Generic Access
Network (GAN) is a telecommunication system which extends mobile services
voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem/Session Initiation Protocol (IMS/SIP)
applications over IP access networks.This report will attempt to discuss the
details of the GAN, its evolution, its services, architecture, and other implications.
The Generic Access
Network (GAN) is an evolving wireless communications system in which mobile
phone sets function seamlessly between local area networks (LANs) and wide-area
networks (WANs). Using GAN technology, a cell phone subscriber can communicate
by voice, data and multimedia. As GAN technology is implemented, cellular
telephone subscribers can expect improved coverage, the ability to use a single
phone set for all their voice communications and perhaps cheaper rates with a
single bill for Internet and voice communications.
5. ADVANTAGES
For the Carriers :
1) Instead of erecting
expensive base stations to cover every nook and cranny of a neighbourhood, GAN
allows carriers to add coverage using low cost 802.11 access points. When at
home, subscribers have very good coverage.
2) In addition, GAN relieves
congestion on the GSM or UMTS spectrum by removing common types of calls and
routing them to the operator via the relatively low cost Internet
3) GAN makes sense for
network operators that also offer internet services. Operators
can leverage sales of one to promote the other, and can bill both to each
customer.
4) Some other operators also
run networks of 802.11 hotspots, such as T-Mobile. They will be able to
leverage these hotspots to create more capacity and better
coverage in many populous areas.
5) Subscribers, not the
network, pay directly for much of the costs associated with the service. They
pay for a connection to the Internet, effectively paying the expensive part of
the cost of routing calls from their location.
For the Subscribers :
1) Subscribers do not rely on
their operator's ability to roll out towers and coverage, allowing them to fix
some types of coverage blackspot themselves (such as in the home or office.)
2) The cheaper rates for
802.11 use, coupled with better coverage at home, make it more affordable and
practical to use cellphones instead of land lines.
3) GAN is currently the only
commercial technology available that combines GSM and 802.11 into a service
that uses a single number, a single handset, single set of services and a
single phone directory for all calls.
DISADVANTAGES
1) Handsets must support
802.11 network access which requires additional space, power and complexity and
may affect the size, weight and battery performance of the phone.Increasingly,
consumers take advantage of unlimited or otherwise
high-volume data tariffs to make VoIP calls via SIP, as with Skype.
2) GAN will mean that this
type of usage is more likely to be charged on a per-minute or unit basis as
with voice calls, which may increase the cost of mobile calls
made over IP.
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