Live on the fairgrounds: Watching TV on a mobile while out and about

In Barcelona, Siemens will be providing coverage for the entire Fira Fairgrounds with DVB-H, the digital video broadcast technology for handhelds. Special DVB-H devices will enable visitors to the tradeshow to receive 16 different television programs live, including music channel MTV, news networks CNN and BBC World, as well as coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Turin from Rai Olimpics Torino. In addition, Siemens will be providing live demonstrations of how the process works – from the TV camera right through to the image on the DVB-H device – in a special TV studio at the booth. Moreover, visitors to the show will also be able to use the Siemens solution to participate interactively in the TV program and to use a wireless backchannel to cast their votes for the “goal of the month,” for example. To do that, the user clicks on the touchscreen of his or her DVB-H device to send a text message (SMS) to the mobile operator, who then displays the results of the voting on the screen. The mobile broadcasting system from Siemens is the world’s first solution to operate with DVB-H devices from a variety of leading manufacturers.

“Call and Share” – IMS turns voice services into multimedia communication

In connection with IMS (IP-based Multimedia Subsystem), Siemens will be showing “Call and Share” applications that enable the operator to pump up the volume of data traffic over the wireless network, e.g. with Videosharing. This service enables the subscriber to shoot a video during a telephone call and immediately send it to the person at the other end. This application will be of interest to real estate agents, for example, who want to provide a client with an initial impression of a property while they are still on the phone.

Whiteboarding, which can provide driving or walking directions for a stranger in a city, for example, works in a similar manner: A second person uses a laptop or mobile phone to display a map of the city and then draws in the route. The stranger is linked with this second person via the mobile network and receives the visualized driving or walking directions on his or her mobile. “Call and Share” also works together with Push and Talk (PaT), the walkie-talkie solution from Siemens that supports the open standards of the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and can therefore interact seamlessly with handsets from a wide variety of manufacturers.

Together with partners from the IMS Developer Program, Siemens will be showcasing further IMS applications, including “Team Work,” a Java-based application for sharing information among a defined group of subscribers, such as the employees in a department or the members of a family, even if they have different end-user devices, as well as “MeetMee” – a wireless application for networking with friends.

Live demo: Flexible wireless rate modification

To afford fast and flexible modification of the rates for mobile services, Siemens will be demonstrating the latest version of charge@once live at the booth. This charging solution captures and consolidates usage data in realtime, thus enabling bonus programs or individual rate models, for example.

New technologies: The Next Generation wireless network

The growing volume of data traffic stemming from new mobile services like videosharing, music downloads or online gaming necessitate even faster and more powerful switches and radio networks. At the 3GSM World Congress, Siemens will be showing its products and innovations for evolving wireless networks through to the year 2012.

One of these innovations, from the GSM world, is eBSC – the most powerful and advanced controller for GSM base stations on the market today. Operators can use it to control their radio resources in the network more efficiently and cost-effectively. Also premiering at the tradeshow will be the new Radio Network Controller (RNC). Analogously to eBSC, W-CDMA operators can use it to more efficiently control their 3G radio resources. Plus the Multi-Standard Network Controller, a combination of eBSC and RNC that can be used to control both 2G and 3G networks. The resulting reduction in administration and resource expenses leads to significant cost savings. In addition, Siemens will also be demonstrating new components from the W-CDMA product family that afford simple upgrading of GSM base stations to 3G, for example, or improve W-CDMA network coverage inside buildings. The highlight will be a simulation that shows how intelligent network technology will be changing the face of mobile communication through to the year 2012.

High-speed wireless access technologies: HSDPA and 450 MHz FLASH-OFDM

Live at the tradeshow for the first time, Siemens will be demonstrating how data can be transferred from the Internet to commercial W-CDMA end-user devices at a speed of 3.6 megabits per second via High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPAfor short. The Internet turbos for wireless technology that will be demonstrated will also include 450 MHz FLASH-OFDM (Fast Low-latency Access with Seamless Handoff – Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), which currently offers transfer rates of 2.7 megabits per second in commercial operation.

Seamless cross-network communication

Siemens will be using the IMS@vantage IP platform to demonstrate seamless interplay between GSM networks and WLAN hotspots (handover) as well as between various operator networks (roaming). This fixed-mobile convergence solution will be of interest to both wireline and wireless operators.

A mobile solution for enterprises

At the 3GSM World Congress 2006, Siemens will also be showcasing Mobile Centrex – a virtual PABX for enterprises of all sizes. This solution offers the advantage of eliminating the entire PABX infrastructure from an enterprise and providing all of its functionalities over an operator network. Within the context of Fixed Mobile Substitution, mobile operators can now integrate an enterprise’s wireline users, in addition to its wireless subscribers, into the communication system without restriction via Mobile Centrex. This also makes the services provided within the enterprise, e.g. conference calls or partner rings, available to all parties. Enterprises can cut their costs with Mobile Centrex, because they no longer have to maintain a network of their own, and mobile operators can use high-level services to attract new customer groups.

Services and security for wireless and wireline networks

With „Music2You“ the Carrier Services Division will be showcasing the world’s first convergent wireline/wireless solution for downloading music tracks. With this solution, music lovers can listen to the latest songs “over the air” on their mobile handsets and, if they are interested, then download the full-track titles to their mobile handsets, PCs or set-top boxes. Siemens is playing a pioneering role in the fast-growing music download market: The company was the first to develop a convergent music service that operates over the Internet, wireless and wireline networks. As a white label provider, Siemens Communications operates several of Europe’s largest Internet and mobile user portals. “Music2You,” for example, serves as the platform for the successful “musicload” Internet service from T-Online, which has blossomed into the largest digital Internet music offering in Germany. In addition to this solution, the Carrier Services Division will also be showing Services that are specially matched to the needs of operators with heterogeneous networks. These include consulting, planning, implementation, maintenance, training and operation of all communication networks, as well as services that that safeguard against both attacks as well as bottlenecks or even outages. Siemens will be using the example of soccer stadiums to demonstrate its cost-effective Security Solutions for carriers.

Siemens Communications
The Siemens Communications Group is one of the largest players in the global telecommunications industry. The company offers a full-line portfolio of innovative solutions for voice and data communication. Its comprehensive offerings range from devices right through to complex network infrastructures and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest Group within the Siemens organization and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2005 (September 30), its 54,500-strong workforce posted sales of over 13 billion euros.