The Internet Encyclopedia (Volume 3)

P1: 211

Zarki WL040/Bidgolio-Vol I WL040-Sample.cls September 15, 2003 8:55 Char Count= 0

Wireless InternetWireless Internet

Magda El Zarki,University of California—Irvine

Geert Heijenk,University of Twente, The Netherlands

Kenneth S. Lee,University of Pennsylvania

Introduction 831

Subscriber Growth for Both Internet

and Cellular Services—Expectations

for the Mobile Internet 831

The Case for Mobility and Wireless Links

in the Internet 831

Use of Internet Protocol (IP) Technology in the

Cellular Network 832

The Case for Mobility and Wireless Links in the

Internet 832

Classless Addressing 833

Dynamic Routing 834

Real-Time Traffic Support 835

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and UDP 836

Internet Applications: World Wide Web, E-mail,

Instant Messaging 836

Current State of Cellular Systems (Focus on 2G) 836

Cellular Layouts 836

Mobility and Roaming 837

Voice Telephony as the Primary Service 838

Popularity of Instant Messaging (SMS) 838

Web Access 838

Higher Bit Rates for Data—GPRS and HDR 838

Wireless Internet—Is It Happening? 839

Mobile IP (MIP) 839

TCP for Wireless Networks 840

IEEE 802.11b/g/a 841

Bluetooth and PANs 843

3G Cellular Systems 844

Convergence of IP and Cellular Systems—Toward

the Mobile Internet 845

Acknowledgments 847

Glossary 847

Cross References 848

References 848

INTRODUCTION

During the past decade, we have experienced a tremen-

dous growth and popularity of two communication tech-

nologies: cellular telephony and the Internet. Digital sys-

tems of the second-generation cellular networks have

driven the cost down to an affordable level, and the pub-

lic has been very receptive to the newfangled and revo-

lutionary possibility of being able to communicate with

others with reasonable service quality regardless of their

location. Thus far, the primary mode of communication

over such an infrastructure has been voice. Limited data

applications over cellular and other wireless networks

have simultaneously made some inroads, with paging and

messaging services, including electronic mail (e-mail),

having captured some customer interest, but still with

very rudimentary forms of Internet services provided.

Subscriber Growth for Both Internet

and Cellular Services—Expectations

for the Mobile Internet

Cellular networks were introduced in the 1980s, and were

initially designed to offer voice service. The first gener-

ation of cellular phones were built on an analog plat-

form, but the current second generation is digital. In the

United States, about 50% of households, over 130 mil-

lion subscribers, now use cellular phones. Future wire-

less networks are expected to transition to an architec-

ture that more closely resembles the Internet. Based on

a usage/marketing study conducted by Qualcomm (see

Figure 1), wireless services are expected to grow, justi-

fying the need for higher bit rate services and a move to

an architecture that is more data friendly.

The growth of the Internet has been equally strong,

driven by the ability to access vast amounts and varieties

of data and other resources whenever, and increasingly

wherever, it is convenient for the end-user. Unlike the

voice-centric cellular network, the strength of the Internet

lies in its flexibility, in terms of the type and the number

of different applications that can be used, and not in the

optimization of a single application. Up to now, access to

the Internet has mostly been through fixed terminals or

computers rather than wireless devices.

The Internet, created in 1969 by the Department of

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was de-

signed to offer file transfer service. Taking advantage of

openly published rules of operation and freely distributed

software, many research and educational institutions at-

tached their computers to the Internet during the 1970s.

The network has largely blossomed, however, due to the

introduction of personal computers during the 1980s and

the development of the World Wide Web in the 1990s. The

number of people worldwide using the Internet has ap-

proximately doubled every year since the early 1980s, and

is currently estimated to be over 660 million. The Internet

is now in the process of transitioning toward an architec-

ture that can better support real-time applications such

as voice and video.

The Case for Mobility and Wireless Links

in the Internet

Both the first- and second-generation wireless networks

were designed and built for a world where voice was

the driving application. However, the proliferation of the

Internet has changed the expectation of the mobile user.

831