Flex that flexibility Infrastructure vendors tout open platforms to support tethered and untethered users and all their service needs >BY JASON MEYERS, Wireless Networks Editor

No one in the wireless industry can talk about technology platforms, network systems or components without bringing up service differentiation.

That's because the technology engine at the wireless network's epicenter is what gives life and brains to outgoing radio signals and, in the opposite direction, takes those signals and infuses them with intelligence and usefulness. In today's multivendor, multiservice wireless networks-the same networks that operators hope to one day use to serve both fixed and mobile needs-that can be achieved only if manufacturers design and install core switching and transmission systems with service flexibility in mind.

At Wireless '97 in San Francisco earlier this month, manufacturers positioned their products as flexible, expandable and upgradeable bases that wireless network operators will be able to build on and improve.

The fix is in A pre-show announcement from AT&T Wireless Services that it has been helping its parent company develop a proprietary fixed wireless platform for local bypass spurred many Wireless '97 exhibitors and attendees to talk-at least in broad strokes-about their own wireless local loop plans (Telephony, March 10, page 38). After all, wireless/wireline integration-the merger between freedom of mobility and quality of landline-is the mother lode for many operators, wireless and wireline alike.

In keeping with its multitechnology colors, Northern Telecom used the venue to announce that it had expanded its portfolio of wireless access solutions to include GSM, originally a Pan-European digital wireless standard, time division multiple access (TDMA) and code division multiple access (CDMA).

"We decided very early that we could be a dominant player in that marketplace," said Matthew Desch, president of Nortel Wireless Networks, referring to the fixed wireless realm. The infrastructure that makes such a solution possible can be deployed as an end-to-end network or as an overlay to existing wireless or wireline networks.

Hughes Network Systems continued to push its AIReach Personal Cordless system as the best solution for wireless/wireline integration-one that has the potential for fixed service with the added bonus of a limited mobility component.

"The idea of having fixed-only solutions doesn't seem to make sense in North America, at least not for residential areas," said James Mullen, director of marketing at Hughes.

Smaller vendors that focus more on wireless local loop solutions generally viewed the renewed hype as a boon for both the technology and their potential market share.

"It really put a strong spotlight on wireless local loop, particularly here in the U.S.," said Karl Masterteck, president and chief executive officer of ArrayComm, which highlighted international successes with its IntelliCell platform at Wireless '97.

Aside from AT&T, several wireless network operators hinted that they were either evaluating fixed wireless solutions or working on their own, but none would expound any further. Sprint PCS said it is conducting pilot tests with the goal of eventually combining fixed and mobile network offerings, but company officials pointed out that it is not just the network technology that could hold up that reality.

"The inhibitor in all this is the terminal cost," said Andrew Sukawaty, chief executive officer of Sprint PCS. "As that becomes more cost-efficient, we'll see more development." Merging wireless with wireline means having architecture that supports services on both sides via intelligent networking.

"To be able to have that transfer of features is another tricky part," he said.

Another personal communication services operator agreed in theory but added that one of the goals of developing mobility service is to educate customers on how valuable it is to be untethered-to serve as a substitute, if not a replacement, for wired service.

"I really do believe we're taking business off the landline networks," said Ben Scott, CEO of PrimeCo Personal Communications, adding that part of how that is done is by pushing the value of mobility.

Open for business A wireless system, be it fixed or mobile, isn't of much use to customers if it's not an open base that can support a broad array of air interface solutions as well as a unique blend of services running on top.

Alcatel Telecom used the Wireless '97 venue to show off how its S12 mobile switching center (MSC), which it supplies to Hughes for TDMA systems and Motorola for CDMA systems, could be used to integrate various network functions.

"We see the need for being able to power wireless and wireline from the same platform," said Joseph Turgeon, vice president of marketing and sales at Alcatel Telecom. The advantage for operators is that the S12 can be engineered to encompass not only switching functions but peripheral network elements such as home location registers, he said. "This exploits our strengths on the network side-we don't necessarily have to build anything.

Alcatel's S12 platform is designed to work with GSM, TDMA and CDMA systems in multiple spectrum ranges, said Heinz Friedman, vice president of sales at Alcatel. "We'll be open to any radio operator that may show up. We have a product portfolio for each of the frequency solutions." For Ericsson, the Wireless '97 push was toward a system that will eventually support customers as they drive, walk, work and live, recognizing where they are and billing them accordingly. The vendor sees the real value not simply in wireless bypass of the local loop but in the ability to offer a package of different and dynamic services.

"The bottom line to the whole thing is the services," said Bo Piekarski, vice president of Ericsson's GSM business unit. "If you want to generate revenue, you have to offer some unique services.

Lucent Technologies echoed that same sentiment. The company shared its vast Wireless '97 booth space with several third-party applications developers to show how those services can help Lucent's carrier customers generate airtime and boost revenue.

"Everyone's been grabbing customers-what we need to do now is grab the minutes of use of those customers," said David Poticny, vice president of PCS systems engineering at Lucent. "It's going to take a process or behavior change.

Lucent also announced the opening of its Wireless Innovation Lab in Lisle, Ill., to foster design, development and interoperability testing for companies participating in its Open Systems Innovations program.

On the programmable switching side, Excel was also focusing on its system's third-party capabilities, showcasing in its Partner Pavilion applications from Watkins-Johnson, Phoenix Wireless, Open Development Corp. and Glenayre.

Moving the minutes The transport side of wireless network operations is also in flux as carriers grapple with space, time and cost considerations in an attempt to find the most efficient modes of transmission.

To that end, Tellabs was highlighting new members of its Titan 5300 digital cross-connect product line that can help carriers optimize the transport portion of their networks. The systems' higher-density interfaces help meet carriers' needs to make the best use of the space to which they have access.

"A lot of that is driven by the wireless need to have a smaller product without giving up the capacity," said Kendall Alderks, senior product manager in the digital systems division of Tellabs. "In addition to being more compact and less expensive, [our systems] are gaining capacity.

Tellabs also introduced its 5300 EMS element management system that supports up to 48 Titan 5300 elements.

Telco Systems has begun targeting the wireless industry as a valuable market for the wireline access solutions that it has traditionally provided to wireline operators. The company is focusing on optimizing transport of cell site traffic to mobile switching centers, connecting MSCs together or to the public network, and particularly on providing T-1 or fiber links to cell sites that are yet unserved.

"We were hearing from wireless operators that the local exchange carriers couldn't deliver fiber cost-efficiently to these locations," said Bryan Knysh, director of business development for Telco Systems. The company's experience in wireline access and transport has prepared it for the wireline/wireless integration solutions that many network operators are seeking, he added.

These and the many more infrastructure products that were introduced and demonstrated at Wireless '97 point to the same conclusion: Piecing together wireless networks is not just a matter of getting the right equipment in the right places, but also ensuring that what is implemented can support a suite of unique service offerings that can change with customer needs.