MPEG coded news dispatches over GSM HSCSD

Remote news reporting via fixed telephones suffers from a lack of mobility and sound quality limitations. GSM high speed circuit switched data (HSCSD) offers bit rates up to 80 kb/s suitable for MPEG coded audio news reports. Mean opinion scores for MPEG-2 Layer 3 audio coded at various bit rates within the HSCSD range explore the trade-off between increased audio coding rate and the listeners perception of the quality. Computer simulations demonstrate that a mean of 3 GSM channels (aggregate of 28.8 kb/s) should be available for each HSCSD mobile transmission. Two methods of returning enhanced quality audio (10 kHz) are considered and the effects of transmission errors in urban and rural environments simulated. Techniques to reduce the effect of errors are also evaluated. The MOS results compare the schemes with a standard GSM traffic channel.