Evolution to 3G services: provision of 3G services over GERAN (GSM/EDGE radio access network)

The first 3G systems are being installed, and coverage maps are showing that there are significant areas of the UK where some 3G services will not be supported. Thus, a mechanism must be provided for the future that allows operators with combined 2.5G and 3G networks to be able to provide common services regardless of the users location. Within TSG GERAN, work has been ongoing for a number of years in order to meet the QoS criteria required for 3G services within 3GPP, and the paper provides an insight into the benefits and problems of competing solutions. Two solutions are described which offer a choice between a revolutionary and evolutionary upgrade path to support 3G services over a GERAN network. It is not suggested that GERAN will replace UTRAN, but that it may lessen the deployment costs, and provide a more economically appropriate method for providing 3G services in the short to medium term.