLwlrlng unllke uSL cable ls a shared bandwldLh resource and lLs dlsLrlbuLlon
and loadbalanclng known as LhroLLllng ls conLrolled by sLaLlsLlcal mulLlplexors
1hese devlces allocaLe Lhe amounL of bandwldLh dynamlcally by packaglng Lhe daLa lnLo
packeLs of varylng slzes and sendlng Lhem Lo Lhe cusLomer's modem ln predeLermlned Llme
sloLs
Launch|ng Sate|||te 8roadband Serv|ces
1he Lurn of Lhe cenLury broughL saLelllLe broadband as an ad[uncL Lo saLelllLe 1v laclllLaLed
by evermore senslLlve Ln8 and dlsh deslgn replaced Lhe masslve dlshes of Lhe laLLer 20Lh
cenLury
1he fronLend cosLs of mosL saLelllLe sysLems Lend Lo be prohlblLlve for Lwoway saLelllLe
lnLerneL Some hybrld sysLems whlch use phone llnes for Lhe upload slde and Lhe saLelllLe
downllnk for Lhe download slde exlsL
Cne of Lhe drawbacks of saLelllLe lnLerneL ls LhaL lL ls very senslLlve Lo weaLher and locaLlon
of Lhe sun ln relaLlonshlp Lo Lhe slgnal paLhs boLh on Lhe remoLe upllnk slde and Lhe local
downllnk sldes
Integrat|on of I|bre Cpt|cs
1oday flbre opLlcs neLworks promlse full feaLure Plgh ueflnlLlon 1elevlslon (Pu1v) and 3u
conLenL ls belng lmplemenLed aL Lhls momenL 1hls meLhod ls compleLely dlglLal endLo
endm whlch reduces nolse from LlecLromagneLlc lnLerference (LMl) and 8adlo lrequency
lnLerference (8ll) whlch can be problemaLlc wlLh all of Lhe prevlous meLhods
llbre opLlcs have prodlglous amounLs of bandwldLh Lhus Lhe necesslLy of LhroLLllng ls much
less llkely AddlLlonally hlghbandwldLh conLenL such as Pu1v and Pu 3u 1v ls more
pracLlcal lL ls relaLlvely lnexpenslve and offers slgnlflcanLly beLLer value Lhan prevlous
lnLerneL Lransmlsslon medlums
lL ls also much more cosLeffecLlve for Lhe conLenL provlder Lo offer Lelephone and 1v
conLenL aL a fracLlon of Lhe prlce of Lhe lndlvldual opLlon or Lhe nocholce bundled opLlons"
of prevlous years 1he a la carLe meLhods used by mosL uk provlders glve Lhe cusLomer far
more conLrol of Lhe conLenL wlLh near lnflnlLe degrees of conLrol based on Lhelr preferences
and budgeL
Mob||e broadband the future
1he W|re|ess Iuture
1he new generaLlon of C4 cellular Lechnologles moblle compuLlng from lapLops Lo noLepads
and a vasL array of ersonal uaLa AsslsLanL (uA) devlces provlde a level of connecLlvlLy
lnLegraLlon unlmaglned [usL a score of years ago
Moblle broadband ls expecLed Lo become Lhe domlnanL broadband plaLform worldwlde ln
2011 accordlng Lo a new reporL
1he research whlch was carrled ouL by lnforma 1elecoms Medla lndlcaLes Lhere wlll be
more Lhan one bllllon broadband subscrlbers worldwlde ln 2011 wlLh Lhe ma[orlLy uslng
moblle raLher Lhan flxed sysLems
lncreased adopLlon wlll also lead Lo blgger revenues wlLh lnforma esLlmaLlng LhaL more
Lhan t400bn ln servlce revenues wlll be generaLed by moblle broadband ln 2012
PSuA (PlghSpeed uownllnk ackeL Access) ls expecLed Lo be Lhe leadlng moblle
broadband Lechnology by Lhen ln Lerms of number of subscrlbers followed by LvuC and
moblle WlMAx
LvuC (LvoluLlon uaLa Cnly or LvoluLlon uaLa CpLlmlsed as lLs also known) an
alLernaLlve Lhlrd generaLlon sLandard backed by moblle operaLors such as SprlnL ln Lhe uS ls
expecLed Lo have Lhe mosL subscrlbers globally by Lhe end of 2007 Powever lL ls expecLed
Lo be surpassed by PSuA Lhe moblle broadband Lechnology currenLly favoured by moblle
operaLors ln lreland ln 2009
Meanwhlle 1uSCuMA (1lme ulvlslonSynchronous Code ulvlslon MulLlple Access) an
alLernaLlve 3C Lechnology whlch ls currenLly belng rolledouL ln Chlna ls expecLed Lo have
close Lo 30 mllllon subscrlbers by 2012
Moblle broadband wlll represenL close Lo half of LoLal moblle servlce revenues ln 2012
maklng lL one of Lhe largesL and mosL sLraLeglcally lmporLanL segmenLs of Lhe moblle
lndusLry sald Mlke 8oberLs lead auLhor of lnformas luLure Moblle 8roadband reporL
Accordlng Lo Lhe sLudy by !une 2007 Lhere were already more Lhan 200 commerclal moblle
broadband neLworks worldwlde wlLh more Lhan 30 mllllon subscrlbers uslng hundreds of
dlfferenL moblle porLable and flxed devlces Lo generaLe bllllons of dollars ln servlce
revenues
Moblle broadband ls already a slgnlflcanL markeL buL wlll explode ln Lhe nexL flve years as
neLworks devlces and servlces maLure and spark massmarkeL adopLlon sald 8oberLs
Pe added LhaL Lhe raLe of mlgraLlon from flxed broadband Lo moblle broadband wlll vary
slgnlflcanLly by reglon and Lechnology
lnforma also suggesLs LhaL L1L (Long 1erm LvoluLlon) wlll become Lhe leadlng nexL
generaLlon Lechnology over Lhe long run due Lo Lhe huge lnsLalled base of WCuMA/PSuA
operaLors lnLenL on deploylng lL Powever unLll 2012 lL ls expecLed Lo Lrall behlnd WlMax
When conslderlng Lhe fuLure of moblle broadband Lechnology experLs seem Lo agree on a
slngle aspecL ublqulLy Whlle prevlous aLLempLs aL deploylng wlreless Lechnology on a mass
scale have been conflned uslng Wlll ln order Lo geLLlng rld of Lhe wlre" lncreased
compeLlLlon among Lhe ma[or moblle lndusLry players has gone beyond provldlng wlreless
lnLerneL access Lo users ln cerLaln areas
1he ldea of hundreds of Lhousands lnLerconnecLed Wlll hoLspoLs never qulLe maLerlallzed
under Lhls concepL a Lravelllng moblle user had Lo consLanLly look for Wlll hoLspoLs LhaL he
or she could access 1here were a number of problems wlLh Lhls approach Lhe user would
acLually have Lo be ln range of Lhe hoLspoL and Lhen Lhere was Lhe lssue of logglng ln Lo Lhe
hoLspoL lf Lhe admlnlsLraLor allowed lL Some glanL reLall chalns such as SLarbucks Look
advanLage of Wlll Lo aLLracL and reLaln Lechsavvy cusLomers Whlle coffee lovers could
concelvably Lake advanLage of Lhe opporLunlLy offered by SLarbucks Lhey were sLlll llmlLed
by Lhe Wlll slgnal range ln each coffee shop

Mob||e 8roadband
1rue moblle broadband was flrsL achleved by Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe flrsL generaLlons of
wlreless Lelephone Lechnology 8y Lhe Llme Lhe second generaLlon of wlreless Lechnologles
were rolled ouL cell phone users en[oyed moblle broadband access Lo Lhe C8S and LuCL
neLworks WlLh Lhe advenL of 3C came revoluLlonary daLa dellvery sLandards such as CuMA
uM1S and PSA 1he global adopLlon of 3C a moblle broadband sLandard was somewhaL
slow 8y laLe 2007 Lhere were sllghLly over one hundred counLrles LhaL had adopLed 3C
Lechnology
Moblle broadband users of 2C and 3C Lechnologles welcomed Lhe newly lncreased speed
and rellablllLy ln Lhelr daLa Lransfer raLes WlLh Lhe currenL PSuA 3C sLandard moblle
broadband users have begun Lo en[oy Lruly moblle and wlreless global lnLerneL connecLlons
LhaL rlvaled Lhe speeds of Wlll hoLspoLs of yesLeryear
1he Llme for Lhe nexL generaLlon of moblle broadband sLandards ls now accordlng Lo
moblle lndusLry experLs 1he compeLlng Lechnologles ln 4C are WlMAx and L1L (Long 1erm
LvoluLlon) 1he nexL generaLlon promlses Lo go beyond provldlng moblle broadband by
replaclng cable and uSL lnLerneL servlce ln many areas Lven Lhe early generaLlons of moblle
broadband Lechnology were applauded for Lhelr ablllLy Lo reach Lhe lasL mlle" cusLomers
Lhose who llve ln rural or remoLe areas ouL of reach of Lhe wlres of Lhe cable and Lelephone
companles 1hese areas are ofLen referred Lo as hlgh cosL" by Lhe LelecommunlcaLlons
lndusLry
1he 4C sLandard wlll requlre ma[or advances ln currenL Lechnologles lor example a moblle
user Lravelllng on a Lraln musL be able Lo en[oy download speeds of abouL 100 Mbps on hls
or her LableL or SmarLphone When Lhe same user sLeps off Lhe Lraln ln a meLropollLan area
wlLh 4C coverage speeds of 1 Cbps should be reasonable
Moblle lndusLry assoclaLlons and governmenLal enLlLles around Lhe world are already
plannlng Lhe wlde lmplemenLaLlon of 4C global neLworks 1he lmpllclL lnLeresL from
governmenLs ls clear guaranLeed lnsLanL access Lo daLa ls lnherenLly beneflclal Lo
educaLlon healLhcare flnanclal LransacLlons and dlsasLer response AnoLher aLLracLlve
feaLure of 4C lles wlLhln lLs ablllLy Lo provlde sophlsLlcaLed daLa proLecLlon and neLwork
securlLy
1he Lechnology behlnd 4C promlses Lhe smooLh Lransfer of lnLerneLconnecLed devlces
across wlreless zones Lhus maklng moblle broadband Lruly ublqulLous Advances ln
bandwldLh wlll allow Lhe slgnal sLrengLh and quallLy Lo be conslsLenL ln boLh lndoor and
ouLdoor areas 1hls means LhaL ln Lhe near fuLure noL only wlll blazlng download speeds
become Lhe norm buL also Lhe ablllLy of uslng your SmarLphone or LableL whlle you Lravel
around Lhe world
Conc|us|on
WlLhouL Lhe advancemenL of wlreless 8roadband lL would have been lnconcelvable LhaL Lhe
smarL phone would be as popular as lL ls now 1he smarL phone wlll now be pushlng for
fasLer and fasLer speed A LhlrLy fold growLh ln daLa Lrafflc beLween 2009 and 2013 wlll be
fueled by Lhe expecLed enormous growLh of vldeo sLreamlng