If you have important work processes how can you use a knowledge management system to capture this data?
For major organizations and especially entrepreneurship, it is crucial to capture, process, and distribute data among the staff fast and efficiently. Innovative technologies play a major role in the process of information acquisition and analysis; they allow for classifying the data so that the required bits of information could be located within the shortest amount of time and accessed by every single employee. To capture important work processes with the help of new knowledge management systems, modern telecommunications can be used.
For instance, in a range of cases, people that are valued as high-class specialists in their field may be unable to reach the workplace for a number of reasons, starting with the distance between the office and the employees location and up to such factors as the employees physical impairments. Without modern telecommunication and knowledge management systems, the process of data transfer to the employee in question would be impossible. With such tools as the Ethernet (Oz 208), a quick and safe data transfer to any location becomes possible.
The fact that telecommunication technologies are merging also plays a great role in the process of knowledge management within a particular company. The integration of several networks into the realm in which a single device may function has contributed to the rationalization of knowledge management processes within companies as well. Finally, the fact that, apart from LANs, the networks with a radius that embraces around 30 miles (Oz 208) have emerged opens an entire pool of opportunities for companies.
How do you encourage employees to both input data into a KMS and use the data stored in a KMS? Is one easier than the other?
Because of the numerous opportunities generated by the latest technologies, and especially the introduction of Ethernet and MAN, more options for data acquisition, processing, storage, and transmission appeared. Distanced data management has finally become a possibility, which a range of companies will benefit from. However, for a number of employees, using new technologies is fraught with fighting numerous obstacles, especially the fear of making a mistake when learning entirely new skills of data management. Therefore, the methods to enhance the employees willingness to use the new media for information management are required to be developed.
Speaking of the tools, which may facilitate the transfer from the use of traditional media to the adoption of LAN and Ethernet tools, one may follow the models suggested by other companies, which have achieved success in the given field. For example, the experience of General Motors may be utilized in order to make the process of acquiring the related knowledge and skills easier for the staff.
According to what Oz says, General Motors equipped the tools that the staff was fully used to with the related technologically advanced devices (Wi-Fi transceivers, in the GM case (Oz 209)). Minor addition to the overall procedure, it helped the staff locate parts faster and, thus, deliver better results. As soon as the staff gets used to one small alteration, another one can be introduced to improve and rationalize the production process, and so on. Thus, a gradual alteration of the companys processes can be carried out.
Works Cited
Oz, Effy. Business Networks and Telecommunications. Management Information Systems. Stanford, CT: Course technology. 2009. 193230. Print.
A computer network may be defined as a channeled group of computers. A commonly used network model used by most computers is referred to as the Internet Protocol Suite.
Introduction
Computer networks are broadly classified into different classes according to various factors as stated below:
According to their connection method; these include; -power line communication, Ethernet, optical fiber, and wireless Local Area Network (LAN). In wireless LAN technology, nonwired devices use radiofrequency for connectivity whereas Ethernet devices use physical wiring for connections. Ethernet uses switches, bridges, hubs, and routers for connectivity.
According to scale; the key distinguishing factor in this classification type is the size of the network. The divisions include Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and Local Area Network (LAN).
According to a functional relationship: a functional relationship exists between elements in the network systems. Examples of such relationships include client-server networking and peer-to-peer networking systems.
According to network topology: a network topology is defined as how computers and devices are organized in a network. These types of topologies include; mesh topology, bus topology, star topology, and ring topology. These arrangements signify how components included in a network relate logically to one another.
Protocol: network systems employ different communication protocols across their devices.
Local Area Network
This study is going to extensively look at the study of Local Area Networks. This is a network that majorly covers a small geographical area. Data transfer rates in LANs are fast. Currently, Ethernet LAN technologies will operate at a data transfer rate of about 10 GB/s.Within a LAN it is also possible to create a set of interconnected networks. This is referred to as an intranet.
An intranet uses IP-based tools including browsers which are usually under the control of a single entity from the administrator. Also uses the Internet Protocol. This administrative entity and allows only specific users. Basic Hardware Components of a Local Area Network
These are building blocks that make up a network. They are used to interconnect internet devices such as repeaters, network cards also called network interface cards, routers, switches, and hubs. The various functions of these devices include:
Repeater: It is defined as an electronic device that will receive and transform a signal and retransmits it to a higher level so that it covers a long distance to avoid degradation. Repeaters dont work to interpret data being transmitted since they work with the actual physical signal. Repeaters operate at the first layer of the Open System Interconnection model known as the physical layer.
Network Card or Network Interface Card: This device enables computers over a computer network to communicate. It also permits computers to access physically to the networking medium. Users are also allowed to be connected through this medium by either using cables or wirelessly.
Bridges: this device will connect multiple network segments. They do not copy traffic to all ports. They work by learning the association between ports and addresses through examination of source addresses of frames seen on various ports. Hubs: a hub is a device that connects that simply copies data to the nodes connected to it a hub will normally have multiple ports.
Routers: a router is a networking device that forwards data packets along with networks. It does this by using headers and forwarding tables that determine the best path in which to forward packets. They will also act as a medium of connectivity between the unlike and like media.
Ancillary Equipment Used in Networking
These are defined as equipment that ensures the correct working of a networking system. They diagnose failures in the system. They also circumvent problems. These devices include:
UPS (Uninterruptible Power supply) can be put anywhere in the system. It may be a line-charged battery that will take the element through a short power drop-out. It can also be an extensive channel of generators and magnificent battery banks which will the network over a long period in time after power shortage
Monitoring and diagnostic devices: Depends on the critical and skills of networks among operators. This factor makes the network need to have temporary or permanent connected measures of performance and diagnosis.
Wireless networking
Wireless technology is a modern alternative to networks that use cables. A wireless network transmits data by microwave and other radio signals. Wireless networks offer even more benefits than wired ones. Most agree that wireless networking represents the future of computer and Internet connectivity worldwide. Wi-Fi continues to be the pre-eminent technology for building general-purpose wireless networks. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that are secure will provide the vices of security including network encryption and authentication. This can be implemented using IPsec.A VPN client software is used to log into the network.
Security can also be implemented using the VPN SSL. This relies on a web browser to log onto the privatized network. The advantage of this over IPsec VPN is that it is cheaper to set up and maintain since they utilize the SSL network protocols that are inbuilt to standard web servers and browsers. Another advantage includes the SSL operations that are always at a higher level than IPsec. This is advantageous again to network administrators in that they are exposed to a variety of options in aid of controlling access to network resources. A major disadvantage of SSL VPNs is the interfacing with resources that cannot be accessed from web browsers is difficult.
One wireless network is
Efficient One scalable network conserving spectrum and power
Simple One system to learn, operate and maintain
Universal One platform supporting many field protocols and applications simultaneously
These key attributes provide the following benefits:
Best integrated industrial security available today
Simultaneously connects to installed industrial protocols
Single plant-wide wireless infrastructure for the lowest total cost of ownership
Most flexible and upgradeable plant-wide wireless system available today
Extremely reliable mesh system field-proven for best uptime.
References
S.p Meyn (2007). Control techniques for complex networks, Cambridge University Press.
R.Srikart, (2007). The Mathematics of Internet congestion control.Birkhouser.
Most governments regulate telecommunications and broadcasting, whereas newspapers, book and magazine publishing, video and filmmaking, and sound recording are not regulated. Instead, governments have support policies for the latter cultural industries. The essay looks into the nature of government policies that regulate telecommunication and broadcasting and those that support the other cultural industries. While the significance of communication in society cannot be overlooked, the essay tries to examine the reason why governments support some forms of the same while controlling the activities of others.
Communication and by extension entertainment are a force which has been contributing to the solidity of societies and is therefore a structuring element which is both facilitating and constricting. It is not possible to set apart the affairs of people and the society from communication which is the representative of those affairs. The cultural industry is the facet that imposes on the present, and the future of humans. Rationales for the government policies on the cultural industries are mainly development of culture, democratic participation, failure of the market and public service.
Thesis statement
The Canadian government exerts more regulations on telecommunication and broadcasting than on the cultural industry.
Discussion
To begin with, it is necessary to understand the nature of the cultural industry. This is the industry through which centralization of production and dissemination of information as well as entertainment merchandise is carried out. In addition it is also the avenue for decentralization of production and provision of access to this information and entertainment products. It is also the industry where intelligence is exchanged in masses by the population. The mass media is more than just entertainment and information as Lorimer says. It also plays a role in promotion of culture as well as politics of a nation (Lorimer, Gasher & Skinner 282).
On the other hand, cultural policy is the preparedness a government shows in adopting and implementing a set of principles, objectives and ways for protecting and promoting the nations expression of culture. Support of the cultural industry is definitely an important way through which a country can emphasize its distinction from other countries (Salter and Odartey 719).
The modern day media emerged simultaneously with the industrial society. With this came the issue of freedom in the media in all nations that boasted democracy. Freedom of the press has been a matter of debate now and then in various nations in the world. This is despite the fact that theorists of communication often disagree on the role of the media in politics and society. The history of the Canadian press has shaped the principles set for their operation and freedom.
The Canadian telecommunication and broadcasting industry differs from the rest of the cultural industry which includes film-production and book-publishing in several important ways. The former is released into society through legal and government regulatory frameworks besides their content which includes images, symbols and information. In comparison, the cultural industry is enjoys more freedom in terms of legal regulations. The cultural industry seems to be more favored by the government policies, while utilizing regulatory policies to manipulate the telecommunication and broadcasting industries. There are hence various rationales that governments use to defend their regulatory and support policies (About the CRTC 2008).
Canada has a commission known as the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). This is a regulatory body whose main task is to oversee the states broadcasting and telecommunications sector. It is owned by the federal government. It regulates and supervises all the aspects of the broadcasting system. It also regulates carriers and providers of services under the federal jurisdiction (About the CRTC). However, the government has no commission in place to regulate or oversee the cultural industry. This points out clearly how the government is more involved in controlling telecommunication and broadcasting, and allowing freedom to persist in the cultural industry.
The reason for government regulation on broadcasting as opposed to other cultural industries is mainly that the frequencies for broadcasting are considered to be a public domain. Though important, it must also encompass the cultural industry, especially the movie industry, which closely follows broadcasting, in terms of public demand. This will help in maintaining a balance between the two in terms of regulations. To begin with, there were not many frequencies.
However, there were numerous numbers of newspapers and other publications. There was therefore a necessity to regulate the number of people who could access the limited number of frequencies. The need for regulation also arises from the fact that the Canadian nation as well as other nations has mixed systems of telecommunication and broadcasting which include private, public and community aspects. This may not be in line the wants or the needs of the mass media companies with regards to certain restriction on their activities. If the Canadian telecommunication and broadcasting industry is freed just as the cultural industry, its evident that its functioning would be more democratic, and favorable to all stakeholders. (Lorimer, Gasher & Skinner 282).
In Canada, the government has always intended to establish policies which keep pace with the rapidly changing technology. The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act was the first broadcasting legislation. The current legislation act was however established in 1968 and modified in 1991. The aim of regulation on broadcasting in Canada is to make sure that all Canadians can access quality programming.
The regulations also protect culture as well as promote the social, political and economic structures of any particular government which has implemented the regulations. The broadcasting act aims at policy goals for the whole broadcasting system and also the regulation goals for CRTC. It is the latter that has ensured the development of cultural content in the broadcasting system (About the CRTC 2008). On the contrary, the government has overlooked regulations in the cultural industry whose activities can be even more hazardous than it can be in the telecommunication and broadcasting. The movie industry is a good example which can result in eroding the Canadians culture and values if not well regulated.
On the other hand, Salter says that regulation of telecommunication in Canada goes hand in hand with that of broadcasting and was established in 1906 with amendments in 1908. The first regulation was on telephone services. The policy aims at ensuring high quality and reliable telephone service. However, the policy regulates the rates, a move which locks out the main player, i.e. the telecommunication industry from enjoying its freedom in taking part in the decision of the rates, which are reasonable and accessible for all Canadians (Media and broadcasting legislation n. d.).
While we have stated that the cultural industries include film-production, music recording and publishing, we cannot fail to note that it also includes the new media which in this case is includes the Web, blogging and audiovisual production. Policies on telecommunication apply to various areas which include telephone, telegraph, data networks, telex and satellite communication and recently the internet.
The cultural industry in Canada is the means through which the state distributes and promotes the cultural products both within and outside the country. It is therefore crucial for the Canadian government to support the industry so that Canadians are able to know the talented artists they have. These writers, musicians, actors and singers among other artists need the domestic industry in order for them to produce, sell as well as promote their merchandise. (Lorimer, Gasher & Skinner 283).
The government of Canada has come up with ways for supporting the cultural industry. They include funds, content requirements, measures on tax and foreign investment besides ownership regulations. The measures ensure that all the Canadians have access to the industry without limiting the access they have to foreign material as well. However, there are minimal measures and regulatory structure to ascertain the value and quality of the materials.
Government policies for the cultural industries in Canada began in the beginning of the 50s while the development of those policies did not begin until the 70s. Among the reasons why governments support cultural industries are reasons related to the industry itself. In Canada, such industry-related reasons include investment in the production of films and video and incentives for broadcasting the Canadian productions.
This applies for the music records too where content of the music is of significance. In the same state, the government measures for structural, cultural and industrial support have seen to the development of the sector. The Income Tax Act has on the other hand been effective in controlling ownership of the magazine publications (About CRTC 2008).
From this information, it is clear that the most important concern for the cultural industry is control and ownership of the system of distribution, and not the welfare of the citizens. Canadas ownership provision makes it possible for the state to dominate in the field of newspapers. In the rest of published material and the film industry, the US has total dominance. This foreign dominance clearly implies the fact that the government is reluctant in regulating its film industry, to the benefit of its citizens. Though the government manifests its support for the cultural industry, its concern for regulating the industry comes at a distance.
Besides direct funding, governments have employed other strategies for nurturing and promoting culture. Such include establishment of public institutions and services like public libraries and archives, galleries and museums. However, there is also legislation, for instance Copyright and Status of the Artist laws. The government protects the industry against export of valuable cultural material and heritage and artifacts. There are guidelines which govern purchase of textbooks and distribution of films.
These, in addition to ownership and regulations on control and content are ways through which governments ensure the promotion of the industry (The Implications of Convergence for Regulation of Electronic Communications 2004). The media attaches itself to society via a procedure of integration of the content of the media with the contemporary social life. Nonetheless, the interpretation is not always safe as it also involves some form of violence, pornography and staging of real issues. The media influences the interpretation and comprehension of the world we live in and hence the activities of society (Lorimer, Gasher & Skinner 282).
It is factual that the Canadian government favors the cultural industry in terms protection from foreigners. A good example is the 1985 case of publishing. The Canadian cabinet was convinced to implement the Baie Comeau Foreign Ownership Policy. The policy prohibited Noncanadian Company in buying a Canadian publisher. It also stipulated that no new foreign distribution firm would be established in the country.
The Canadian film industry, particularly the movie industry lacks regulation. Though a good idea of freedom, foreigners took the advantage, and dominated the industry. The government on realization of these phenomena, designed measures which allocated the local movies more space in cinemas (the Canadian Conference of the Arts, p.6). The minimal regulations imposed on the cultural industry are meant to protect and safeguard the industry from foreigners, while the regulations in the telecommunication and broadcasting are more meant to restrict their operations and freedom.
Conclusion
The explosion of technology that is used in telecommunication and broadcasting has been rapid. The internet has especially been useful in achieving a number of functions. It has facilitated communication, enabled dissemination of information and other material and enabled universal access of intelligence information. Above all, it has enabled spread of culture.
The cultural industry in Canada, despite facing financial problems, is gaining popularity across the globe. Government continues to support the industry amid debate of the importance of doing so. The Canadian government regulation of its telecommunication and broadcasting industry is crucial in protecting the welfare of the general public, despite taking over the industries freedom.
This is in contrast to the cultural industry, whose minimal regulation has led to foreigners intrusion into the industry, posing a great not only to the industry, but also to the public. Governments therefore, should ensure that the cultural industry as well as the telecommunication and broadcasting are synchronized and balanced, with regards to policies that aims at regulating their activities
Works cited
About the CRTC. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2008. Web.
Lorimer, Rowland, Gasher, Mike, and Skinner, David. Mass Communication in Canada. (6th Ed). Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 282.
Media and broadcasting legislation. Web.
Salter, L. & Odartey-Wellington, F. The CRTC and Broadcasting Regulation in Canada. Thomson-Carswell: 2008, p. 719.
The Implications of Convergence for Regulation of Electronic Communications, OECD Working Party on Telecommunication and Information Services Policies, 2004.
Why Canadian Cultural Industries Need Effective Legislation and Enforced Regulation To Maximize Competition. Canadian Conference of the arts. 2008. Web.
Marshall McLuhan, a modern-day intellectual was one of the first to make sense of the impact and consequences of the rapid advancement in telecommunication technology. There is no need to remind everyone that he predicted that the time will come when mass media will change everything. It turns out that McLuhan was more than correct. The television set of his time has now been upgraded to the Internet and mobile phones.
The former was the backbone of a world turning into a global village and the latter closing the gaps making everyone interconnected without the hassles of cables or even the need to stay in one place. Today a person can be in the middle of the desert and still be able to communicate. But there is more. The Internet and the cellphone can be further broken down into their related technologies or services such as email, instant messaging, mobile communication, and text messaging. According to McLuhan and other like-minded writers, this is changing the scale, pace, and pattern of human activities.
McLuhan’s View
Marshall McLuhan was one of the first thinkers who saw the big picture when it comes to telecommunications technology. Since he saw the interconnectedness between media and mankind – and the fact that men and women can no longer live independent of said technological applications – he was also able to formulate some important aspects of 21st-century life and these are listed below:
Man’s capabilities, particularly in terms of consciousness and other mental abilities are being extended – abolishing space and time. Thus, according to this philosopher, in his famous adage, “…the globe is no more than a village” (McLuhan, 5).
Action and reaction occur almost at the same time when it comes to communication.
Combining the two aforementioned factors, new telecommunication technologies are responsible for changing the patterns of human behavior and relationships.
When McLuhan introduced the idea of the “global village” he was able to summarize in one phrase the global impact of various telecommunications media. But what needs to be emphasized here is not only the interconnectedness of humans per se but also the increasing ability of man to know what is happening in countries that are located thousands of miles away. This has both positive as well as negative implications and it is seriously changing not only human behavior patterns but also how people relate to each other.
The positive consequence of this newfound ability to extend oneself and know more about peoples living in inaccessible locations such as Tibet, Darfur, and Burma for instance, is to increase one’s knowledge and awareness. The negative consequence is that it pressures the viewer to immediately respond to the crisis or to be emotionally involved with something that one has very little power or influence to change. Anxiety, fear, and depression are just some of the common signs of being overloaded with unnecessary information. But more importantly, no one knows how to turn this thing off. No one can filter what is truly beneficial from the harmful, so everyone takes it in, meddling with other people’s affairs and yet unable to contribute something of significance.
The second point on the list reveals the source of so much aggravation and stress from modern-day living. Employers, employees, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and even strangers can easily invade privacy. Since mobile phones and wireless laptops are extensions of a person, through this device people can engage in communication even if the user is unwilling to do so. It now requires so much effort to disentangle oneself from the hustle and bustle of city life because even if one is on vacation he or she can still be reached via mobile phone.
The third point on the list provides a clue as to why many are seeing a changing pattern in human behavior as well as how men and women interact with each other. On the practical side of things, telecommunication technologies are responsible for changing the old pattern of hierarchical and centralized management techniques and replace it with a flatter and more decentralized approach in managing businesses. On the emotional side of human relationships, one can now find new ways of dating, finding a mate, proposing marriage, cultivating friendships, and getting to know people.
But there is so much more; mobile phones are now used as some sort of personal concierge where one can text a particular number to get information about movie schedules, restaurants, and cultural shows (Lukovitz, par. 2). Cellphones are also used as some sort of a census tool where information sent by the user provides information regarding the customer’s preferences (Atkinson, par. 1-2). Furthermore, high-end cellphones allow users to do multitasking and by making the person extremely busy he or she can inadvertently harm relationships by making others around him or her feel alienated, not to mention increase the pace of life for the serious multi-tasker. The following articles provide further support for McLuhan’s core thesis.
Cellphones
One of the many interesting lines in Sara Corbett’s article was a theory on 21st-century living, “…in an increasingly transitory world, the cellphone is becoming the one fixed piece of our identity” (Corbett, par. 4). This statement is not always true, the birth certificate and the social security number still have their functions but it is alarming to realize that in some parts of the world and many instances this theory can be proven true. For example, a mother may ask her daughter about the whereabouts of her son:
“Where does your brother live?”
And the daughter will say, “No one knows mom, but you can try his mobile phone.”
One can change jobs and residences but can keep a mobile phone number. It used to be that phones are fixed to landlines and when someone calls that person he must be in that same spot as the handset. But this is not true anymore.
Furthermore, the new cellphone design is nothing like its early predecessors. It now combines the power of long-distance and mobile communication with other related functions such as taking pictures and videos and then sending the same wirelessly to virtually every nation on the planet. Every year the number of islands and remote places without a mobile phone “signal” or connectivity is rapidly decreasing, soon the whole world will be interconnected.
Instant Messages
Aside from making life increasingly complicated and unfortunately more burdensome, telecom technology is also rapidly changing how men, women, husbands, wives, and their children interact with each other. According to one correspondent, “Children increasingly rely on personal technological devices … to define themselves and create social circles apart from their families” (Holson, par. 6). At another time, parents can eavesdrop, read the mail, and listen in to the extension line in the other room but today it is increasingly hard to ascertain who their friends are.
While adult women and teenage girls will use instant messaging to add more friends into their increasing web of relationships, for adult men and teenage boys the same can be used to form special relationships with the opposite sex. One nerdy type student who had no self-confidence to approach girls turned to instant messaging through his computer to eliminate the initial awkwardness and the butterflies-in-the-stomach problems and so at the end he was able to proudly say – instant message, instant girlfriend (Hobbs, par. 4-5). For parents, there is no way to begin describing this new dilemma of finding a balance between giving children freedom and at the same time the need to supervise their use of the Internet and cellphones.
Blogs
If emails, text messaging, and instant messaging are not enough to satisfy the craving for communication and self-expression there is now an added method for making public one’s thoughts, fears, and aspirations. It is some kind of a publishing scheme but minus the editor, ink, paper, and printing press. One can write whatever he wants and interestingly a new dimension is added, readers can reply and offer their feedback instantaneously without having to properly introduce themselves.
It is one thing to write for a certain newspaper and it is entirely another to publish something about your personal life and allow total strangers to take a peek and interact. There is not enough space in this study to properly dissect the implications of blogs and other similar media found in the world-wide-web but suffice it to say that this one adds another level of complicatedness to human behavior and human interaction in the context of communication.
On a Personal Level
McLuhan’s concept of “immediate action-reaction” sequences in present-day telecommunication between teacher-student, employer-employee, friends, co-workers, etc. need no exhaustive scientific research for me to understand. It is all too real for me to have to struggle with this phenomenon. Before the advent of cellphones and text messaging a person – a boss, girlfriend, best friend, parents – will have to think twice if what they have to say is important.
This is because calling someone requires some degree of effort. For those who are outside their homes, they need to find a phone booth, search their pockets for loose change. But today no one has the luxury of time to figure out if what they are “texting” or “emailing” results in information overload or if they are simply bothering the person on the other end. But they cannot help it, the boss feels he is entitled and the parents feel the same way too. So one can be vacationing in Hawaii but his mind is still in New York.
Conclusion
McLuhan was proven correct in his assertions that mass media allows man to extend himself and this newfound ability enables him to see far and beyond the confines of his home or his immediate surroundings. It is now possible to witness wars as they unfold as well as other cataclysmic events. But McLuhan was only basing his ideas on the capabilities of television. So when the Internet and cellphones were invented after writing his groundbreaking work, these technologies enhance the validity of his claims.
McLuhan was also correct in saying that there is now an instantaneous reaction to a given action. But he could not have imagined what text messaging and other various instant messaging tools can do to prove his theory beyond any doubt. As a result, modern telecommunication technologies are transforming the pace and pattern of human activities. On one hand, there are positive implications for this type of technological advancement but on the other hand, it is also very clear that if a man will not find ways to be responsible in the use of telecommunication devices and that if businessmen will not adhere to the ideals of corporate responsibility then the changes will increase the likelihood that in the 21st-century communication can be seen as intrusive, burdensome, and adds more to an already stressed-out life.
Bluetooth is a new technology, which is being adopted at a global scale in a rapid rate. This technology provides innovative and unique services to groups of workers or professional workers while using portable devices.
As such, the rapid developments in this technology will lead to a replacement of clumsy wires and ensure that automatic transfer of information takes place.
This will occur effectively when both software and hardware for the Bluetooth technology are synchronized automatically.
Bluetooth is a new wireless technology, which enables an effective transfer of data over low bandwidth connection. This technology received its name from Harold Bluetooth who was the Danish King of the 10th Century.
This technology has the ability of overcoming the challenge of synchronization since it has the potential of connecting a myriad of devices. Special Interest Group (SIG) is the body, which has the mandate of managing Bluetooth.
This body comprises of approximately 16,000 companies, which operate in technology related fields such as computing, telecommunication, electronics for consumers, and social and corporate networking. As such, this body supervises and manages specification, as well as qualification program.
As such, Bluetooth technology was selected for this proposal. This is because the intended project seeks to use a technology, which is protected and quantified for use.
The proposal focuses on ensuring that modern technology is applied and implemented effectively. That is why Bluetooth technology was selected as the main form of technology for the intended project.
The project proposed will involve the development of an efficient autonomous guidance system, which has the ability to orientate users who are sightless. This will grant an opportunity of eliminating the undue congestion, which is caused by the sightless users on the streets.
This system gains the term autonomous since it relies on the solar panel as the key source of power. Therefore, the energy source for the system is based on renewable energy source (solar), which makes the system energy sustainable and contributes towards reducing the global energy crisis.
The major compositions of this system are a guide and a user unit (PDA) components. The user unit depicts the Palm PDA, which is a device for personal enabled Bluetooth. This unit has the ability and potential to receive and request only 16-bit code.
On the other hand, the guide is described as a Bluetooth device, which is regarded small and can be installed on several strategic locations easily. These locations include corners of streets and corridors among others. The key components of the guide are the microcontroller and one Bluetooth module that are interlinked.
The working principle of this system is that Palm, which is a hand-held device and contains normal standard Bluetooth option, will be used as a means of making a linkage to the guide.
Once this connection is made successfully, data is send to hand-held from the microcontroller. On the reception of the data, the microcontroller does a noble task of interpreting this data.
This depicts that this system will have a variety of hand-helds so that linkages with the guide will occur successfully in instances where the guide attains its full range.
The project makes a choice of using a microcontroller since the system, which is to be developed needs to be controlled automatically.
Further, microcontrollers have the ability of digitally controlling several devices successfully, and they can be integrated with other components in order to have a single system, which yields the desired benefits.
Their ability to consume little power and adaptability to the use of batteries presents an opportunity of using these components in the project.
The project seeks to make more use of Link Module of the Bluetooth hardware. This is because the Link Module has the mandate of baseband protocols and supports lower level link activities.
These activities include receiving and sending of data over a small bandwidth, performing the function of correction and detection of errors in the data, enabling linkage of various set ups, and facilitating saving of power.
As such, the proposed system focuses on using three capabilities of this Link Module, which are power management, setting up connections, and receiving and sending of data.
This is a Report for a Telecommunications Design project. The primary aim is for the students to be familiarized with the design of a cellular mobile telecommunications network. The objective involves the design and simulation of a cellular mobile telecommunications network and the corresponding operational requirements.
One of the main aims of the project is to supply a specific geographical area with mobile telephony, or mobile communications systems. The initial activity for this communication system is the installation of a suitable number of base stations to be put up into operation to form a network
Scope of the Project
The report covers the different aspects in location and configuration of the base stations, the entire network configuration, antenna configuration and other specifications, frequency planning, teletraffic design, and other important aspects of the network design.
The software CelPlannerTM from CelPlan Wireless Global Technologies played a great role in the formulation of this project. The software is a systems tool that can serve GSM and Wimax Planning. It aids the different aspects of planning and design of a communications network.
Overview of the Project
This project was aimed to provide us with a bird’s eye view of what a mobile network is all about, and how to plan and design a mobile network with the use of the software CelPlanner. This software has various tools that support planning and design capabilities for GSM and Wimax. CelPlan people can assist with planning and design, and assemble a team to conduct site surveys and important network installation. (CelPlan, 2009)
Background of the Project
We formed teams and each team was assigned to each division of 24 local service areas. Each of these service areas was to be designed as a part of the network with a team to work on. Each team was responsible for the quality of service and other aspects of the network, such as the economic aspect, that would be afforded from the service areas. The areas were comprised of different geographic characteristics and dimensions, such as flatlands, wet and rocky lands, and hills and mountains.
To simplify a bit the operations, Base Stations (BS) were established; nine of them were constructed equipped with antennas of different patterns, along with transmitting power and other necessary equipment for a base station. Base stations always require antennas of different patterns to satisfy the required frequencies. Resources were provided, so the problem was settled right away. Moreover, the design has to be economical and the quality of service satisfactory to meet the needs of the supposed users. Each station must have close coordination with the others.
Hilly portions and mountainous areas require high and complicated structures for antennas which also have to be in such a pattern as to acquire and deliver the necessary frequencies. The problem for this was only temporary as the construction allowed the teams to be flexible and attain the requirements for such antennas.
We used omnidirectional antennas which were provided to at least three directions or sectors of all the base stations. They were constructed with a measurement of 40 to 45 meters in height. These could at least cover wet and woody areas, and overpower forested areas of the base stations.
The three directions of the antennas covered a 360-degree area, with 120 degrees each, so that all the areas were covered, and all the necessary frequencies were attained. They were utilized and designed with utmost economical designs but with more room for expansion. Antenna specifications also covered residential and commercial sectors of the networked areas.
Channeling of the desired frequencies was done to acquire the needed results. Positioning of antennas, to include adjusting for heights, acquiring the desired power, and with minimum acceptable co-channel interference, was worked out by the teams. A minimum of three channels was decided, which means N=3.
We could have used four channels to minimize interference, but this was not allowed. We used the minimum number of frequencies for the given Grade of Service or GOS. C/I or carrier-to-interference ratio was 12 dB over 99% of the service area, the acceptable frequency.
We also used a microwave link antenna in connecting sites and the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC), using the logical star topology, whilst traffic load remained at 227.99 erlangs, to lag behind a 2.01 erlangs traffic deficit due to lack of coverage. The blocking probability was 1.6%.
Geographical Data
Service Areas
In the installation of the 24 service areas, we used topographical and morphological mapping. In other words, the map contains the topographical and morphological information of the service areas. The data refer to the terrain and the type of vegetation as presented in a map. From the map that we are presenting, we can see the entire area characteristics that include obstacles that can affect our coverage, such as water, mountains, railways, and so forth.
The figure indicates the direction of morphologies that characterize the landscape, environmental elements, both natural and artificial, and other forms of territorial organizations that can be recognized.
The topographical data reveals the location in a Resolution of 1 second: to the North, we have 33o 45’ 00.0” N; to the South, we 32o 15’ 00.0” N; to the East, we have 093o 30’ 00.0” W, and to the West, there is 094o 00’ 00.0” W. In a Resolution of 3 seconds, we have to the North, 33o 00’ 00.0” N; to the South, we have 32o 00’ 00.0” N; to the East: 093o 00’ 00.0”; and to the West, 095o 00’ 00.0” W.
Wireless Local Loop
Design and installation of a wireless local loop (WLL) network with GSM technology is conceived with the minimum number of base stations to cover the entire area with minimum channel interference.
The map presenting the geographical data is an important aspect in the design, installation, and simulation of the mobile cellular network because this provides information on the service areas.
The CelPlannerTM bears a database of the different network configurations and information that can aid the different teams in the design and planning of the cellular radio base station network. The information includes the location and configuration of the base stations, the frequency plan, RF coverage, teletraffic design, and other important information.
The Geographical Data of the coverage provides information regarding the terrain, including the type of vegetation and the formation of the land whether it is hilly or mountainous, or covered with water, or with some installed infrastructure such as railway lines, power lines, etc.
The figure below is a snapshot of the topography of the given service areas.
The next figure provides the morphological data of the service area.
Numerical representations for morphologies are the following:
Open Water
Woody Wetlands, Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands
Perennial Ice/Snow, Bare Rock/Sand/Clay, Quarries/Strip Mines/Gravel Pit, Transitional
Grasslands/Herbaceous, Pasture/Hay, Row Crops, Small Grains, Fallow
Shrubland, Orchards/Vineyards/Other
Deciduous Forest
Evergreen Forest
Mixed Forest
Urban/Recreational Grasses
Roads
Low-Intensity Residential
High-Intensity Residential
Commercial/Industrial/Transport
The team’s Service Area
The service area for our team was a combination of different types of land including flat land, hilly areas, rocky terrain, wet land and rivers, ice, and commercial region. Moreover, we utilized different antenna patterns for the decided nine bases stations. The types of the antenna were constructed on different heights and transmitting power to gain maximum area coverage with optimum frequency gain and less interference.
The given service area that we covered was about 294.50 square kilometers of land which has a rectangular shape. For purposes of this Report, this area is referred to as Sub-Service Area or SSA.
This was a combination of different types of land and terrain, like rocky, wet, forest, plane, river, hilly, mountainous, and commercial land. We saw to it that we could deliver the desired area and service.
About the antenna, our focus was to design a system of transmitting data with the least antenna structures that we could install, considering the high cost of installation, but not to the point of sacrificing the quality of the service and performance. In other words, we had to install the minimum number of base stations but the system should be able to deliver quality performance.
We selected an antenna type that was suitable to a mixture of different types of terrain; these were the Omni-directional antennas, constructed at 50 to 60m in height of the economical type but suitable for quality but low traffic load. The service areas also were comprised of residential and commercial environments which needed directional antennas to deliver the kind of frequencies required.
The minimum signal level was at -95dBm thereby forcing the teams to increase the power and height of transmitters. The minimum value of the carrier frequency to interference was at 12dB.
Teletraffic handling requirement
Erlang is used as a unit of load intensity. Erlang B traffic is usually used by telephone system designers to estimate the number of channels or private connections.
Vakili and Aziminejad (2003) proposed a resource allocation scheme specifically developed for cellular environments with heterogeneous offered traffic. In a cellular network with heterogeneous offered traffic consisting of audio and video calls, HCBA-UCB uses intra-cell borrowing and inter-cell unilateral cross-borrowing to enhance the teletraffic performance of the system (p. 219).
The authors said that cross-borrowing of a video resource by one or multiple audio calls is allowed only if the QoS requirement for video calls is not violated. Performance evaluation of HCBA-UCB indicates that this allocation scheme is capable of improving audio teletraffic performance of the cellular network while insignificantly affecting video QoS performance.
Vakili and Aziminejad (2003) explained the technical terms traffic engineering. Traffic engineering is one of the main reasons for implementing multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) in IP backbone networks. This capability of MPLS is based on the fact that it efficiently enables explicitly routed paths, called label switched paths (LSPs), to be created between ingress and egress nodes. As a result, traffic flows can be controlled and engineered through the network. For an explicit LSP, the route is determined at the ingress node. (p. 220)
In our given service area, the traffic load was approximately 230 erlangs, as shown here below. We had to identify first the number of traffic channels and transceivers to be able to determine the traffic load. After this activity, frequencies were provided or assigned to the antennas. Erlang B then was used to determine the traffic channels and the number of transceivers.
Literature Review
Growth of wireless communications
This section is for consolidating the various literature relative to the design of a cellular mobile telecommunications network.
There has been tremendous change in mobile communication systems these past few decades. Along with the advancement in the systems is the emergence of the internet and Information Technology; in other words, there is a vast improvement in communications in general.
Communication has been revolutionized. Wireless has become a need in the operations of businesses and organizations. It is so popular with more innovations almost every time we take a breather to see what’s going on in the world of wireless communication. The worldwide web, or what is popularly known as the Net, has become a daily feature in businesses and organizations.
Fiber optical systems technology changed the way we view traditional telephone systems using a cable. The older telephone systems used wired logic. But with the emergence and easy access to Information Technology, we now have software for more flexible and adaptive strategies.
Wireless technology has been improved much and led the way to cell phones and other mobile communications using antennas of various types and forms, and with the use of satellite.
Cellular telephony systems are radio systems that involve distributed transmission. Instead of having a single transmitter service many different users over a wide area of coverage, the coverage area is divided into smaller areas known as cells. Each cell has one stationary transceiver known as a base station. For example, a user (or subscriber) of a cellular system communicates with the base station to place a call. The call can be data or voice, and the base station routes the call to either a terrestrial network to the termination point or another user of the same cellular network. (Mandyam and Lai, 2002, p. 1)
As students of Telecommunications Engineering, we can see that the magnetic frequency spectrum is now divided into different bands, each for specific purposes. In mobile communications, each band is assigned a limited number of radiotelephone channels and is equipped for optimum utilization.
There is a finite amount of radio spectrum allocated for wireless communication systems; hence the telecommunications industry developed multiple access techniques to allow multiple users to share the available communication channels efficiently (De Souza, 2004, p. 1).
The most common multiple access techniques are:
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) – this allocates a discrete amount of bandwidth to each user. In this technique, the total system bandwidth is divided into frequency channels that are allocated to the users (Ojanperä and Prasad, 2001, p.1).
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) – this allocates unique time slots to each user; that is, each user has a specific set of time intervals to transmit information (data/voice) (De Souza, 2004, p. 1).
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) – all users share the same frequency all the time, but this uses a unique code to each user that allows it to be distinguished from other users. This system was specifically designed for the military in their communications and navigation systems. It further promoted the development of Spread Spectrum technology. (De Souza, 2004, p. 1).
CDMA has been quite successful as a second-generation cellular system, having achieved widespread use in particular in North America and Korea by the turn of the twenty-first century. But CDMA will once again find widespread use in the form of third-generation cellular systems in the twenty-first century. (Mandyam and Lai, p. vii)
Comparison of cellular systems
The term used for the group of stations that function together as a network on a single wireless channel is a basic service set (BSS). A BSS may or may not be part of a larger network. If it is self-contained it is referred to as an independent BSS (IBSS). If it is part of a larger network it is referred to as an infrastructure BSS. (Okamoto, 1999, p. 31)
Spread Spectrum Concept
The technology of CDMA spread spectrum communications is a fascinating topic. It is composed of so many different facets derived from decades of communications research (military, academic and commercial) as well as the best that mathematics and science have cultivated over the past 150 to 200 years. (Lee, 2002, p. ix)
Transmission systems have two basic characteristics related to frequency spectrum: center frequency (or transmitted carrier signal) and bandwidth.
Ojanperä and Prasad (2001) explain that ‘In CDMA, multiple access is achieved by assigning each user a pseudo-random code (also called pseudo-noise codes due to noise-like autocorrelation properties) with good auto- and crosscorrelation properties’ (p.1).
The code is used to transform a user’s signal into a wideband spread spectrum signal, whilst a receiver transforms the wideband signal into the original signal bandwidth using the same pseudo-random code. The wideband signals of other users remain wideband signals.
The development of Spread Spectrum technology has the following objectives:
Multiple access over a single carrier frequency
Interference reduction
Privacy. This is between users. Information transmitted in the network can only be understood by the intended recipient. Also, unauthorized receivers cannot intercept waveforms and information transmitted/received in the network. (De Souza, 2004, p 2)
Multipath: reduction of the undesired effects of delayed versions of the same signal arriving at the receiver through different paths, thus causing self-interference and mutual interference.
Intra system: minimization of interference caused by a different base station or mobile terminal belonging to the same system.
External: reduction of network operation disturbances caused by external agents.
Transmission systems have two basic characteristics related to frequency spectrum: center frequency (or transmitter carrier signal) and bandwidth. There are mathematical tools that allow the conversion of time to frequency domain functions and vice versa, such as Fourier and Laplace transforms.
CDMA2000
The concept of cdma2000systems following 3GPP2 standards have three traffic channel types:
the same used in IS-95A and IS-95B systems, to maintain compatibility among them;
Multi-Carriers (MC), that is, three 1.25 MHz carriers in the forward link and one 3.75 MHz carrier in the reverse link; and
one 3.75 MHz carrier in both links, almost the same bandwidth used in the multi-carrier case. (De Souza, 2004, p. 4)
CDMA standards
First-generation cellular systems are those that use analog technology, examples are the Advanced Mobile Phone System and Personal Digital Communications. The Second Generation came into existence because of the need for higher capacity. Included in these systems are the CDMA and TDMA in North America and GSM in Europe.
The cellular operational requirements for a 2G using digital technology, as listed by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association were:
Ten-fold increase in the existing analog system (AMPS).
Privacy for voice and data users.
Ability to introduce new services.
Ease of transition from legacy to new systems.
Use of dual-mode terminals; that is, mobiles capable of simultaneously operating in analog and digital systems.
Compatibility with the frequency spectrum of the existing analog system.
Reasonable infrastructure and mobile terminal costs.
Basic Architecture of American Cellular Systems.
More Research and Development on cellular phones led to the creation of new communication systems now known as the Third Generation (3G), which is characterized by increased data transmission and improved user connectivity.
The industry requirements for the 3G are:
High traffic capacity – this was to meet the system capacity up to ten times compared to the analog systems.
High Quality of Service standards (QoS)
More services such as paging services, data, and fax traffic achieving data rates. (De Souza et al, 2004, p. 18)
CDMA IS-95 System Structure
One full-duplex access method employed by CDMA is the Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) in which one carrier transmits forward link channels from Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) to Mobile Stations (MSs), whereas another frequency is allocated for the reverse link (or uplink), transmitting from MSs to their server BTSs (De Souza et al, 2004, p. 30).
Protocol Architecture
IS-2000 is a system that has gained popularity in the initial deployment of 3G. IS-2000 calls out explicitly the functions of four different protocol layers, as compared to IS-95. These layers are the physical layer, medium access control, signaling link access control, and upper layer.
Physical Layer (layer 1) [4] – this is responsible for transmitting and receiving bits over the physical medium; the layer converts the bits into waveforms, as the physical medium is over the air. The physical layer also carries out coding functions to perform error control functions. (Yang, 2004, p. 2)
Medium access control (MAC sublayer (layer 2) [5] – this controls the higher layer’s access to the physical medium that is shared among different users.
Signaling link access control (LAC) sublayer (Layer 2) [6] – this is responsible for the reliability of signaling messages that are exchanged. The LAC sublayer performs a set of functions that ensure the reliable delivery of signaling messages.
Upper layer (Layer 3 [7] – this carries out the overall control of the IS-2000 system by serving as the point that processes all and originates new signaling messages (Yang, 2004, p. 2)
Global System for Mobile Communications
GSM is the most widespread mobile system in the world today. Its development and architecture are the subjects of interest among developers of global communications. Along with this subject is the topic of Universal Mobile Telecommunication Services (UMTS) about its Core Network (CN) and other radio architectures. Wireless voice service is one of the features GSM technology can offer, and the technology of choice in over 120 countries and for more than 200 operators worldwide (Castro, 2004, p. 1).
To state a brief history of wireless standards and systems, it was in the mid-1990s when the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiated an effort to develop a framework of standards and systems that would provide wireless and ubiquitous telecommunications services to users anywhere at any time. Here are the performance requirements of a 3G wireless system, as published by the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), a subgroup of ITU:
A minimum data rate of 144 Kbps in the vehicular environment;
A minimum data rate of 384 Kbps in the pedestrian environment;
A minimum data rate of 2 Mbps in the fixed indoor and picocell environment. (Yang, 2004, p. 1)
Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) reference model for 3G cellular system architecture [3].
Each of the squares, triangles, and rectangles in the figure above represents a Network Entity (NE) while circles represent reference points. NEs can be a complete physical device, a part of it, or even distributed over several physical devices.
The NEs represent the following:
AAA – Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting: Provides Internet Protocol functionality to support authentication, authorization, and accounting functions.
AC – Authentication Center
BS – Base Station; consists of a BSC and a BTS and provides the means for MSs to access network services via radio.
BSC – Base Station Controller. Provides control and management for one or more BTSs, exchanging messages with both the BTS and the MSC. Traffic and signaling related to call control, mobility and MS management pass transparently through the BSC.
BTS – Base Transceiver Station; consists of radio devices, antenna, and equipment; this also provides transmission capabilities on the air interface between the BS and MS.
CDCP – Call Data Collection Point: Collects call details in ANSI-124 format.
CDGP – Call Data Generation Point; provides call details in ANSI-124 format to the CDCP.
CDIS – Call Data Information Source: Source of call details, may use a proprietary format.
CDRP – Call Data Rating Point; charges and taxes un-rated call details. (De Souza, B. et al, 2004, pp. 21-22)
Discussion
The Base Stations
The teams decided to utilize at least nine Base Stations to provide the necessary quality performance for our project. The Base Stations (BS) would provide the required traffic handling capacity with minimum interference.
The Base Station is the base for two-way communication. This is situated in a fixed location while acting as receiver/transmitter in signal communication. BSs use low-power two-way radios including mobile phones.
The radio or wireless path in wireless systems corresponds to the radio link between a mobile user station and the base station with which it communicates. The base station in turn connects to the wired network over which communication signals will travel. Modern wireless systems are usually divided into geographically distinct areas called cells, each controlled by a base station. (Schwartz, 2005, p. 16)
Each Base Station was designed to provide minimum interference and optimum handling capacity. The antenna height was at a proper position with specific latitude and longitude.
Base Station Positions.
Below is a snapshot is taken from the CelPlan software indicating the different antenna types and their configuration. The antennas were so designed to provide high directivity and handle good traffic. The operational frequencies for the BSs were in the range of 890 to 960MHz.
The Erlang formula used was the Erlang B. Erlang is the unit for traffic intensity, per ITU recommendation.
Antenna Coordination
An important design aspect in multi-cellular networks is the type of antennas used at the BSs and RSs. Using omnidirectional antennas would be suitable for highly mobile scenarios due to difficulties in tracking MSs. Omnidirectional antennas require relatively low complexity at the MSs. But there is a drawback in omnidirectional antennas, and this is the high interference which is due to the power signal that is uniformly spread and not beamed toward specific directions. (Dawy, 2009, p. 322)
One way to mitigate the effects of interference is by free space loss between offending and offending facilities. Free-space loss (FSL) is a function of distance. Inside this distance, unacceptable interference occurs; outside the distance, interference is negligible. (Freeman, 2007, p. 702)
The omnidirectional antenna used in this network design had three cells using reflectors, each covering an area of 120°, to complete a 360° direction for the entire coverage or requirement. The antenna was positioned at a high altitude to get the required frequency with less interference and also to obtain the maximum coverage and better C/I ratio.
Antenna specification is taken from the CelPlan snapshot.
A 3D demonstration of an antenna specification from CelPlan.
Signaling
To implement high-rate packet-switched data, IS-2000 needs to dynamically acquire and release air link resources, and efficient signaling is required to perform quick acquisitions and releases of these resources. There are these new signaling mechanisms:
On the forward link, there are overhead/signaling physical channels.
For the reverse link, there are shorter signaling messages. IS-2000 can transmit shorter 5-ms frames on the enhanced access channel (Yang, 2004, p. 8).
Also on the reverse link, there are shorter signaling messages.
On the forward link, IS-2000 can also transmit shorter signaling messages.
IS-2000 represents a natural technical extension from its IS-95 predecessor, and this extension can be seen in the fact that IS-2000 users and IS-95 users can coexist in the same carrier (Yang, 2004, p. 7).
Objectives of the network configuration
The team was able to utilize the necessary antenna patterns, concerning form and height. But our main objectives were to meet some specifications:
A minimum of co-channel interference but an optimum of coverage.
To obtain no adjacent channel interference.
To obtain the required C/I ratio of 12 dB.
To construct towers and antennas to cover up the required cells and by the terrain and type of land in the service area.
To assign the required frequencies to all base stations, while maintaining a minimum of interference from co-channel, adjacent channels, and composite interference.
To assign transceivers by the required load and the GoS.
To connect in an excellent way the base stations to the MSC to provide circuit-switched calling, mobility management, and GSM services to the users’ cellular phones.
Traffic-handling capacity
The intensity of the load, or the traffic load, was maintained at 230 erlangs. This was distributed on the service areas, for the required number of channels. The Grade of Service was approximately 2%. Erlang B formula, which is for Blocked Calls Cleared, has been applied from the start of the design project.
The figure shows traffic load distribution.
Backhaul Network
This involves the transfer of the different data, including voice and other properties to the base station or the controller, and then from the base stations down to the Mobile Switching Centre or MSC.
The MSC is a telephone exchange that provides switching from the Base Station to the roaming mobile phones. It is an automatic switching device run by a particular integrated circuit. It sends and receives back voice, data and fax, and other services, including SMS.
MSC is placed at a suitable position to send back messages to the base station through a star topology. The construction of the MSC was done in such a way that a suitable position could be attained in the microwave radio antenna, and located at the highest position of the service area. This way the Base Station had a clear line of sight.
Moreover, the MSC is responsible for connecting wireless calls by switching digital voice data packets from one network path to another – a process known as call routing. MSCs also provide additional information to support mobile service subscribers, including user registration, authentication, and location updating. The MSC is the location of the switch and peripheral equipment that serves a wireless system. The switch itself is similar in function to a class 5 end-office switch in the PSTN. (Bedell, 2005, p. 236)
All base stations in a wireless system must be electronically connected to the MSC. This is why a backhaul network is required in all wireless systems. All cells must also be able to communicate with all other cells, electronically through the MSC. The MSC coordinates signal strength measurements that are used in the call-handoff process to determine when handoffs are required. All cells must always maintain contact with all other cells.
The hexagon design accounts for conceptual and physical overlapping between all cells because wireless coverage is depicted by circles from an engineering standpoint. The fixed network has to satisfy capacity demands and provide reliable service.
This can be achieved if the following criteria are incorporated in the network’s design (Bedell, 2005, p. 245):
All routes and links between base stations and the BSC/MSC must be properly sized to meet demands.
Mobile-originated traffic must be routed most economically through the network, and to the PSTN (if applicable).
Survivability must be built into the network wherever possible.
Base Station Controller
The Base Station Controller is an integral element of all MSCs. The BSC is a network element used in most wireless network implementations that are used to interconnect cell base stations to the MSC. The BSC facilitates call handoffs from one base station to another. This is common to radio stations who do not have much built-in intelligence to manage and control the network, so they are connected to these controllers. In GSM systems these controllers are called BSCs, and in 3G/UMS systems they are called radio network controllers (RNCs). The controllers manage the radio network and are responsible for call setup and call-handoffs. (Bedell, 2005, p. 237)
In GSM standards, BSCs are a required network element. In those cases where the mobile switch itself is manufactured by one company and the base station equipment is manufactured by a different company, a BSC is a necessity to bridge the different models of equipment together. The current demands of mobile networks dictate that BSCs should be used to offload the management of base station activity from the MSC. In other words, they help in giving out the overload in the network. The MSC can attend to other critical tasks such as the actual switching of calls, managing interactions with the HLR/VLR, seizing PSTN trunks, and managing Internet access transport and related traffic.
BSCs can be located at the MSC site itself, or can also be geographically distributed throughout a wireless system, or both. It all depends on the actual number of base stations existing in the network, real estate owned by the carrier, and so forth. The purpose of the BSC is to offload some of the base station and call-management functions from the switch, so the switch can perform more switching-related and database-related functions (Bedell, 2005, p. 237).
More important functions of MSC and BSC (Bedell, 2005, p. 237-238) are:
Switching of Mobile Calls and Least-Cost Routing. The switch located at the MSC site switches all wireless system calls. The BSC does call setup and teardown, although the switch manages channel-frequency assignment and call path assignment up to and including interconnection to the PSTN if the destination of the call is a landline telephone.
Call-handoff. Call-handoff is the process where the BSC coordinates the transfer of a call in progress from one cell to another. MSC is still involved, but the present trend is that BSC manages the handoff process.
PSTN Interconnection. In this situation, the MSC manages the control of traffic between the wireless network and the PSTN, including the seizure of PSTN trunks and trunk group selection.
Internet Connectivity. This is managed by the MSC and involves connections between the MSC and dedicated web servers based at the MSC location and the pass-through processing of Internet sessions between mobile subscribers and the Internet.
Billing. Customer billing is controlled by the MSC. This is done when upon completion of every wireless call, the MSC generates an automatic message accounting (AMA) record, which contains the details of the call. Examples of the details include the customer’s mobile number or account number, the number of minutes the call lasted, and whether it was local, roaming, or long distance.
Validation of Subscribers. Through MSC databases known as the home location register (HLR) and visitor location register (VLR), the switch tracks which mobiles registering on the system are home subscribers and which subscribers are visiting, or roaming, subscribers. Home subscribers can be identified as wireless customers who obtained service in a particular market and are making a call in that same market.
Authentication of Subscribers. This is for security purposes; a challenge-response, antifraud process where the mobile issues a secret code when attempting to place calls, and the MSC holds the key to this code. If the calculation that is inherent in the authentication process is validated by the MSC, the mobile is allowed to make calls.
Network Operations Statistics. The MSC collects data on all system and call-processing functions, including the following:
Traffic statistics on base station trunk groups
Trunk groups that connect the wireless system to the PSTN
Call-handoff statistics
Amount of dropped calls
Moreover, maintenance statistics such as the amount and type of alarms are generated at all base stations and the MSC itself.
Network Operations Center (NOC)
This is not to be forgotten because all telecommunication companies and network providers of all types maintain a Network Operations Center. They may include local exchange carriers (LECs), competitive LECs (CLECs), Internet service providers (ISPs), interexchange carriers (IXCs), voice over IP (VoIP) carriers, and so forth.
The operation of a NOC is done this way.
The data that is routed to a NOC by all MSCs is managed by a network management system such as HP Openview or a similar system that may even be proprietary to a wireless carrier based on the maker of its network infrastructure. The data used to provide network status at a NOC will be housed on an independent, fault-tolerant computer system that would operate on its own virtual local area network (VLAN).
The NOC performs all of the core network-management functions of any standard network: fault management (system alarms), configuration management, security management, accounting management (traffic data), and performance management.
A wireless carrier, like other telephone companies, can have one or more NOCs, depending on its size. If more than one NOC exists, they will be regionalized. They will be geographically distant but deployed symmetrically so they can support big regions.
Frequency Management
We have to reduce the interference level as much as possible. An allocation of 200 kHz for each channel and separation of 30 kHz was applied to adjacent channels.
The GSM frequency plan is a combination of FDMA and TDMA access techniques. It consists of a total of 124 FDMA channels of 200 kHz bandwidth of them.
Frequency in conventional terms is not possible, due to the unavailability of well-shielded sites and/or to the necessity of using crowded frequency ranges close to terrestrial radio link repeaters and terminals. The use of spread-spectrum, as discussed in the Literature Review, may help to withstand severe interference environments. If the number of interfering carriers is small and their power levels are not too large, it may be convenient to use interference-canceling devices. This required individual acquisition of each interfering carrier using an RX terminal pointed toward the interfering transmitter, to get a replica which can then be subtracted, with the appropriate power level. (Tirro, 1993, p. 189)
Conclusions
Wireless mobile communication is now the trend in global business and association, and mostly in all human interaction. As has been often said, this is a revolution in communications. As man continues to conduct business, innovations are a part of his business. Still, change and ambiguity continue to abound.
Wireless communication has long been man’s dream. It has been a part of continuous research and development. Now, this is a part of his daily activities. The internet is a daily feature in day-to-day activities. Recently, fiber optic was the latest innovation in cable telephony, but now it’s wireless. Our telephone systems then used wired logic, but with the internet and Information Technology, we use software, for more flexible and adaptive strategies.
The technology that is very much in vogue is cellular telephony, which involves distributed transmission. This uses different cells with a stationary transceiver known as a Base Station.
On the other hand, the magnetic spectrum has been divided into bands with specific purposes. Each band is assigned a limited number of telephone channels. There is a limited amount of radio spectrum allocated for wireless communication.
Meeting Current and Future Requirements
This is one of the major concerns of the Telecommunication Engineering student and future engineer to handle management and infrastructure that will help in the progress of organizations and nations. Maintaining a good QoS is one of the primary concerns because this is what networks, organizations, and users would always like to be maintained in the course of doing business or partnership with them.
Some other factors that need to be addressed are:
Frequency – Maintaining frequencies and without interference is a primary concern because this may break or lose confidence on the part of the users. A change in frequency is just like a back job or a backlog that has to be addressed immediately. Any interference can lose the users’ trust, and he/they might just go to other vendors or competitors. This would also mean a lack of expertise on our part. The lower the frequency, the less attenuation, and therefore fewer losses. And the signal can be transmitted farther away.
There would be more losses in frequency if a higher frequency would be allocated. Nevertheless, cell splitting can also be implemented and we could accommodate a smaller area.
Different antenna types could be used and at suitable height concerning the service area. Directional areas have more capacity than Omni-directional antennas.
The availability of equipment is also very important. Microwave links played an important role as these were very reliable but easy to maintenance.
The system is designed to handle more load and this could be done by adding more transceivers, or an upgrade in the future will be possible.
Difficulties Encountered
Difficulties in the planning and implementation of the project started to emerge right at the start. Economic considerations had to be addressed, and this was followed by technical difficulties. First of all, this was the work of a team, and so we had to work as a team. Second, it involves a lot of expertise on every member of the team, although we were still starting as real professionals, or should we say amateurs. There were a lot of loopholes from the start and this was because we had to dig it up to arrive at the proper and excellent project.
The selection of the appropriate service areas was difficult but we had to give some cooperation. But it was settled out. Then, the technical side of channeling and interference created a lot of confusion. We had to consult with each other and do a lot of brainstorming and discussion.
There were many confusions and difficulties in the design, formulation, and actual implementation. The construction was such a laborious process that involved a lot of resources and talent on our part to arrive at a completed project worthy of praise and boast to our instructor.
We had to reduce the transmitter power at the base stations to the minimum to reduce co-channel interference. It proved effective. We did a lot of experimentation in the antennas, like tilting or putting it a bit high. It also worked but the extent of the interference level could not be reduced below a certain limit.
The clustering of the channels was a bit problematic. We were not allowed to use N=4, so we had to be content with N=3. This was one of the most difficult parts because in getting rid of the co-channel interference, it was difficult to do it in an N=3 clustering.
We also encountered connecting the BS sites with microwave links. The terrain of the service areas was irregular. It was a mix of rocky and wetland, hilly and mountainous portions, plus some commercial and residential areas. We couldn’t get the line of sight between sites most of the time. We did some calculations and experimentations, and those sites were moved to some alternative locations and at a higher elevation. We implemented a backhaul network and got a clear line of sight between BS sites and MSC.
Lessons from the Exercise
There are a lot of lessons that we have learned from this exercise. First of all, we learned academic lessons, and these engineering lessons were implemented with some simulation and with the help of software that had been very helpful in the planning and implementation of the engineering design.
We learned how to design a cellular mobile network, including defining the boundary of the service area, the perspective of the terrain, understanding the topography and morphology, and analyzing the map, etc.
Understanding the importance and need for appropriate antennas for the Base Stations is one of the important subjects we learned. By knowing the antenna applications, we can have a grasp of the different frequencies in the project implementation. Moreover, this kind of knowledge is a lasting one. In our future endeavors, as we pursue our respective careers, we will be able to implement this knowledge.
Other lessons and knowledge we learned and earned are effective co-channeling, composite channel interference, and how to avoid channel interference. Again this is an important subject that will help us in our future careers.
We also learned how to manage traffic for a given grade of service with a minimum number of frequencies. Other concepts we focused on were transceivers and the number of traffic channels for communication, the concept of frequency reuse for the GSM, the importance of economical aspects during the project, and lastly, the importance of teamwork.
We learned that teamwork becomes a trait when all of the members are focused on attaining a certain goal without selfish interests. During the project implementation, the members created a certain kind of bonding, a sort of brotherhood bond between us. When we started to feel that every knowledge or talent was needed for the success of the project, that was the time when the project started to make fruit. We knew then that we were going to be successful, or that our efforts were having some clear focus ahead.
Reference
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Vakili, V. T. and Aziminejad, A., 2003. A novel DCA scheme for resource sharing in cellular environments with heterogeneous traffic. In Marshall, A. and N. Agoulmine (Eds.), Management of Multimedia Networks and Services: 6th IFIP/IEEE International Conference, MMNS 2003, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK, Proceedings. New York: IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.
Yang, S. C., 2004. 3G CDMA2000: wireless system engineering. Norwood, MA: Artech House, Inc.
Telecommunication networks can vary in scale and structure but usually employ a set of core components and technologies required for their successful operation. A computer network is several computers connected through hardware and software solutions. Usually, it involves client computers being connected to a server computer. This connection uses the network operating system to distribute communications among the computers on the network.
Components called “switches” or “hubs” are used to simplify the connection and distribution of information between computers. Hubs send data to all computers on the network, while switches can filter it to specific computers. Also, routers can be used to connect multiple networks. A new approach called Software-defined networking can be used to simplify network configurations by using one central program.
Technologies that networks use include client/server computing, packet switching, and TCP/IP. Client/server computing is a model of data processing where one dedicated computer is used to set the rules of communication between other computers on the network.
Packet switching is one of the most important electronic communication technologies. It allows the user to transfer large amounts of data by dividing it into small packets that are then sent and reassembled at the destination computer. TCP/IP consists of two protocols created to standardize communication between different types of computers. Its name means Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. TCP controls the movement of data, while IP controls its delivery, disassembly, and reassembly.
Within just a few decades, the telecommunication industry attained dramatic growth on a global scale. Nowadays, various communication technologies provide multiple benefits for users at both individual and business levels. Besides those advantages, advanced telecommunications are observed to stimulate economic growth. As noted by Ameen and Willis (2016), “the mobile industry is the second source of wealth after the oil industry in the Gulf countries” and, in 2011 alone, it allowed them to receive revenues of 78 billion USD (p. 1). In addition, greater mobile penetration is positively correlated with an increase in GPD rates (Ameen & Willis 2016; Zain & PwC 2014).
Noteworthily, the UAE is currently one of the leaders in the Gulf region in terms of citizens’ use of communication and mobile technologies (Ameen & Willis 2016). Thus, the industry provides a plethora of opportunities for the country to stimulate further economic development.
The UAE telecommunications sector is chosen for the analysis not just because of its significant role in the economy but also since it has recently been underperforming. For example, major UAE mobile enterprises reported a decrease in revenues since 2015 (Ameen & Willis 2016). Besides, the 2017 financial statistics show that the UAE telecommunication sector was the primary downward dragger of the country’s share price index (Department of Economic Development 2018).
Researchers identify the unfavorable regulatory environment and the government’s centralized influence on the sector as the major reasons for its unsatisfactory performance (Kovacs 2014; Ameen & Willis 2016). To understand how the country may strengthen the contribution of telecommunications to its economy, the present paper will mainly aim to analyze the sector from the perspective of the theories of competition and monopoly. Along with legal factors, such determinants of competitiveness as price, quality, and value of services will also be evaluated. The results of the literature review and sector analysis will be utilized to formulate specific recommendations for the improvement of the selected sector’s performance.
Theoretical Background
Similar to the airline, railroad, electricity, and alike industries, telecommunications is characterized by a network effect. This feature implies that “the value of the good is proportional to sales” (Enhan 2016, p. 8). In other words, if new customers would want to enter an already existing network of services offered by a telecommunication company (for instance, mobile communication services), the latter will be able to provide the service without any extra costs for itself or other network users.
According to Enhan (2016), the network effect is considered to maximize benefits in case the network has an unlimited capacity (or an unlimited number of users) and when it is operated by only one enterprise. For this reason, the telecommunication industry has been traditionally viewed as a natural monopoly and was strictly regulated in virtually every country in the world (Enhan 2016). However, the present-day telecommunication sector is more dynamic than ever before and may utilize many diverse means through which services can be provided. In their turn, the methods of service delivery define the overall quality and value of services rendered. These characteristics make contemporary global telecommunications a highly competitive industry.
Nowadays, competition is the major driving force in international markets. It is defined as “a struggle of conflicting interests” and “a process of rivalry between firms … seeking to win customers’ business over time” (Enhan 2016, p. 15). Competition is considered to automatically stimulate economic growth and, therefore, can benefit consumers and all other stakeholders much more than monopolies and all governmental regulations (Enhan 2016). According to the model of perfect competition, to attain the maximum benefits, the market should have sellers that are too small to control it entirely and are perfectly aware of the market prices and other relevant market information (Enhan 2016).
Moreover, a market with perfect competition must be characterized by a full flow of resources available to sellers and the homogeneity of products (Enhan 2016). One of the main impacts of perfect competition is low product prices because rivals aim to reduce costs in order to benefit customers (Enhan 2016). Conversely, since in the monopolistic market the output is entirely controlled by one enterprise, the prices tend to be higher.
Monopolies and competitive markets are also different in terms of their impacts on the quality of services and goods. Perfect competition is associated with greater innovation, which sellers may use as a strategy to attract potential consumers (Enhan 2016). On the contrary, monopoly producers may be less interested in innovation since the volume of their sales normally does not depend on the quality of services and goods to a large extent.
However, besides product variety, price and quality/value of services play a decisive role in increasing and decreasing customer satisfaction (Nekmahmud & Rahman 2018). Clearly, in the context of perfect competition, dissatisfied users may simply switch to another operator. At the same time, it can be argued that in the context of monopoly, customer dissatisfaction is likely to result in a reduced rate of service use and, therefore, smaller revenues.
The UAE Telecommunication Sector
As was mentioned previously, today, the UAE telecom market is strictly regulated by the government. Every legal, managerial, and practical aspect of the sector is currently addressed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). Among the major responsibilities of the agency are quality monitoring, sector promotion both within and outside the UAE, establishment, and implementation of the relevant regulatory framework, and so forth (Yallapragada 2017).
Moreover, the UAE telecommunication sector is now exempted from compliance with the 2012 competition law that is aimed to combat monopoly practices in the country and promote market openness (Kovacs 2014). It means that the government’s intervention in the industry is now high and, at the same time, there is no legal ground for the sector to foster more rivalry.
There are only two dominating mobile network operators in the country, Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Estilat) and Emirate Integrated Telecommunication Company PJSC (Du). The Ministry of Finance owns 60% of the former organization’s shares and, at the same time, 80% of Du’s shares are owned by the authorities (Kovacs 2014; Ameen & Willis 2016). As noted by Kovacs (2014) although the presence of two major players in the market officially makes it a duopoly, the UAE telecom sector is still substantially monopolized. Besides, various measures are undertaken to make sure that Du and Estilat remain dominant players.
For example, restrictions on the use of such Voice Over Internet Protocol applications as Skype and Face Time are currently implemented and, as a result, customers have no choice but to use the expensive international call services offered by the two local enterprises (Ameen & Willis 2016). While it is obvious that the existing regulatory framework aims to maximize the profits of the UAE telecom corporations, the industry currently experiences the negative effects of monopoly on its competitiveness.
Pricing can be viewed as the primary problem in the UAE telecom sector. According to Kovacs (2014), internet provision in the country is among the most expensive yet slowest in the world. For instance, as for the 2014 rates, the price for an 8 Mbit/second package equaled USD 82 (Kovacs 2014). As noted by Ameen and Willis (2016), Du and Estilat have to pay a 50% royalty fee due to specific tax regulations imposed on these two enterprises by the government, and this fee can be responsible for high prices of the services to a substantial degree. Since the country has a high GDP level, locals tend to have more than a single mobile device and still widely use them (Ameen & Willis 2016).
In fact, the UAE’s rates of mobile phone adoption (Figure 1) and mobile penetration (Figure 2) are among the most elevated in the MENA region (Figure 1), especially among young people (Ameen & Willis 2016). However, it is observed that excessive service costs are of big concern for the consumers of the UAE communication services and can contribute to their dissatisfaction since many individuals perceive mobile and internet prices as unfair (Yallapragada 2017; Kovacs 2014). It is valid to say that by changing the regulatory framework, it will be possible to offer more affordable prices and, thus, add more customer value to telecom services and products.
Figure 1: The levels of smartphone adoption across Arab countries (Ameen & Willis 2016).Figure 2: The levels of mobile penetration across Arab countries (Ameen & Willis 2016).
The quality of services and products is another weak point in the UAE telecommunication sector. According to Kovacs (2014), the country strives to promote itself as a hub for information, communication, and telecommunication technologies and undertakes efforts to comply with high international standards. Therefore, innovation and research, and development activities are taking place in the telecommunications sector at this stage.
Nevertheless, the results of a survey conducted by al Khaleej newspaper indicated that approximately 60% of users were dissatisfied with service and product quality, about 22% said that they were good enough, and only 18% agreed that the quality of services was acceptable (Kovacs 2014). Along with price fairness, the quality of service is regarded as one of the major sources of competitive advantage both within and outside the telecom sector (Yeboah & Ewur 2014; Yallapragada 2017). The main issue for Du and Estilat in terms of service quality is that they may be insufficiently motivated to improve it since they bear relatively low risks of financial loss due to almost non-existent competition in the market.
Considering the importance and positive effects of competition on the markets, the best potential solution to the problems of excessive pricing and service quality in the UAE telecommunication sector is its liberalization and deregulation. Besides that, to increase the efficiency of services and diversify them, it may be important to promote private-public partnerships and stimulate private and foreign investment (Ameen & Willis 2016). These recommendations, as well as their possible favorable impacts and suitability to the UAE context, will be discussed in the following section of the paper.
Summary and Recommendations
Research evidence, as well as the UAE’s functioning laws, indicate that the country is in the process of opening and deregulating its diverse markets. The telecommunications sector is not an exception: the establishment of Du in 2006-2007 was, in fact, the government’s attempt to bring more competition in the industry (Kovacs 2014). Unfortunately, this strategic move did not lead to the desired results because the competition law is still less influential in the sphere of local telecommunications. Instead, to improve the situation, it is essential to ensure that the sector-specific regulations become weaker as part of the liberalization process.
As such the deregulation and liberalization of any market involve three major factors. They are the removal of privileges that certain firms may enjoy, the development of an independent regulatory authority and a legal framework that outlines obligations of all the players in the market, and, lastly, the implementation of the competition law that guarantees the openness of the market (Enhan 2016).
The main goal of these practices is to ensure the entry of new competitors and secure their rights, such as equal access to resources needed for production and profitability. As noted by Enhan (2016) when a substantial number of new players appear in the market, the traditional regulation that favors monopoly turns obsolete in a natural way and then becomes more adaptable to changes. It is also worth noting that besides a direct effect on the sector’s competitiveness and economy, re-regulation and deregulation (or, in other words, a decline in the government’s involvement in the sector) may have a set of indirect positive impacts.
The maintenance of regulation is usually costly, as well as the deterioration of services under excessive governmental intervention (Enhan 2016). Thus, by deregulating the telecom sector, the UAE government can decrease both the administrative costs and the risks linked to ineffective management.
An increase in the number of mergers, partnerships, and foreign investments can be very beneficial for the UAE telecom sector. Based on the present-day trends, the adoption of new technologies by telecommunication companies is the major source of their competitive advantage and a necessary precondition for growth (Forbes 2018). While governmentally-owned telecom enterprises may lack the internal resources needed to adopt those technologies effectively, collaboration with more tech-savvy partners may allow them to access knowledge and talents needed to succeed in any innovation endeavors (Carbonara & Pellegrino 2019).
It is also recommended to invest in and cooperate with firms operating within the niche markets that are not traditionally connected with telecom services (for example, security and healthcare) because this practice leads to greater diversification of services and expansion of networks (Forbes 2018). Considering the UAE’s goal of becoming a telecommunications hub, innovation is of significant importance for it. It is valid to presume that by promoting more partnerships with diverse players, it will realize its vision much more feasibly than by using governmental interventions alone.
The proposed recommendations seem to be suitable to the UAE context because, as part of its vision for development, it already aims to increase overall market openness, extensively invests in research and development, and strives to be an innovation and excellence leader. However, one of the major challenges associated with the liberalization of the telecommunication sector is that this inherently democratic process may be more appropriate to environments where the political structures are less hierarchical than in the UAE. To overcome this obstacle, the country may prefer to use the privatization approach instead of complete liberalization.
The former strategy may lead to similar positive outcomes in terms of the telecom sector’s better competitiveness and greater profitability while also will correspond with the UAE’s traditional political and economic systems.
Reference List
Ameen, N & Willis, R 2016, ‘An investigation of the challenges facing the mobile telecommunications industry in United Arab Emirates from the young consumers’ perspective’, in 27th European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society (ITS), Cambridge, United Kingdom, pp. 1-22.
Carbonara, N & Pellegrino, R 2019, ‘The role of public private partnerships in fostering innovation’, Construction Management and Economics, pp. 1-17.
Department of Economic Development 2018, Dubai economic report 2018. Web.
Kovacs, JR 2014, Economic and legal analysis of the United Arab Emirates’ telecommunications market, PhD Thesis, Central European University.
Nekmahmud, A & Rahman, S 2018, ‘Measuring the competitiveness factors in telecommunication markets’, in D Khajeheian, M Friedrichsen & W Mödinger (eds), Competitiveness in emerging markets, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 339-372.
Yalllapragada, P 2017, ‘Determinants of customer satisfaction in the mobile telecommunications services among the university students in Dubai’, Advance Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Discoveries, pp. 5-11.
Yeboah, J & Ewur, GD 2014, ‘Quality customer service as a competitive advantage in the telecommunication industry in the western region of Ghana’, Journal of Education and Practice, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 20-30.
The socioeconomic growth of society demands broadcasting services for effective transmission of communication within the community. Nonetheless, there are still geographical regions and populations that still need to be served by telecommunication services. Furthermore, there are access huddles even in areas with coverage, such as price and restricted access devices (Parker et al., 2021). The diverse national R&D systems have evolved due to the deregulation of the telecommunication services industry and escalating international competition. This study was conducted to evaluate the state of the broadcasting industry using metrics like inclusiveness, length and breadth of baseline activity, and effective hardware and software solutions.
Information contained in a Baseline Activity
A baseline study analyzes the existing conditions to establish the points at which a program or project should begin. It examines the data that must be considered and examined to produce a starting point, the standard by which future development may be evaluated or comparisons can be drawn. The baseline activity entails collecting field data and acquiring and analyzing information from already-existing sources. The information (secondary data) may come from databases, reports, or publications (Parker et al., 2021). Equally, fieldwork information, which includes monitoring and surveys, entails primary data and should also be included in baseline activity.
Scope and Duration of Baseline Activity
The initial amount of time anticipated to complete this research project is one month. Ultimately, a researcher’s project statement, specifications literature, the work plan, and the project planning statement dictionary, which compiles all the information about the work breakdown structure, make up a baseline activity.
Hardware and Software Tools for Baseline Activities
Performing a baseline activity is a complex undertaking with several intricate duties. An automated device or a computer with additional software is required to perform the baseline activity. Gantt charts and the Program Evaluation Review Techniques are the most often utilized baseline activity tools (Glukhov et al., 2018). The tasks required to finish a project are defined and managed using the planning and control technology known as PERT (as shown in figure 1). Critical Path Method charts and PERT charts are frequently used interchangeably. Both diagrams depict the overall project and all scheduled work chronologically (Parker et al., 2021). A CPM diagram or Project Network is a visual representation that shows the interrelationships between project components and the sequence in which tasks must be completed (as shown in figure 2).
Figure 1 shows an example of a PERT ChartFigure 2 shows the difference between Pert and CPM)
Project Activity Component
The research activities include conducting a baseline survey, preparing the research budget, and analyzing data. The skills utilized in the research include; observation skills, computer literacy, programming languages, technical skills, social networking, and business software skills. In the research process, creative thought, analytical reasoning, and critical evaluation were all called upon (Glukhov et al., 2018). Additionally, prioritization, timekeeping, and active listening skills were also utilized in the research. Experience gathered from the project includes computer networking, interpersonal intelligence, cloud computing, structured cabling standards, and TCP/IP protocols gathered from the project.
The Procedure of Performing a Baseline Activity
The contents, such as data sheets and the resources required for the telecommunications project, are identified. This assists researchers in targeting specific sources, saving them time when they are subsequently looking for sources. A budget, timeline, objectives, and deadlines are then established using estimations of the project expenses. The next step involves writing a detailed timetable for the project’s phases, with deadlines and completion dates. As stated in “Procedures for Scoring Data Sheets,” the data sheets are then annotated accordingly (Glukhov et al., 2018). The final stage of the project research involves the researcher evaluating and analyzing the project’s progress.
References
Glukhov, V. V., Ilin, I. V., & Lepekhin, A. A. (2018). Towards business optimization and development of telecommunication companies: Tools analysis and their adaptation opportunities. In the Internet of Things, Smart Spaces, and Next Generation Networks and Systems (pp. 471-482). Springer, Cham.
Parker, E. B., Hudson, H. E., Dillman, D. A., Strover, S., & Williams, F. (2021). Electronic byways: State policies for rural development through telecommunications. Routledge.
The rapid development of digital technologies in the context of the constant emergence of innovative opportunities and advanced developments is a logical outcome of technological progress. However, with the advent of numerous innovations in the IT field, the risks of cyberattacks and threats to data safety have increased, respectively. Attackers often use high-tech developments to steal valuable data or inject malicious software. In mobile networks, information leakage threats are the reason for creating robust security applications and tools aimed at minimizing the risks of cyberattacks.
One of the technologies designed to make the Internet connection more stable and secure is 5G, the latest generation of telecommunications communications, which follows the enhanced standards for connections among digital devices. As valuable implications of 5G, one can highlight more convenient network resource management and improved workflow management capabilities, impacting network security positively.
This paper aims to present findings from academic resources on the application of 5G technology to ensure cybersecurity, as well as describe its role in creating secure communication networks. As the databases, the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library, Science Direct, and Dissertations & Theses (ProQuest) have been utilized to search for relevant resources. Such keywords have been used as “5G,” “network,” “security,” “cybersecurity,” “threat,” and “risk.” The sources are credible and relevant, and one can note that the 5G network is a sustainable and secure technology that guarantees a high level of protection against cyber threats and allows managing risks successfully.
Annotated Bibliography
Atat, R., Liu, L., Chen, H., Wu, J., Li, H., & Yi, Y. (2017). Enabling cyber-physical communication in 5G cellular networks: Challenges, spatial spectrum sensing, and cyber-security. IET Cyber-Physical Systems: Theory & Applications, 2(1), 49-54. Web.
The authors note that the 5G technology under consideration can improve the stability of connected physical devices due to the advanced communication scheme. In addition, due to more modern communication channels, cybersecurity can be enhanced in such networks through enhanced authentication. To manage risks, 5G networks involve utilizing special keys and connection algorithms that minimize user involvement and preserve data confidentiality by using cryptographic tools to keep data safe. To increase resistance to threats, the researchers state that the updated telecommunication technology offers the introduction of high-precision detention mechanisms. They help identify malware and other dangerous processes timely to take the necessary measures. Today’s connections between devices may be at risk of data leakage, but with robust security channels, 5G discourages theft and enhances the security of digital content.
Batalla, J. M., Andrukiewicz, E., Gomez, G. P., Sapiecha, P., Mavromoustakis, C. X., Mastorakis, G., Zurel, J., & Imran, M. (2020). Security risk assessment for 5G networks: National perspective. IEEE Wireless Communications, 27(4), 16-22. Web.
According to the researchers, the 5G technology is a telecommunications system that connects a large number of stakeholders within a single network. Regarding the prospects for improving cybersecurity, the authors note special insurance measures proposed by the developers. Despite the fact that such a solution does not guarantee absolute security, in case of data leakage, users are reimbursed for losses, and vulnerable channels are identified. In view of the recent introduction in a number of world capitals, risk control in 5G technology is part of the national risk assessment strategy, as the authors state. Since this development requires more advanced operational resources, its resistance to threats is improved with special software solutions, for instance, encryption. Due to the high integrity and reliability of information transfer among physical sources, vulnerabilities can be detected timely at each access point.
Chettri, L., & Bera, R. (2019). A comprehensive survey on Internet of Things (IoT) toward 5G wireless systems. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 7(1), 16-32. Web.
While considering the 5G technology, the authors note that this is one of the most promising advances in terms of establishing a stable system of wireless communication and addressing connectivity between devices. According to the researchers, this technology is capable of generating different principles of energy consumption, privacy, and bit rates, which have a positive impact on cybersecurity. Due to the function of early detection of failures, risks are successfully mitigated through 5G. Networks with this technology are resistant to cyberattacks and contain preventive software that enhances privacy and identifies data leakage threats. Finally, the authors note that modern cyberattacks make online channels insecure and vulnerable, but the 5G technology addresses these risks by optimizing authentication and remote access systems.
De Dutta, S., & Prasad, R. (2019). Security for smart grid in 5G and beyond networks. Wireless Personal Communications, 106(1), 261-273. Web.
The article examines the application of the 5G technology to amplify the signal of mobile networks and increase their capacity. As the authors argue, this development improves cybersecurity through constant physical surveillance and monitoring of the connection, thereby localizing potential threats. Most of the risks are eliminated through real-time support and the establishment of those configurations that prevent malware from entering physical devices.
The researchers also mention the reliability of the 5G technology from a planning perspective. Networks of this type are resistant to external attacks due to the control of transmission algorithms at different nodes and not only at the main stations for receiving and transmitting data. Accordingly, vulnerabilities are reduced because operations centers respond to attacks and other risks quickly, and the update rate for security control is higher than that of the previous 4G generation.
Fraiji, Y., Azzouz, L. B., Trojet, W., & Saidane, L. A. (2018). Cyber security issues of Internet of electric vehicles. In 2018 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), pp. 1-6.
According to the authors’ findings, the 5G technology is a development that can process large amounts of data by generating advanced information management algorithms. The design of the technology is intended to ensure the functional security of data transmission and their safety, which is a significant achievement. Remote risks are managed by means of special systems for notification and elimination of threats, and neither the provider nor the user needs to constantly monitor the stability of the system. In addition, the 5G technology is resistant to disruptions that can lead to successful cyberattacks because the software is stable and reliable. Finally, 5G architecture complements security tools in physical devices, and vulnerabilities to threats are minimized through comprehensive protection.
Hoffman III, T. R. (2019). 5G and the major cybersecurity concerns regarding the implementation of the technology (Publication No. 27672374) [Doctoral dissertation, Utica College]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
The author examines the 5G technology in the context of applications in private and public networks and notes the high capabilities of this innovation in the field of cybersecurity. According to the findings, the threat of data leakage is minimized not only due to the increased speed of information processing but also due to the improved option of identifying risks. This process is monitored through control over multiple nodes connecting the communication line between the provider and the user. As many interconnected devices emerge, the risks of cyberattacks to steal data or harm software increase, but due to 5G, each of the devices is individually protected and resilient to threats. Accordingly, the technology has not adopted the vulnerabilities of the previous generations of wireless networks, which increases its value.
Hussain, R., Hussain, F., & Zeadally, S. (2019). Integration of VANET and 5G Security: A review of design and implementation issues. Future Generation Computer Systems, 101, 843-864. Web.
The researchers evaluate the recently emerging 5G technology and assess its convenience in securing network connections due to its advanced features. The authors state that the development helps minimize cybersecurity gaps by addressing flaws from past generations of wireless networks. Any risks associated with remote access are managed through point nodal addressing, which does not require restarting the entire system. As a result, hardware is resistant to cyberattacks and other threats since some parts of the network can be damaged but not the entire network. In earlier network generations, users were vulnerable to malware, but with the advent of 5G, data transmission has improved due to a timely mechanism to monitor and eliminate potential risks.
Maimó, L. F., Gómez, Á. L. P., Clemente, F. J. G., Pérez, M. G., & Pérez, G. M. (2018). A self-adaptive deep learning-based system for anomaly detection in 5G networks. IEEE Access, 6, 7700-7712. Web.
According to the article, the 5G technology is a viable solution in today’s wireless systems due to replacing outdated security algorithms with more advanced ones. The researchers argue that traffic fluctuations are eliminated, which affects the stability of the connection positively and improves security by tracking the penetration of malicious software. Those control techniques that are utilized allow for managing risks and increasing productivity. Cyberattacks are identified quickly, and any flaws or coding errors are unlikely as the technology is resistant to such threats. In addition, the configuration of these networks includes options to mitigate risks before they occur through the continuous monitoring of resilience. The large amounts of data that these systems are capable of processing indicate that 5G networks are immune to traditional threats that were characteristic of the previous network generations.
Nieto, A., Acien, A., & Fernandez, G. (2019). Crowdsourcing analysis in 5g IoT: Cybersecurity threats and mitigation. Mobile Networks and Applications, 24(3), 881-889. Web.
The 5G technology, as the researchers’ remark, is characterized by convenience and flexibility due to the possibilities of using it on different media and implementing advanced security tools. Data control functions are stable and fast, which improves cybersecurity and prevents information leakage caused by the human factor. Almost no third-party intervention is required in these networks, which allows for managing risks successfully and protecting personal data from attacks. In addition, according to the authors, 5G systems are supplemented with advanced artificial intelligence algorithms that increase resistance to threats and signal immediately if minimal risks appear. Vulnerabilities that existed in the past generations of wireless networks have been patched, and special security mechanisms protect compatible applications and devices from attacks and malware.
Ortega, V., Bouchmal, F., & Monserrat, J. F. (2018). Trusted 5G vehicular networks: Blockchains and content-centric networking. IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, 13(2), 121-127. Web.
The article examines the capabilities of modern 5G networks and notes their high technical and functional capabilities in terms of performance. Moreover, each of the nodes of such a network allows creation of a stable protection system that guarantees cybersecurity and improves the integrity of data. The risks of fragmentation and information leakage are successfully managed due to a unified control principle that ensures a steady flow of data within such a network. The authors also note that any malware or targeted attacks are instantly identified thanks due a sophisticated system of threat signaling validators. The modern application of the 5G technology reduces the vulnerability of wireless networks by allocating the necessary resources for security effectively and compared to the obsolete forms of control, this development is advanced and resilient.
Soldani, D. (2019). 5G and the future of security in ICT. In 2019 29th International Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (ITNAC), pp. 1-8.
The author reviews the 5G technology, the latest advancement in the sphere of wireless connectivity, and notes that robustness and data quality are the key strengths of this telecommunications innovation. The researcher highlights the strengths of the technology and notes that specific assurance levels help improve cybersecurity. In addition, data processing is simplified, which also has a positive impact on data protection and contributes to keeping private and public information safe.
Risk-based assessments prove that the 5G technology can manage threats successfully due to the ability to integrate data to prevent information leakage and make the network resilient to traffic fluctuations. According to the author, special solutions to increase resistance to cyberattacks help create reliable streaming with multiple control nodes. Finally, vulnerabilities in 5G networks are minimized due to a stable connection, and the use of the technology on different devices is as safe as possible.
De Dutta, S., & Prasad, R. (2019). Security for smart grid in 5G and beyond networks. Wireless Personal Communications, 106(1), 261-273. Web.
Fraiji, Y., Azzouz, L. B., Trojet, W., & Saidane, L. A. (2018). Cyber security issues of Internet of electric vehicles. In 2018 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC), pp. 1-6.
Hoffman III, T. R. (2019). 5G and the major cybersecurity concerns regarding the implementation of the technology (Publication No. 27672374) [Doctoral dissertation, Utica College]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Hussain, R., Hussain, F., & Zeadally, S. (2019). Integration of VANET and 5G Security: A review of design and implementation issues. Future Generation Computer Systems, 101, 843-864. Web.
Nieto, A., Acien, A., & Fernandez, G. (2019). Crowdsourcing analysis in 5g IoT: Cybersecurity threats and mitigation. Mobile Networks and Applications, 24(3), 881-889. Web.
Soldani, D. (2019). 5G and the future of security in ICT. In 2019 29th International Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (ITNAC), pp. 1-8.
