Future of wireless networks

The wireless industry is undergoing a transition. We see the evolution from cellular 2G to 3G standards, the migration from circuit to packet applications, and the procession of voice to data. We also see the industry incorporating new wireless access technologies such as WiFi and WiMAX. All of this is occurring in a market place where voice subscriber penetration levels in many parts of the world are saturating and there is incredible pressure to reduce network capital and operating costs. These conditions present significant technology challenges to increase customer demand and further increase network capacity to lower network costs. In this talk we will review the market drivers and applications that will drive the next-generation services. We note that in response to these the network architecture will migrate to having more control at the edge with substantially more direct base station to base station communication. We will then present several technologies that address these issues.