FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR OPEN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

  1. Fraunhofer FOKUS
  2. Business Units
  3. NGNI
  4. Projects
  5. Evolute

Evolute

Jan. 01, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2004

The increasing amount of roaming Internet users in combination with the evolution of IP-based applications has created a strong demand for wide-area, broadband access to a number of IP multimedia services. Wireless LANs can complement the next-generation cellular networks, by offering a cost-efficient, wireless broadband data solution for hot spot areas. By combining the wide coverage of next-generation cellular systems with the speed and capacity advantages of wireless LANs, users can make the most out of wireless IP communication. Towards this direction, IST project EVOLUTE (seamlEss multimedia serVices Over alL IP-based infrastrUcTurEs) implements an all IP network infrastructure aiming to provide seamless multimedia services to roaming users. EVOLUTE addresses and attempts to resolve issues, such as, multilayer mobility management, vertical handoffs, fast and scalable AAA mechanisms, and ubiquitous service provisioning among heterogeneous environments.

Challenges

Two major trends are driving the actual development in the telecommunication market: the Internet and the mobility. The Internet simply means providing cost effective data while mobility stands for reachability everywhere. The convergence of these technologies, will provide new services, better quality of service and ubiquitous connectivity. The next generation mobile systems will be essentially based on IP, offering end-user services, in particular voice over IP networks.

Project-Goals

EVOLUTE is an IST project that aims to provide an all IP-based infrastructure which offer multimedia services to users accessing the network through WLAN or 3G technologies. The main goals that Evolute aims to achieve are,

  • Specify and develop a multilayer mobility management scheme to efficiently handle mobility for different types of services (real-time or non-real-time multimedia traffic) through the use of SIP (session Initiation Protocol) and Mobile IP respectively
  • Specify and develop an intelligent service provisioning environment for mobile users based on SIP
  • Provide fast and secure access to mobile multimedia services using a scalable and robust AAA architecture
  • Test the developed architecture and prove its efficiency on delivering seamless multimedia services to users that move among heterogeneous networks or change communication media 

Technology

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)

In this project, two different technologies are considered,

  • 802.11, which refers to a family of specifications developed by the IEEE for wireless LAN technology. 802.11 specifies an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients. The IEEE accepted the specification in 1997.
  • HiperLAN/2, which stands for High Performance Radio Local Area Network, is a wireless LAN standard developed by the Broadband Radio Access Networks (BRAN) division of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). HiperLAN/2 defines a very efficient, high-speed wireless LAN technology that fully meets the requirements of Europe's spectrum regulatory. Similar to IEEE 802.11a, HiperLAN/2 operates in the 5GHz frequency band using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and offers data rates of up to 54Mbps. In fact, the physical layer of HiperLAN/2 is very similar to the one that 802.11a defines.

UMTS

3G Systems aims to provide a global mobility with wide range of services including telephony, messaging, Internet access and broadband data. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) started the process of defining the standard for the third generation systems, referred as International Mobile Telecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000). In Europe, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) was responsible of the UMTS standardization process. In 1998, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was formed to continue the technical specification work. 3GPP has five main UMTS standardization areas: Radio Access Network, Core Network, Terminals, Services and System Aspects and GERAN

Partners

  • Intracom S. A Hellenic Telecommunications and
  • Electronics Industry
  • Motorola Limited- Advanced network Development Center
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems
  • Cefriel
  • Telia Mobile AB
  • University of Surrey
  • Alcatel SEL AG- Network Solutions and Services Division
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