Contacts:
Tim Yankey
McKie|Headstrom PR
, ext. 3
Michelle Olesiejuk
MWIF
For Immediate Release
Telcordia And Toshiba Exhibit All IP-Based Mobile Internet Core Network
Morristown, N.J., September 18, 2002 Educating the mobile marketplace about the feasibility and benefits of an Internet-style mobile wireless infrastructure, the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum (MWIF) today announced that two of their members, Telcordia Technologies Inc., and Toshiba America Research, Inc., completed a first ever laboratory proof of concept demonstration of a mobile Internet core network. The demonstration took place yesterday at the ITSUMO Lab in Telcordia¹s Morristown, N.J., headquarters and was presented to the members of MWIF and several key individuals from the mobile Internet community. The presentation successfully illustrated the viability and potential bottom-line benefits of a mobile Internet based on an Internet-style core network infrastructure.
³New network requirements based on changing market dynamics are driving a shift in wireless network development from the traditional vertically integrated model of telephony to the loosely coupled and distributed model of the Internet² said Dean Sirovica, Managing Director of Strategic Technologies at Vodafone R&D and President of MWIF. ³Moving towards this type of architecture will help mobile operators deliver the types of services and applications that are needed while controlling costs and enhancing revenues. MWIF is pleased to see its members proactively researching Internet-style infrastructures."
An Internet-style infrastructure has three key attributes: (1) the use of IP as a fundamental end-to-end network protocol, (2) the breakdown and distribution of network functions into individual network components - an approach called ³loosely coupled,² and (3) the use of other standard IETF protocols to communicate between components. These attributes result in a wireless core network infrastructure that delivers enhanced performance, ubiquitous network access, straightforward Internet integration, and a system that readily adapts to changes in technology. This type of network also inherits the Internet¹s large development community for creating new applications and services.
Telcordia and Toshiba, with input from MWIF¹s Proof Of Concept working group, demonstrated four mobile Internet functions: seamless mobility, secure mobile multimedia communications, customized mobile wireless services and plug and play mobile wireless network management. Each of these functions was hosted on the ITSUMO research testbed in a laboratory implementation of a mobile wireless Internet. The test bed utilized an all IP wireless/wire-line network with 802.11b and CDMA2000 1xRTT wireless technologies.
³Telcordia and Toshiba, both founding members of MWIF, have worked collaboratively to develop the ITSUMO architecture and implement the functionality shown in these demonstrations², said Dr. Richard S. Wolff, Vice President for Advanced Network Systems Research at Telcordia. ³In developing ITSUMO, Telcordia and Toshiba have shown that the goals of an IP-based end-to-end infrastructure can be realized.²
"The ITSUMO architecture will enable network operators to manage a single network and offer end users seamless IP connectivity across various networks", said Dr. Toshikazu Kodama, President of Toshiba America Research, Inc. "It will eventually bring the ability to inter-work across multiple heterogeneous platforms and provide services accessible between cellular, enterprise, and residential networks."
The fact that each of the functions was successfully demonstrated validates the feasibility of building a mobile wireless Internet using existing technology in a loosely coupled and distributed infrastructure. Several aspects of the testbed also showed that an IP-based, mobile Internet-style infrastructure has the potential to provide significant revenue generating and cost saving opportunities for mobile operators and infrastructure equipment vendors.
³This infrastructure lays a solid foundation for future change and growth,² said Dr. John G. Waclawsky, MWIF Technical Committee Chair and Senior Technical Staff at Cisco Systems. ³No one can predict exactly what technologies or services will be needed in the future. An IP-based, mobile Internet-style infrastructure gives operators the assurance that whatever the future holds, they are prepared with a flexible and dynamic core network that can easily and rapidly respond to market changes.²
Based on the results of the demonstration, MWIF expects mobile Internet industry stakeholders to take a more proactive role in moving the industry towards adopting an Internet-style mobile Internet infrastructure.
About Mobile Wireless Internet Forum
Founded in January 2000, the Mobile Wireless Internet Forum (MWIF) is a nonprofit, international industry consortium whose mission is to drive acceptance and adoption of a single, open, mobile wireless Internet architecture that is independent of the access technology. MWIF and its members publish studies, discoveries and conclusions in technical reports that are made available to the industry. Membership is open to any organization with an interest in promoting the vision of influencing global wireless industry standards that improves interoperability of mobile technologies. Membership information can be found at mwif.org.
Mobile Wireless Internet Forum