Generic Access Network
Encyclopedia
Generic Access Network or GAN is a telecommunication
system that extends mobile voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem
/Session Initiation Protocol
(IMS/SIP) applications over IP networks. Unlicensed Mobile Access or UMA, is the commercial name used by mobile carriers for external IP access into their core networks.
The most common application of GAN is in a dual-mode handset service where subscribers can seamlessly handover connections between wireless LAN
s and wide area network
s using a GSM/Wi-Fi dual-mode mobile phone
. UMA technology has enabled the convergence of mobile, fixed and Internet telephony, sometimes called Fixed Mobile Convergence.
The local network may be based on private unlicensed spectrum technologies like 802.11, while the wide network is alternatively GSM/GPRS or UMTS mobile services. On the cellular network, the mobile handset communicates over the air with a base station
, through a base station controller, to servers in the core network of the carrier.
Under the GAN system, when the handset detects a wireless LAN, it establishes a secure IP connection through a gateway to a server called a GAN Controller (GANC) on the carrier's network. The GANC presents to the mobile core network as a standard cellular base station. The handset communicates with the GANC over the secure connection using existing GSM/UMTS protocols. Thus, when a mobile moves from a GSM to an 802.11 network, it appears to the core network as if it is simply on a different base station.
and, and renamed the system to GAN. But the term GAN is little known outside the 3GPP community, and the term UMA is more common in marketing.
A typical UMA/GAN handset will have four modes of operation:
In all cases, the handset scans for GSM cells when it first turns on, to determine its location area. This allows the carrier to route the call to the nearest GANC, set the correct rate plan, and comply with existing roaming agreements.
At the end of 2007, the GAN specification was enhanced to support 3G (Iu) interfaces from the GANC to the mobile core network (MSC/GSN). This native 3G interface can be used for dual-mode handset as well as 3G femtocell service delivery. The GAN release 8 documentation describes these new capabilities.
For subscribers:
in the autumn of 2005. The service is based on pre-3GPP GAN standard technology. Initially, BT Fusion used UMA over Bluetooth with phones from Motorola
; since Jan 2007, it has used UMA over 802.11 with phones from Nokia, Motorola and Samsung and is branded as a "Wi-Fi mobile service". BT has since discontinued the service.
On August 28, 2006, TeliaSonera was the first to launch a 802.11 based UMA service called "Home Free". The service started in Denmark and later expanded to Sweden and Norway.
On September 25, 2006 Orange announced its "Unik service", also known as Signal Boost in the UK. The announcement, the largest to date, covers more than 60m of Orange's mobile subscribers in the UK, France, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands.
Cincinnati Bell
announced the first UMA deployment in the United States. The service, originally called CB Home Run, allows users to transfer seamlessly from the Cincinnati Bell cellular network to a home wireless network or to Cincinnati Bell's WiFi HotSpots. It has since been rebranded as Fusion WiFi.
This was followed shortly by T-Mobile US on June 27, 2007. T-Mobile's service, originally named "Hotspot Calling", and rebranded to "Wi-Fi Calling" in 2009, allows users to seamlessly transfer from the T-Mobile cellular network to an 802.11x wireless network or T-Mobile HotSpot in the United States.
In Canada, both Fido
and Rogers Wireless
launched UMA plans under the names UNO and Rogers Home Calling Zone (later rebranded Talkspot, and subsequently rebranded again as Wi-Fi Calling), respectively, on May 6, 2008.
Industry organization UMA Today
tracks all operator activities and handset development.
UMA is not implemented in Asia, Australia, Africa and some European countries.
GAN defines a secure, managed connection from the mobile core (GANC) to different devices/access points over IP.
Femtocells - The GAN standard is currently used to provide a secure, managed, standardized interface from a femtocell to the mobile core network. Recently Kineto, NEC and Motorola issued a joint proposal to the 3GPP work group studying femtocells (also known as ‘Home Node B
's or HNB) to propose GAN as the basis for that standard.
Analog Terminal Adaptor – Recently T-Mobile US launched a fixed-line VoIP service called @Home. Similar to Vonage, consumers can port their fixed phone number to T-Mobile. Then T-Mobile associates that number with an ATA (analog terminal adaptor). The consumer plugs the ATA into a home broadband network and begins receiving calls to the fixed number over the IP access network.
Mobile VoIP Client - Consumers have started to use telephony interfaces on their PCs. Applications offer a low cost, convenient way to access telephony services while traveling. Now mobile operators can offer a similar service with a UMA-enabled mobile VoIP client. Developed by Vitendo, the client provides a mirror interface to a subscriber's existing mobile service. For the mobile operator, services can now be extended to a PC/laptop, and they can give consumers another way to use their mobile service.
standard for DECT provides similar functionality, but requires a more direct connection to the GSM network from the base station. While dual-mode DECT/GSM phones have appeared, these have generally been functionally cordless phones with a GSM handset built-in (or vice versa, depending on your point of view), rather than phones implementing DECT/GIP, due to the lack of suitable infrastructure to hook DECT base-stations supporting GIP to GSM networks on an ad-hoc basis.
GAN/UMA's ability to use the Internet to provide the "last mile" connection to the GSM network solves the major issue that DECT/GIP has faced. Had GIP emerged as a practical standard, the low power usage of DECT technology when idle would have been an advantage compared to GAN.
There is nothing preventing an operator from deploying micro- and pico-cells that use towers that connect with the home network over the Internet. Several companies have developed so-called Femtocell
systems that do precisely that, broadcasting a "real" GSM or UMTS signal, bypassing the need for special handsets that require 802.11 technology. In theory, such systems are more universal, and again require lower power than 802.11, but their legality will vary depending on the jurisdiction, and will require the cooperation of the operator. Further, users may be charged at higher cell phone rates, even though they are paying for the DSL or other network that ultimately carries their traffic; in contrast, GAN/UMA providers charge reduced rates when making calls off the providers cellular phone network.
Routers:
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
system that extends mobile voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem
IP Multimedia Subsystem
The IP Multimedia Subsystem or IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem is an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol multimedia services. It was originally designed by the wireless standards body 3rd Generation Partnership Project , as a part of the vision for evolving mobile...
/Session Initiation Protocol
Session Initiation Protocol
The Session Initiation Protocol is an IETF-defined signaling protocol widely used for controlling communication sessions such as voice and video calls over Internet Protocol . The protocol can be used for creating, modifying and terminating two-party or multiparty sessions...
(IMS/SIP) applications over IP networks. Unlicensed Mobile Access or UMA, is the commercial name used by mobile carriers for external IP access into their core networks.
The most common application of GAN is in a dual-mode handset service where subscribers can seamlessly handover connections between wireless LAN
Wireless LAN
A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
s and wide area network
Wide area network
A wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...
s using a GSM/Wi-Fi dual-mode mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. UMA technology has enabled the convergence of mobile, fixed and Internet telephony, sometimes called Fixed Mobile Convergence.
The local network may be based on private unlicensed spectrum technologies like 802.11, while the wide network is alternatively GSM/GPRS or UMTS mobile services. On the cellular network, the mobile handset communicates over the air with a base station
Base station
The term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
, through a base station controller, to servers in the core network of the carrier.
Under the GAN system, when the handset detects a wireless LAN, it establishes a secure IP connection through a gateway to a server called a GAN Controller (GANC) on the carrier's network. The GANC presents to the mobile core network as a standard cellular base station. The handset communicates with the GANC over the secure connection using existing GSM/UMTS protocols. Thus, when a mobile moves from a GSM to an 802.11 network, it appears to the core network as if it is simply on a different base station.
History
UMA was developed by a group of operator and vendor companies. The initial specifications were published on 2 September 2004. The companies then contributed the specifications to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as part of 3GPP work item "Generic Access to A/Gb interfaces". On 8 April 2005, 3GPP approved specifications for Generic Access to A/Gb interfaces for 3GPP Release 6.and, and renamed the system to GAN. But the term GAN is little known outside the 3GPP community, and the term UMA is more common in marketing.
Modes of operation
The original Release 6 GAN specification supported a 2G (A/Gb) connection from the GANC into the mobile core network (MSC/GSN). Today all commercial GAN dual-mode handset deployments are based on a 2G connection and all GAN enabled devices are dual-mode 2G/Wi-Fi. The specification, though, defined support for multimode handset operation. Therefore, 3G/2G/Wi-Fi handsets are supported in the standard. The first 3G/UMA devices were announced in the second half of 2008.A typical UMA/GAN handset will have four modes of operation:
- GERANGERANGERAN is an abbreviation for GSM EDGE Radio Access Network. The standards for GERAN are maintained by the 3GPP...
-only: uses only cellular networks - GERAN-preferred: uses cellular networks if available, otherwise the 802.11 radio
- GAN-preferred: uses a 802.11 connection if an access point is in range, otherwise the cellular network
- GAN-only: uses only the 802.11 connection
In all cases, the handset scans for GSM cells when it first turns on, to determine its location area. This allows the carrier to route the call to the nearest GANC, set the correct rate plan, and comply with existing roaming agreements.
At the end of 2007, the GAN specification was enhanced to support 3G (Iu) interfaces from the GANC to the mobile core network (MSC/GSN). This native 3G interface can be used for dual-mode handset as well as 3G femtocell service delivery. The GAN release 8 documentation describes these new capabilities.
Advantages
For carriers:- Instead of erecting expensive base stations to cover dead zones, GAN allows carriers to add coverage using low cost 802.11 access points. Subscribers at home have very good coverage.
- In addition, GAN relieves congestion on the GSM or UMTS spectrum by removing common types of calls and routing them to the operator via the relatively low cost Internet
- GAN makes sense for network operators that also offer Internet services. Operators can leverage sales of one to promote the other, and can bill both to each customer.
- Some other operators also run networks of 802.11 hotspots, such as T-MobileT-MobileT-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
. They can leverage these hotspots to create more capacity and provide better coverage in populous areas. - Subscribers, not the network, pay directly for much of the service. They pay for a connection to the Internet, effectively paying the expensive part of routing calls from their location.
For subscribers:
- Subscribers do not rely on their operator's ability to roll out towers and coverage, allowing them to fix some types of coverage dead zones (such as in the home or office) themselves.
- The cheaper rates for 802.11 use, coupled with better coverage at home, make more affordable and practical the use of cellphones instead of land lines.
- Using IP over 802.11 eliminates expensive charges when roaming outside of a carrier's network.
- GAN is currently the only commercial technology available that combines GSM and 802.11 into a service that uses a single number, a single handset, a single set of services and a single phone directory for all calls.
- GAN can migrate between IP and cellular coverage and is thus seamless; in contrast, calls via third-party VOIP plus a data phone are dropped when leaving high-volume data coverage.
Disadvantages
- Subscribers must upgrade to Wi-Fi/UMA enabled handsets to take advantage of the service.
- Calls may be more prone to disconnect when the handset transitions from Wi-Fi to the standard wireless service and vice versa (because the handset moved out or within the Wi-Fi's range). How much this is a problem may vary based on which handset is used.
- The UMA may use different frequency that is more prone to some types of interference
- Some setup may be required to provide connection settings (such as authentication details) before advantages may be experienced. This may take time for subscribes and require additional support to be provided. The costs of support may be for more than the wireless phone company: network administrators may be asked to help a user enter appropriate settings into a phone (that the network administrator may know little about).
- The phones that support multiple signals (both the UMA/Wi-Fi and the type of signal used by the provider's towers) may be more expensive, particularly to manufacture, due to additional circuitry/components required
- This uses the resources of the network providing the Wi-Fi signal (and any indirect network that is then utilized when that network is used). Bandwidth is used up. Some types of network traffic (like DNS and IPsec-encrypted) need to be permitted by the network, so a decision to support this may impose some requirement(s) regarding the network's security (firewall) rules.
- Using GAN/UMA on a mobile requires the WiFi module to be enabled. This in turn drains the battery faster, and reduces both the talk time and standby time when compared to disabling GAN/UMA (and in turn WiFi).
Service deployments
The first service launch was BT with BT FusionBT Fusion
BT Fusion was a telecommunications product available from BT in the United Kingdom until 1 April 2009 when it was withdrawn. It "fused" together mobile telephony and, from the user's point of view, conventional landline telephony. In fact, the fixed portion of the link was provided by a Voice over...
in the autumn of 2005. The service is based on pre-3GPP GAN standard technology. Initially, BT Fusion used UMA over Bluetooth with phones from Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
; since Jan 2007, it has used UMA over 802.11 with phones from Nokia, Motorola and Samsung and is branded as a "Wi-Fi mobile service". BT has since discontinued the service.
On August 28, 2006, TeliaSonera was the first to launch a 802.11 based UMA service called "Home Free". The service started in Denmark and later expanded to Sweden and Norway.
On September 25, 2006 Orange announced its "Unik service", also known as Signal Boost in the UK. The announcement, the largest to date, covers more than 60m of Orange's mobile subscribers in the UK, France, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands.
Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Bell is the dominant telephone company for Cincinnati, Ohio, and its nearby suburbs in the U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The parent company is named Cincinnati Bell Inc. Its incumbent local exchange carrier subsidiary uses the name Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company LLC,...
announced the first UMA deployment in the United States. The service, originally called CB Home Run, allows users to transfer seamlessly from the Cincinnati Bell cellular network to a home wireless network or to Cincinnati Bell's WiFi HotSpots. It has since been rebranded as Fusion WiFi.
This was followed shortly by T-Mobile US on June 27, 2007. T-Mobile's service, originally named "Hotspot Calling", and rebranded to "Wi-Fi Calling" in 2009, allows users to seamlessly transfer from the T-Mobile cellular network to an 802.11x wireless network or T-Mobile HotSpot in the United States.
In Canada, both Fido
Fido Solutions
Fido Solutions is a Canadian cellular telephone service provider currently owned by Rogers Communications. It was formerly owned by Microcell Telecommunications. Fido does, however, remain a separate entity from Rogers...
and Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless is a wireless telecommunications provider offering mobile phone and data services throughout Canada using Global System for Mobile Communications and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System technology. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications...
launched UMA plans under the names UNO and Rogers Home Calling Zone (later rebranded Talkspot, and subsequently rebranded again as Wi-Fi Calling), respectively, on May 6, 2008.
Industry organization UMA Today
UMA Today
UMA Today is an international consortium of companies joined together to lead the adoption of 3GPP UMA technology around the world.UMA is the commercial name for the global 3GPP Generic Access Network standard for fixed-mobile convergence . UMA enables secure, scalable access to mobile voice, data...
tracks all operator activities and handset development.
UMA is not implemented in Asia, Australia, Africa and some European countries.
UMA/GAN Beyond Dual-mode
While UMA is nearly always associated with dual-mode GSM/Wi-Fi services, it is actually a ‘generic’ access network technology that provides a generic method for extending the services and applications in an operator's mobile core (voice, data, IMS) over IP and the public Internet.GAN defines a secure, managed connection from the mobile core (GANC) to different devices/access points over IP.
Femtocells - The GAN standard is currently used to provide a secure, managed, standardized interface from a femtocell to the mobile core network. Recently Kineto, NEC and Motorola issued a joint proposal to the 3GPP work group studying femtocells (also known as ‘Home Node B
Home Node B
A Home Node B, or HNB, is the 3GPP's term for a 3G femtocell.A Node B is an element of a 3G macro Radio Access Network, or RAN. A femtocell performs many of the function of a Node B, but is optimized for deployment in the home.-Standard:...
's or HNB) to propose GAN as the basis for that standard.
Analog Terminal Adaptor – Recently T-Mobile US launched a fixed-line VoIP service called @Home. Similar to Vonage, consumers can port their fixed phone number to T-Mobile. Then T-Mobile associates that number with an ATA (analog terminal adaptor). The consumer plugs the ATA into a home broadband network and begins receiving calls to the fixed number over the IP access network.
Mobile VoIP Client - Consumers have started to use telephony interfaces on their PCs. Applications offer a low cost, convenient way to access telephony services while traveling. Now mobile operators can offer a similar service with a UMA-enabled mobile VoIP client. Developed by Vitendo, the client provides a mirror interface to a subscriber's existing mobile service. For the mobile operator, services can now be extended to a PC/laptop, and they can give consumers another way to use their mobile service.
Similar technologies
GAN/UMA is not the first system to allow the use of unlicensed spectrum to connect handsets to a GSM network. The GIP/IWPGSM Interworking Profile (DECT)
The GSM Interworking Profile, usually abbreviated to GIP and sometimes to IWP, is a profile for DECT that allows a DECT base station to form part of a GSM network, given suitable handsets. While proposed and tested, notably in Switzerland in 1995, the system has never been commercially deployed...
standard for DECT provides similar functionality, but requires a more direct connection to the GSM network from the base station. While dual-mode DECT/GSM phones have appeared, these have generally been functionally cordless phones with a GSM handset built-in (or vice versa, depending on your point of view), rather than phones implementing DECT/GIP, due to the lack of suitable infrastructure to hook DECT base-stations supporting GIP to GSM networks on an ad-hoc basis.
GAN/UMA's ability to use the Internet to provide the "last mile" connection to the GSM network solves the major issue that DECT/GIP has faced. Had GIP emerged as a practical standard, the low power usage of DECT technology when idle would have been an advantage compared to GAN.
There is nothing preventing an operator from deploying micro- and pico-cells that use towers that connect with the home network over the Internet. Several companies have developed so-called Femtocell
Femtocell
In telecommunications, a femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband ; current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting, and 8 to 16 active...
systems that do precisely that, broadcasting a "real" GSM or UMTS signal, bypassing the need for special handsets that require 802.11 technology. In theory, such systems are more universal, and again require lower power than 802.11, but their legality will vary depending on the jurisdiction, and will require the cooperation of the operator. Further, users may be charged at higher cell phone rates, even though they are paying for the DSL or other network that ultimately carries their traffic; in contrast, GAN/UMA providers charge reduced rates when making calls off the providers cellular phone network.
Devices
- HTC - HTC Touch 3GHTC Touch 3GThe HTC Touch 3G is a Windows Mobile smartphone developed by the High Tech Computer Corporation of Taiwan. Part of the HTC Touch Family, it features quad band GSM and dual band UMTS connectivity, as well as the proprietary TouchFLO 3D user interface developed by HTC.- Specifications :The following...
T-Mobile Shadow 2009, T-Mobile USA myTouch 4G (sometimes called the myTouch HD), T-Mobile G2 (as of build 1.22.531.8 OTA update), Desire S, HTC Wildfire S, HTC Sensation 4G - LGLGLG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...
- KE 520, KF 757 (3G), GT505, Optimus One, LG Optimus Me - NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
- 6301Nokia 6301The Nokia 6301, approved by the FCC for the US market in January 2008, is a triband GSM unit. The North American model 6301b is equipped with 850/1800/1900 MHz bands. The European model 6301 is equipped with 900/1800/1900 MHz bands.The 6301 is SMS, MMS 1.2 and instant message capable...
, 6086, 7510, E73 Mode, E5, C7 Astound - SamsungSamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
- T339, T409, T739 (Katalyst), T336, P250, P260, P270 (3G) - SagemSAGEMSAGEM was a major French company involved in defence electronics, consumer electronics and communication systems.In 2005, Sagem merged with SNECMA to form SAFRAN...
- my419X - BlackBerryBlackBerryBlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
- Curve 8320, 8520, 8820, Curve 8900, Pearl 8120 and 8220BlackBerry PearlThe BlackBerry Pearl is a smartphone developed by Research In Motion the first BlackBerry device with a camera and media player. It was originally released on September 12, 2006...
, Bold 9700BlackBerry Bold 9700The BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a smartphone developed by Research In Motion.-External links:* * *...
, Bold 9780, Torch 9800BlackBerry Torch 9800The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is a 2010 model in the BlackBerry line of smartphones. It combines a physical QWERTY keyboard with a sliding multi-touch screen display and runs on BlackBerry OS 6...
, Blackberry 9105, 9300, soon on Blackberry Bold 9900 - Sony EricssonSony EricssonSony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
- G705u (3G) - MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
- Motorola DEFY
Routers:
- Linksys WRT54G series#WRT54G-TM
- WestellWestellWestell Technologies, Inc. is an Aurora, Illinois company whose primary business is producing DSL modems for the home and small office. Westell is the last company to manufacture DSL modems in the United States; however, on May 21, 2007, Westell announced plans to outsource...
- UltraVoice UMA Terminal Adapter with Router
See also
- FemtocellFemtocellIn telecommunications, a femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband ; current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting, and 8 to 16 active...
- IEEE 802.21IEEE 802.21802.21 is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between networks of the same type as well as handover between different network types also called Media independent handover or vertical handover...
- IEEE 802.11rIEEE 802.11rIEEE 802.11r-2008 or fast BSS transition is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard to permit continuous connectivity aboard wireless devices in motion, with fast and secure handoffs from one base station to another managed in a seamless manner...
- IEEE 802.11uIEEE 802.11uIEEE 802.11u-2011 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard to add features that improve interworking with external networks.802.11 is a family of IEEE technical standards for mobile communication devices such as laptop computers or multi-mode phones to join a wireless local area network ...
- Mobile VoIPMobile VoIPMobile VoIP or simply mVoIP is an extension of mobility to a Voice over IP network. Two types of communication are generally supported: cordless/DECT/PCS protocols for short range or campus communications where all base stations are linked into the same LAN, and wider area communications using...
or VoWi-Fi - MOIPMoIPMoIP, or mobile communications over internet protocol, is the mobilization of peer-to-peer communications including chat and talk using internet protocol via standard mobile communications applications including 3G, GPRS, Wifi as well as Wimax. Unlike mobile VoIP, MoIP is not a VoIP program made...
- VoWLANVowlanVoWLAN is the use of a wireless broadband network according to the IEEE 802.11 standards for the purpose of vocal conversation. In essence, it's VoIP over a Wi-Fi network...
- BT FusionBT FusionBT Fusion was a telecommunications product available from BT in the United Kingdom until 1 April 2009 when it was withdrawn. It "fused" together mobile telephony and, from the user's point of view, conventional landline telephony. In fact, the fixed portion of the link was provided by a Voice over...
External links
- Orange Signal Boost (UMA)
- 3GPP GAN Specification 43.318, 3GPP GAN Specification 44.318
- Smart Wi-Fi (formerly UMAToday.com) — contains also a list of available GAN handsets
- UMA Technology
- T-Mobile USA Wi-Fi Calling FAQs