Hello crushman-ga ,
Many thanks for the clarification.
Below are some factors that I could find, which has hopefully
satisfied your 'the more the better' part, and can applied to most
countries,
excerpt
"... THE TOP TEN OBSTACLES TO 3G WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
- Stable standards
Regional variations in 3G wireless standards have overcome the
original intent of a single global standard. However, the shakedown
inherent in the introduction of new technology means that fine-tuning
will be necessary. Thus, programmability is essential in 3G
basestations and handsets.
- Increased DSP performance
3G services require an increased data rate, which imposes increased
demands on digital signal processors (DSPs) and hardware blocks
implementing signal-processing functions such as decoding and
decompression. In addition, it will be important to differentiate
traffic types such as real-time voice from bursty packets in order to
handle quality of service (QoS) constraints.
- Software sophistication
The error tolerance possible in simple voice traffic will be lowered
for safety-critical applications such as emergency location.
Increasing use of wireless will demand better utilization of available
bandwidth through new encoding. Incremental improvement of algorithms
will require software-upgradable handsets.
- Lower power consumption
3G processing will require large increases in power unless operating
efficiencies, through advanced manufacturing processes, reduced
operating voltage, and hardware-based co-processing offloading DSP
software, are exploited. Varying traffic types will require adaptive
processing capabilities to minimize power usage.
- Advanced power management
For smooth handoff, 3G systems require constant background processing
that would be a large battery drain without advanced power management.
Future power management services must move from the large-scale
control of hardware blocks to fine-tuned control of individual on-chip
peripherals and blocks of memory.
- Increased battery capacity
Battery improvements have not kept pace with silicon process
technology, operating speeds, or other measures of device complexity.
Continued research in materials and charging technology is essential
to allow longer usage, increased functionality, and smaller and
lighter systems.
- 3G operating systems
2G wireless phones are mainly dedicated to a single
application-real-time dedicated-channel voice calls. 3G systems will
add many applications, both real-time and non-real-time. These must be
offered with high reliability and in a layered fashion in emerging
improved operating systems.
- Enhanced radio technology
Many 3G handsets will be compatible with 2G networks in different
frequency bands. 3G will often interoperate with wireless LANs in the
home and office. Handling multiple frequencies and operating standards
without duplicating analogue components leads to increased reliance on
DSP software. In addition, power consumption for RF components must
improve.
- [handset] Cost concerns
Handset cost has been driven down through silicon integration and this
will continue with new processes. Trade-off concerns and technology
optimizations will dictate whether integration will sweep up all
analog, digital, and RF components into a single system-on-a-chip
(SoC) device or an integrated chipset.
- Innovative applications
The increased data rate of 3G wireless can be useful in a number of
ways; for example, the wireless phone may be a gateway for collections
of local systems to the network. Compelling new applications will be
needed to persuade users that the technology offers enough value to
make its adoption justified."
'Obstacles to 3G Wireless and Design Tools and Methods to Overcome
Them'
http://www.cadence.com/whitepapers/wireless_white_paper.html
Excerpt highlighting the European situation (which can be applicable
globally):
"- Technical problems: Engineers are struggling to achieve the
real-time, seamless handover from 2G to 3G networks that users will
need, because 3G networks will initially only cover a fraction of
Europes landscape.
- Handsets: Theyre not there yet, theyre expensive, battery life
wont be great, and they may be bulkyhardly a recipe for a
mass-market take-up.
- Rollout politics: Environmentalists and town planners are objecting
to new radio sites, and some site owners are using 3G upgrades to
raise rents.
- Capex sharing: Operators want to share the cost of new network
equipment, but thats complicated, and its delaying rollouts.
- Standards: Wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) is
horribly complex, and technical standards are still evolving. A robust
WCDMA standard is not expected before May or June of 2002.
Source: Upside and CSFB"
'Why Is European 3G Delayed?' March 11 2002, upside.com
http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/story?id=3c8d38641
Excerpt showing particular major U.S. obstacles:
- Legacy problems (which affects a number of countries)
"problems arising from a multitude of already existing 2G networks"
- "availability (or lack thereof) RF spectrum..
.. Shortage of spectrum may seriously undermine 3G implementation in
the United States. The frequency band between 2.520 and 2.670 GHz has
already been identified for 3G. However, this means that the six big
carriers will have an average of somewhere between 25 MHz and 35 MHz
of spectrum. In marked contrast, the big European carriers have about
90 MHz."
- Financial hurdles
sheer cost to ensure national network coverage and costs already
incurred to obtain licenses.
'3G - Around the world and back again' by Raqibul Mostafa, Fakhrul
Alam and Kyung Kyoon Bae, Feb 1, 2002, RF Design
http://rfdesign.com/ar/radio_around_world_back/
- Real world transfer speeds and available bandwidth
"Another problem, Iadarola [ Frost industry analyst ] said, is the
slower speed of networks, once they are taken out of the lab. That
promise of a T1 line in a handheld device can turn into the speed of a
dialup modem, when put into play."
- Consumer demand and real world needs
"Worst of all, there is uncertainty over whether anyone will want to
pay for 3G services. In the corporate sector, some enterprises will
find it worthwhile to have remote access to company data and to
provide that data to wireless sales forces and other mobile workers
- Price points set too high
... For broad consumer adoption, prices need to be rationalized down,"
Iadarola said. "Not only will the price points have to come down, but
data pricing, in general ,will probably have to change, too. You can't
keep adding new expenses to consumers' monthly statements. Data
pricing may be more costly than Joe Average Consumer is willing to
pay."
'Report: 3G Wireless Lurches Forward' by Brian McDonough, Jun 25 2002,
Wireless NewsFactor
http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/18373.html
- Limited initial network coverage
Limited coverage to begin with will deter some subscribers who prefer
a more comprehensive network coverage with their existing (cheaper)
network.
- Marketing
The cost and method of convincing and educating the public of the
benefits of 3G to migrate them across.
Search Strategy:
3g deployment obstacles
://www.google.com/search?q=3g+deployment+obstacles&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&ne
wwindow=1&c2coff=1&start=40&sa=N
UMTS-forum
http://www.umts-forum.org
3g.co.uk
http://www.3g.co.uk
3gportal
http://www.the3Gportal.com
W2 Forum
http://w2forum.com
I hope that helps, if you need any clarification of the answer just
ask.
Kind regards
lot-ga |