Mobile packet data technology: an insight into MOBITEX architecture

Mobile data networks offer a cost-effective and efficient alternative for data communication. In order to present some aspects of mobile data technology, this article offers some insight into the basic networking layers of a popular and widely deployed network, MOBITEX. MOBITEX technology offers a versatile architecture to support wireless packet data service inside an extended geographical area with internetwork roaming and interoperability features. This technology has become quite popular, mainly due to its open architecture and its vast equipment/applications availability. The authors provide an overview of the MOBITEX architecture, services, and subscription types, and a detailed examination of the network, data link, and physical layers. The power-saving features of MOBITEX are also discussed.