iDEN

Introduction

iDEN is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola, which

provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone. iDEN places

more users in a given spectral space, compared to analog cellular and two-way radio

systems, by using speech compression and time division multiple access TDMA.

Notably, iDEN is designed, and licensed, to operate on individual frequencies that may

not be contiguous. iDEN operates on 25kHz channels, but only occupies 20 kHz in order

to provide interference protection via guard bands. By comparison, TDMA Cellular (IS-

54 and IS-136) is licensed in blocks of 30 kHz channels, but each emission occupies 40

kHz,and is capable of serving the same number of subscribers per channel as iDEN.

iDEN supports either three or six interconnect users (phone users) per channel, and either

six or twelve dispatch users (push-to-talk users) per channel. Since there is no Analogue

component of iDEN, mechanical duplexing in the handset is unnecessary, so Time

Domain Duplexing is used instead, the same way that other digital-only technolgies

duplex their handsets. Also, like other digital-only technologies, hybrid or cavity

duplexing is used at the Base Station (Cellsite).

1
 iDEN

History

First introduced in 1994, Motorola's Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN™)

brought to the market next generation wireless solutions designed for a variety of

vertical market mobile business applications. Today, iDEN wireless handsets are

utilized in a variety of work environments ranging from manufacturing floors to

executive conference rooms as well as mobile sales forces.

Motorola iDEN handset users are finding new applications and discovering unique

communication solutions every day to help their businesses evolve and grow. For

example, Motorola's iDEN solution offers the ability for you to hold a conference

with a large number of people, with only the push of a button, helping you eliminate

time-wasting and costly individual calls.

2
 iDEN

Streamlining Communications into One Digital Handset

Four-in-one iDEN technology allows business users to take advantage of advanced

wireless technologies with one pocket-sized digital handset that combines: two-way

digital radio; digital wireless phone; alphanumeric messaging; and data/fax

capabilities leveraging Internet technology.iDEN technology allows you the freedom

to go anywhere while still keeping track of what's important to not only your business

but your personal life as well.

Motorola's iDEN solution truly simplifies your life by streamlining all of your

communications tools.

More Than a Wireless Phone

iDEN technology offers you more than just a wireless phone. It's a Motorola

complete communications system that you hold in your hand. Combining

speakerphone, voice command, phone book, voice mail, digital two-way radio,

mobile Internet and e-mail, wireless modems, voice activation, and voice recordings

so that you can virtually recreate your office on the road.

3
 iDEN

Cutting-Edge System of Technologies

iDEN technology is a highly innovative, cutting-edge system of technologies developed

by Motorola to create an ideal, complete wireless communications system for today's

fast-paced, busy lifestyle. Advanced capabilities bring together the features of

dispatch radio, full-duplex telephone interconnect, short messaging service and data

transmission

Key Technologies

TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access):

iDEN's digital technology divides a channel into different "slots". Each slot can carry one

voice or data transmission. By deploying an iDEN system, service providers can increase

capacity by as much as six times their current analog Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR)

network.

This capacity increase is accomplished using a state-of-the-art technology called TDMA.

TDMA utilizes Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) to reference a synchronized time, and

then divides the channel into time slots. As a result, channel capacity is increased because

one channel has now been converted to multiple voice or data transmission vehicles.

4
 iDEN

TDMA is a proven technology in cellular systems across Europe, the US, and in Japan.

iDEN utilizes TDMA for Maximum Spectrum Efficiency.

Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a channel access method for shared medium

networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the

signal into different timeslots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other,

each using his own timeslot. This allows multiple stations to share the same transmission

medium . While using only the part of its bandwidth they require. TDMA is used in the

digital 2G cellular systems such as Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM),

IS-136, Personal Digital Cellular(PDC) and iDEN, and in the Digital Enhanced Cordless

Telecommunications (DECT) standard for portable phones. It is also used extensively in

satellite systems, and combat-net radio systems. For usage of Dynamic TDMA packet

mode communication, see below.

5
 iDEN

VSELP (Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction):

VSELP digitally codes and significantly compresses voice signals, increasingradio

channel capacity by reducing the amount of information that needs to be transmitted.

VSELP provides iDEN systems with the capability to fit voice transmission into the

smaller transmissions vehicle that results from TDMA.

Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction, or VSELP, is a speech coding method used in the

IS-54 standard. This codec was used in early TDMA cell phones in the United States. It

was also used in the first version of RealAudio for audio over the Internet. The IS-54

VSELP standard was published by the Telecommunications Industry Association in

1989.

IS-54 VSELP specifies an encoding of each 20 ms of speech into 159-bit frames, thus

achieving a raw data rate of 7.95 kbit/s. In an actual TDMA cell phone, the vocoder

output is packaged with error correction and signaling information, resulting in an over-

the-air data rate of 16.2 kbit/s. For internet audio, each 159-bit frame is stored in 20

bytes, leaving 1 bit unused. The resulting file thus has a data rate of exactly 8 kbit/s.

A major drawback of VSELP is its limited ability to encode non-speech sounds, so that it

performs poorly when encoding speech in the presence of background noise. For this

reason, use of VSELP has been gradually phased out in favor of newer codecs.

6
 iDEN

QAM (Quad Amplitude Modulation):

Quad Amplitude Modulation results in 64 kbps data rate over a 25 kHz channel.

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is a modulation scheme which conveys data by

changing (modulating) the amplitude of two carrier waves. These two waves, usually

sinusoids, are out of phase with each other by 90° and are thus called quadrature carriers ,

hence the name of the scheme.

QAM Transmitter

The following picture shows the ideal structure of a QAM transmitter, with a carrier

frequency f0 and Ht the frequency response of the transmitter's filter:

First the flow of bits to be transmitted is split into two equal parts: this process

7
 iDEN

generates two independent signals to be transmitted. They are encoded separately

just like they were in an amplitude-shift keying (ASK) modulator. Then one

channel (the one "in phase") is multiplied by a cosine, while the other channel

("in quadrature") is multiplied by a sine. This way there is a phase of 90° between

them. They are simply added one to the other and sent through the real channel

QAM Receiver
The receiver simply performs the inverse process of the transmitter. Its ideal structure is

shown in the picture below with Hr the receive filter's frequency response:

Multiplying by a cosine (or a sine) and by a low-pass filter it is possible to extract the

component in phase (or in quadrature). Then there is only an ASK demodulator and the

8
 iDEN

two flows of data are merged back.In any application, the low-pass filter will be within hr

(t): here it was shown just to be clearer.

iDEN Mobile Operations

Some of the iDEN mobile operations are:

Control Channel Acquisition

When first powered up, an iDEN mobile radio scans selected iDEN frequencies and locks

on to the designated control channel. The control channel carries information ontinuously

broadcast by the fixed end system regarding system identification and timing parameters

for the mobile radio to use when it operates on the system. The control channel also

defines the maximum transmit power that radios on the system may use.

9
 iDEN

Mobile Synchronization

In its operational mode, the mobile radio aligns its frequency and transmit timing to the

outbound signal received from the fixed end system.

Mobile Registration

Each mobile radio in an iDEN system is identified by an international mobile station

identifier (IMSI), which is assigned to it when it is first placed in service and performs an

initial registration with the fixed end system. When making its registration request, the

mobile radio supplies its international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) to the fixed

end system. After determining the validity of the IMEI, the fixed end station assigns an

IMSI to the subscriber radio.

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)

An International Mobile Subscriber Identity, or IMSI is a unique number that is

ssociated with all GSM and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)

network mobile phone users. The number is stored in the Subscriber Identity Module

(SIM). It is sent by the mobile phone to the network and is also used to acquire other

details of the mobile in the Home Location Register (HLR) or as locally copied in the

Visitor Location Register. In order to avoid the subscriber being identified and tracked by

10
 iDEN

eavesdroppers on the radio interface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and a

randomly generated TMSI is sent instead.

Also the IMSI is used in ANY mobile network that interconnect with others. We are

talking here about CDMA and EVDO networks and this number is provisioned in the

phone directly or in the RUIMS card (a CDMA analogue to SIM card in GSM)

An IMSI is usually fifteen digits long. However, they can be shorter (eg. MTN South

Africa's are 14 digits). The first three digits are the country code (mobile country code),

and the next digits are the Mobile Network Code (MNC). The MNC can be either two

digits long (normal e.g. in Europe) or three digits long (normal in North America), the

remaining digits, up to the maximum length are the unique subscriber number (MSIN)

within the network's customer base.

International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)

The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a number unique to every GSM

and UMTS mobile phone. It is usually found printed on the phone underneath the battery

and can also be found by dialling the sequence *#06# into the phone.

The IMEI number is used by the GSM network to identify valid devices and therefore

itcan be used to stop a stolen phone from accessing the network. For example, if a mobile

11
 iDEN

phone is stolen, the owner can call his or her network provider and instruct them to "ban"

the phone using its IMEI number. This renders the phone useless, regardless of whether

the phone's SIM is changed.

Unlike the Electronic Serial Number or MEID of CDMA and other wireless networks,

the IMEI is only used to identify the device, and has no permanent or semi-permanent

relation to the subscriber. Instead, the subscriber is identified by transmission of an IMSI

number, which is stored on a SIM card which can (in theory) be transferred to any

handset. However, many network and security features are enabled by knowing the

current device being used by a subscriber.

Mobile Assisted Handovers

When operating in a moving vehicle, an iDEN mobile radio can assist the fixed end

system in determining when a handover to another cell should be executed. Whenever the

mobile radio is not actually transmitting or receiving a signal from the fixed end system,

it monitors outbound signals from neighboring cells and measures the received power and

signal quality of these signals. When it determines that the signal from a neighboring cell

is of higher quality than the signal from the fixed end system in its currently assigned

cell, it transmits a handover request to the fixed end system. The iDEN infrastructure can

also query a mobile radio for a measurement report. The mobile radio then transmits data

12
 iDEN

back to the fixed end system indicating the received signal strength detected and

measured by the mobile radio.

iDEN in Push-to-talk Service

iDEN is the only commercial technology that offers push-to-talk( PTT) service.

What is push-to-talk?

Push-to-talk enables a mobile telephone to act like a walkie-talkie by connecting users

with the push of a button. The goal of push-to-talk is to instantaneously connect

important contacts without one person’s having to place a traditional telephone call and

wait for the other party to “pick up” or answer. In addition, push-to-talk can offer features

such as calling groups so that more than two users can communicate at the same time.

Like a walkie talkie, this communication is half-duplex; therefore, users must press and

hold the button while they speak, and only one person can speak at a time (hence the

name push-to-talk). This service is also commonly referred to as PTT, P2T, press- to-

talk, and click-to-chat.

Background

Nextel Communications began to develop its cellular services based on Motorola’s

iDEN™ (integrated Digital Enhanced Network) technology. One of these services, Direct

Connect SM push-to-talk.

13
 iDEN

Nextel operates the first commercially available push-to-talk system, which works only

on Motorola’s iDEN platform. Because the iDEN network was built entirely by Motorola

to be compatible with Direct Connect, it does not have the same limitations as other

technologies.

IP Radio Service

The systems that enable iDEN network-based, multimediaenhanced communications

services, is offering a push-to-talk solution called IPRS (IP Radio Service).

The IPRS technology permits users to conduct unlimited international and roaming push-

to-talk sessions across any packetbased network. IPRS is based primarily on client

software that can be downloaded into most of the newer smart phone environments, such

14
 iDEN

as Sun Microsystems, Inc.’s, J2ME™ (Java 2 PlatformMicro Edition) or QUALCOMM,

Inc.’s, BREW™ (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless™), or that can be embedded

in the handsets by the handset vendors. “In peer-to-peer sessions voice transmission is

routed directly between clients” . An IPRS server connected to the IP backbone

performs duties such as authenticating users; managing voice calls; originating and

terminating calls; and providing O&M (operation and maintenance), billing, and

provisioning capabilities.

15
 iDEN

Push-to-Talk Over Cellular Network Architecture

GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN)

GPRS Gateway Support Node (GGSN) is network node that acts as agateway between a

GPRS wireless data network and other networks such as the Internet or private network

The GGSN is the anchor point that enables the mobility of the user terminal in the

GPRS/UMTS networks. In essence, it carries out the role in GPRS equivalent to the

Home Agent in Mobile IP. It maintains routing necessary to tunnel the Protocol Data

Units (PDUs) to the SGSN that service a particular MS (Mobile Subscriber).Other

function include subscriber screening, IP Pool management andaddress mapping, QoS

and PDP context enforcement.

16
 iDEN

SGSN - Serving GPRS Support Node

The Serving GPRS Support Node keeps track of the location of an individual MS

(Mobile Station) and performs security functions and access control. The SGSN also

exists in a UMTS network, where it connects to the RNC (Radio Network Controller)

over the Iu-PS interface.

17
 iDEN

Base Tranceiver System (BTS)

Base Tranceiver Station. Technical term for a mobile phone base station. A BTS contains

the transmit and receive technology and also the aerials to supply a radio cell. Several

BTSs are administered by a BSC (Base Station Controller), which is in turn under an

MSC (Mobile Switching Center). Existing BSCs and BTSs can be extended for new radio

technology to allow the network operator to reuse existing aerial sites for UMTS radio

networks.

18
 iDEN

In radio communications a Base station is a two-way radio installation in a fixed location,

used to communicate with one or more mobile or portable radio transceivers. They are

typically used by low-power two-way radios such as mobile phones, portable phones and

wireless routers. For example, the signals from one or more mobile telephones in an area

are received at a nearby base station, which then connects the call to the land-line

network. In the case of a portable phone, the connection is typically direct to a land line.

Base stations can be local controlled or remote controlled. Local controlled base stations

are operated by front panel controls on the base station cabinet. Remote control base

stations can be operated over tone- or DC- private line telephone circuits or radio links.

Base Station Cellsite (BSC)

In radio communications a Base station is a two-way radio installation in a fixed

location, used to communciate with one or more mobile or portable radio transceivers.

They are typically used by low-power two-way radios such as mobile phones, portable

phones and wireless routers. For example, the signals from one or more mobile

telephones in an area are recieved at a nearby base station, which then connects the call to

the land-line network. In the case of a portable phone, the connection is typically direct to

a land line.

In the context of 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 recievers. This correction data allows propagation and other effects to be corrected

19
 iDEN

out of the position data obtained by the mobile stations, which gives greatly increased

location precision and accuracy over the results obtained by uncorrected GPS recievers.

In the area of wireless computer networking, a base station is a radio receiver/transmitter

that serves as the hub of the local wireless network, and may also be the gateway between

a wired network and the wireless network.

Base stations can be local controlled or remote controlled. Local controlled base stations

are operated by front panel controls on the base station cabinet. Remote control base

stations can be operated over private line telephone circuits or radio links.

A professional rack-mount iDEN Base Radio at a Cell Site

20
 iDEN

A typical consumer-grade CB base station

Mexicoose-up of a base station antenna

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)

21
 iDEN

The IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a standardised Next Generation Networking

(NGN) architecture for telecom operators that want to provide mobile and fixed

multimedia services. It uses a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) implementation based on a 3GPP

standardised implementation of SIP, and runs over the standard Internet Protocol (IP).

Existing phone systems (both packet-switched and circuit-switched) are supported.

The aim of IMS is not only to provide new services but all the services, current and

future, that the Internet provides. In this way, IMS will give network operators and

service providers the ability to control and charge for each service. In addition, users have

to be able to execute all their services when roaming as well as from their home

networks. To achieve these goals, IMS uses open standard IP protocols, defined by the

IETF. So, a multimedia session between two IMS users, between an IMS user and a user

on the Internet, and between two users on the Internet is established using exactly the

same protocol. Moreover, the interfaces for service developers are also based on IP

protocols. This is why IMS truly merges the Internet with the cellular world; it uses

cellular technologies to provide ubiquitous access and Internet technologies to provide

appealing services.

22
 iDEN

Features Of IP Based Architecture

Because most emerging push-to-talk technologies are deployed on advanced packet-

based networks, they are able to offer many features in addition to traditional push-to-talk

capabilities. Although features among individual technologies or products may vary,

most features are common to all products. For example, users can create and manage

individual and group contact lists and use only one number for both push-totalk and

regular calls. The rollout of IP-based push-to-talk services will allow nationwide and

even worldwide push-to-talk sessions without special upgrades. Similar to “buddy lists”

used in instant messaging computer programs, IPbased push-to-talk solutions create a

presencebased communications environment that indicates a contact’s status, in the

figure. It shows whether the contact is connected and available to talk, is busy, or is not

connected. If the contact is unavailable or busy, users can leave voice or text messages

IP-Based Push-to-Talk

23
 iDEN

A Key technology of iDEN phones Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

iDEN phones use several communications technologies. An iDEN phone's primary

communications technology is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). A TDMA

transmission divides an iDEN phone's signal into three parts, thereby decreasing the

individual load of each stream. European units use the Global System for Mobile

Communication (GSM) standard, which separates the stream into eight parts. There is

also a smaller version of this technology called Harmony.

Time Division Multiple Access is a air interface technology is used in GSM, as a digital

upgrade of the AMPS analog system in the U.S. and as the basis of Personal Handyphone

System (PHS) in Japan. TDMA is especially popular in the Americas. The technology

divides each cellular channel into three time slots, tripling the data capacity from analog

technology. TDMA was first specified as a standard in EIA/TIA Interim Standard 54 (IS-

54). IS-136, a version of IS-54, is the U.S. standard for TDMA for the 850MHz and 1.9

GHz spectrums. PHS was first introduced in Japan in 1995; intended as a worldwide

standard, it never made it outside of the domestic market.

24
 iDEN

How Does iDEN Work in PTT

iDEN enables communications to begin with the press of a PTT button on the handset,

rather than through completion of a standard cellular call. A call is formed by combining

separate point-to-point connections between each IP endpoint at a managing entity

known as the iDEN Applications Server, deployed on the provider’s IP-based Wide Area

Network (WAN).

Pressing the PTT button originates a call to the target iDEN user and provides the

originator with information indicating the availability of the target user. Target users can

be identified and programmed into handsets by the user or a network administrator. If the

target user is available, the originator receives an immediate indication (e.g., audible

tone, message on the display) and the originator can begin speaking. The call originator’s

voice is then sent through the carrier’s network to the target’s handset. Initiating a call to

a iDEN user who isnot available simply results in a negative response tone rather than a

busy signal or entry into a voicemail function.

25
 iDEN

What Are the Advantages of iDEN

iDEN uses VoIP architecture, subscribers using standard 3G CDMA data networks

worldwide2 will be able to push a button to talk. For instance, a iDEN user in Boston

could make a direct push-to-talk connection with another iDEN subscriber in Beijing...

iDEN enables end users to set up iDEN groups dynamically from the handset without the

need for action from a system administrator. The iDEN application benefits from

CDMA’s inherent security attributes. Since CDMA signals are digital in nature and

transmitted across a wide bandwidth (as opposed to transmission over discrete

frequencies), it possesses a low probability of interception and a low probability of

detection, thus ensuring that transmissions are resistant to decoding and eavesdropping.

• iDEN offers these advantages

• Support for over-the-air upgrade of iDEN client software via the wireless download

feature.

• Dynamic management of group membership by subscribers (i.e., the ability to add or

remove participants at any time, on their handset)

• Ad hoc creation of chat groups on the handset, in addition to the standing groups that an

administrator may establish.

• Easy implementation of the user interface across multiple device types and in multiple

languages.

26
 iDEN

Other PTT Technologies and Their Relationship to iDEN

iDEN is an evolutionary technology based on the PTT technologies that exist in today’s

communication industry – in private two-way LMR systems and some commercial

wireless services such as QChat. QChat is currently being used as backup form of voice

communications for public safety field personnel, such as emergency response and police

officers. iDEN’s functionality is very similar to QChat. To be more specific, iDEN is a

high-capacity digital trunked radio technology that can provide integrated voice and data

services to users. iDEN is based on TDMA technology to split a 25 kilohertz frequency

into six separate time slots. Using half-duplex and full-duplex signals.

iDEN is able to provide the following services:

• Cellular-like telephony

• Short Text Messaging

• Digital two-way radio, one-to-one and group, and limited dispatch capabilities

• Wireless data access.

The iDEN digital two-way radio service uses a half-duplex signal, similar to that of

QChat. A normal cellular telephone call uses a full-duplex scheme (i.e., two separate

channels, one to send and the other to receive) for each call. In contrast, a Direct Connect

call uses a single channel. Direct Connect relies on the proven technology of PTT, which

is commonly used in dispatch-based radio systems. PTT is a simplex or half-duplex form

of communications that requires the person speaking to press a button while talking and

27
 iDEN

then release when they are finished. The listener then presses his or her PTT button to

respond. This simplex or half-duplex access method allows the system to easily discern

which direction the signal should be traveling.

Some of the major 2G digital air interfaces:

• Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM):

A digital cellular phone technology that uses TDMA transmission techniques, it is

sometimes referred to as Wideband TDMA. GSM is a circuit-switched system that

divides each 200kHz channel into eight 25kHz time-slots. GSM operates in the 900MHz

and 1.8GHz bands in Europe and the 1.9GHz PCS band in the US. Unlike CDMA or

TDMA, GSM defines the entire cellular system, not just the air interface. GSM also

supports short messaging service (SMS), which enables text messages of up to 160

characters in length to be sent to and from compatible phones. SMS is probably the most

successful wireless data service in the world at the moment. The GSM Association has

said that around 3 billion SMS messages are sent each month. GSM supports data

transfer speeds of up to 9.6 kbit/s and has become the de facto standard in Europe and

Asia. Over 80 percent of the world’s mobile phone subscribers use GSM-compatible

phones.

28
 iDEN

• Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA):

A "spread spectrum," digital, cellular, air interface technology mainly used in the U.S.

and parts of Asia, such as South Korea. CDMA sends multiple signals or streams of

information at one time as a single signal and then unravels the separate strands at the

receiving end. CDMA operates in the 800MHz band and 1.9GHz PCS band and supports

data transfer speeds of up to 14.4 kbit/s.

The world is demanding more from wireless communication technologies than ever

before as more people around the world are subscribing to wireless. Add in

exciting Third-Generation (3G) wireless data services and applications – such

as wireless email, web, digital picture taking/sending, assisted-GPS position

location applications, video and audio streaming and TV broadcasting - and

wireless networks are doing much more than just a few years ago. This is

where CDMA technology fits in. CDMA consistently provides better capacity

for voice and data communications than other commercial mobile technologies,

allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time, and it is

the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.

CDMA is a "spread spectrum" technology, allowing many users to occupy the same time

and frequency allocations in a given band/space. As its name implies, CDMA (Code

Division Multiple Access) assigns unique codes to each communication to differentiate it

from others in the same spectrum. In a world of finite spectrum resources, CDMA

enables many more people to share the airwaves at the same time than do alternative

29
 iDEN

technologies.The CDMA air interface is used in both 2G and 3G networks. 2G CDMA

standards are branded cdmaOne and include IS-95A and IS-95B. CDMA is the

foundation for 3G services: the two dominant IMT-2000 standards, CDMA2000 and

WCDMA, are based on CDMA.

• Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN):

iDEN is a proprietary version of the digital TDMA system developed by Motorola Inc.

The technology has proved something of a dead end, even though it can support both

packet- and circuit-switched data and offers data transfer rates of up to 10 kbit/s

• Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD):

A wireless data-only packet overlay for the existing analog AMPS network in the U.S.,

CDPD shunts data over unused intervals in the voice channels. It has a data transfer rate

of 19.2 kbit/s.

Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) uses unused bandwidth normally used by

AMPS mobile phones between 800 and 900 MHz to transfer data. Speeds up to

19.2 kbit/s are possible.

Developed in the early 1990's, CDPD was large on the horizon as a future technology.

However, it had difficulty competing against existing slower but less expensive Mobitex

and DataTac systems, and never quite gained widespread acceptance before newer, faster

standards such as GPRS became dominant.

30
 iDEN

CDPD had very limited consumer offerings. AT&T Wireless first offered the technology

in the United States under the PocketNet brand. It was one of the first consumer offerings

of wireless web service. Cingular Wireless later offered CDPD under the Wireless

Internet brand (not to be confused with Wireless Internet Express, their brand for

GPRS/EDGE data). PocketNet was generally considered a failure with competition from

2G services such as Sprint's Wireless Web. After the three phones AT&T Wireless had

offered to the public (two from Panasonic, one from Mitsubishi and the Ericsson

R289LX), AT&T Wireless eventually refused to activate the devices.

31
 iDEN

Next Generation
Our newest phones-like the i90c-feature innovative J2ME™ technology enabling you

to download interactive content and applications-from high-powered business tools to

graphically rich games. Motorola's iDEN phones are truly the next generation of

communications. If you are interested in developing J2ME applications for the

Motorola IDEN phones please visit the Developer Program.

Conclusion
32
 iDEN

Integrated Digital Enhanced Network also known as iDEN, is a mobile communications

technology, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular

telephone. This technology is developed by the mobile company “Motorola” and is sold

by the retailer Nextel which is the largest US retailer of iDEN services.

Data like text message and picture message and voice communications are supported by

iDEN.

iDEN currently is at software release 13.0, supporting 2500 sites maximum per urban. In

order to provide high data rates for packet data, Nextel started to develop a 2.5G

technology called WiDEN.

Unfortunately, not many areas have support for iDen technology. There are only twelve

countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El

Salvador, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia,

Singapore, and the United States – currently capable of working with the system.

33
 iDEN

Reference

http://www.trillium.com.

http://www.wikipedia.com

http://www.motorola.com/

http://www.geocities.com/5peter/iDEN.html

34