SK Telecom deploys cdma2000 1x network

The first cdma2000 1XRTT (1X) wireless data and voice network, developed by 3Com Corporation and Samsung Electronics Co., is now in commercial service. SK Telecom of Korea unveiled its third generation (3G) network on October 1. The new 3G cdma2000 1X network allows SK Telecom customers to access mobile data services at speeds of up to 144 kb/s. Other features of the network include support for simultaneous audio, video, and text data services; advanced packet data technology for enhanced network efficiency; and a two-fold increase in wireless channel capacity.

In the initial service rollout, SK Telecom introduced its 3G network to subscribers in the Seoul and Inchon regions. By the end of the calendar year, it expects to extend the network to extend to the Daejon and Chungcheong regions. Eventually, the 3G cdma2000 1X network will cover most of the South Korean peninsula.

SK Telecom has more than 12 million subscribers for its Speed 011 cellular service, making it the seventh largest cellular phone service provider in the world. Its wireless data service, n.TOP, provides subscribers with network-driven information encompassing a wide-range of areas from a location data service, Internet shopping, travel and stock exchange information, to various reservation services for Speed 011 subscribers at any time.

The 3Com/Samsung solution deployed by SK Telecom adheres to the IS-2000 series of standards developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Equipment from 3Com and Samsung works with other standards-based products and is also versatile enough to be feature-customized, giving service providers maximum flexibility to design and develop their individual networks.

In the new network, the base station controller (BSC) connects directly—via the A10/A11 interface—to a packet data-serving node (PDSN). The PDSN performs the traffic aggregation function, similar to that handled by circuit switches today. The PDSN uses Radius authentication, accounting and administration (AAA) servers for user authentication and traffic management, then forwards traffic to a gateway router/home agent (GRHA) at the designated IP network.

Equipment
Samsung is providing the radio access network equipment, including base transceiver systems and base station controllers. 3Com Carrier Networks Business is providing the data core network, including the PDSNs, Home Agent (HA), Radius authentication/billing servers, and network management system. Equipment from the two companies interconnects using standards-compliant interfaces, as defined by the IOS Version 4 interface, TIA/EIA/IS-2001, under the TIA's IS-2000 series of standards, and TIA/EIA/TSB115 (PN-4286) and TIA/EIA/IS-835 (PN-4732).

Edited by Ellen Jensen
Managing Editor, Wireless Networks Online