Fixed Mobile Convergence

Finnish operator Elisa, in joint venture with Nokia Siemens networks, recently developed a new breakthrough technology wherein operators can increase the voice capacity of their existing 3G networks by as much as 100 percent.

The initial trial sample was conducted using Elisa’s sophisticated live 3G network and made use of trial prototype devices developed by the R&D division at Nokia (News - Alert) Siemens. This was one of the first circuit switched calls over a high speed packet access network (CSoHSPA) internationally.

This technology, while probably not delivering any tangible difference in voice service to subscribers, is expected to be instrumental in improving battery life and correspondingly, talk times, some experts believe, by almost 50 percent. By making use of the CSoHSPA technique in conjunction with the continuous packet connectivity (CPC) of 3GPP Release 7 also entails almost 50 percent reduction in call setup times. This in turn means carriers can have improved voice capacity per carrier, thus adding to the appeal of 3G as the preferred network for subscribers to place calls. Additionally, these techniques can be applied on existing 3G networks with a simple software upgrade and no further investment outlay is required.

Elisa (News - Alert) has been reputed to be a prominent player in the arena of digital communications, not only in Finland but in international markets as well. Elise hopes to deliver enhanced value to its customers in addition to its superior coverage, range and quality of networks through the deployment of CSoHSPA.

Nokia and Nokia Siemens (News - Alert) solutions have always displayed a commitment to maximize benefits derived by both users and network operators by delivering an end-to-end solution. Nokia believes that while this new innovative technology will make 3G an attractive proposition to subscribers, network carriers can also extract maximum return on their investments in conventional circuit switched networks.

The CSoHSPA feature, available as a standard feature on 3GPP release 7, is a descendant of the HSPA or HSPA+. Nokia Siemens has been the front runner in driving HSPA+ forward. While conventional technology carries each voice through a dedicated voice channel, the CSoHSPA carries voice calls over HSPA’s packet-based transport pathways instead. With demonstrated rates of more than 21 Mbps and one of a kind network simplification, overall network productivity can be improved to meet the demands of growing data traffic.