The evolution of IS-136 TDMA for third-generation wireless services

A number of factors have motivated most spectrum owners to make plans to deploy upbanded second-generation cellular technologies for use in the PCS bands in the United States. However, the second-generation cellular technologies will need to be enhanced to provide third-generation services. There is interest in using the PCS and cellular spectra to broaden the market of users and the range of use of wireless beyond where it stands today, and beyond the primary applications that drove the development of the technologies being deployed. There is also interest in new technologies to improve the performance of cellular and PCS services, reduce the cost, and improve availability. This article considers evolutionary changes to IS-136 TDMA to enable it to provide a variety of PCS concepts. These evolutionary changes are presented in the form of options that would (1) provide high-quality voice service for indoor and pedestrian systems such as cellular office systems and personal base stations; (2) support enhanced-bit-rate packet wireless data access to the Internet as well as circuit data access; (3) provide smart antenna technology to improve coverage, quality, and capacity; (4) automatically assign frequencies for operation and provide for dynamic channel reconfiguration; (5) support microcellular arrangements to provide low-cost and high-capacity service in dense areas; and (6) support a future high-speed packet data access mode through a wideband system that is complementary to IS-136 TDMA and supports single-terminal operation.