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ABSTRACT
The mobile population is increasing day by day and to meet the ever-increasing demand of the mobile users is not a simple task. A grueling research in various fields of science has already begun in various parts of the globe to find a new and innovative means of mobile communication, which must completely satisfy the mobile users. Modern day mobile phones come with rich multimedia support and various facilities that make our lives exciting and easy. Keeping this important point under consideration this report has been framed on the various facilities and services provided by the latest trends in mobile communication, enabling users to view and share rich multimedia content on mobile devices
The report starts with a brief introduction of multimedia and mobile multimedia. Then there is a brief discussion on the various generations of mobile networks. The various elements that make up the multimedia rich mobile communications are discussed next. There is a brief discussion of the protocols used in multimedia based mobile communication. It also contains information about the multimedia services available right now. Advantages and Disadvantages are discussed next. Its future scope: Rich Communication Suite is briefly introduced. The report ends with a suitable conclusion, discussing about the various upcoming challenges of the multimedia based communication industry
KEYWORDS
Media, Mobile Multimedia, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, SMS, MMS, WCDMA, UMTS, IPTV, Streaming, IP Multimedia Subsystems, Rich Communication Suite
INTRODUCTION
In communications, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data.[1]It is the form and technology used to communicate information.[2]In general, "media" refers to various means of communication. For example, television, radio, and the newspaper are different types of media. The term can also be used as a collective noun for the press or news reporting agencies. In the computer world, "media" is also used as a collective noun, but refers to different types of data storage options.[3]Multimedia is the integration of multiple forms of media. This includes text, graphics, audio, video, etc. For example, a presentation involving audio and video clips would be considered a "multimedia presentation".[4]Mobile multimedia is defined as a set of protocols and standards for multimedia information exchange over wireless networks. Mobile multimedia is one of the mainstream systems for the next generation mobile communications, featuring large voice capacity, multimedia applications and high-speed mobile data services.[5]It is one of the mainstream systems for the next generation mobile communications and includes various applications like voice capacity, multimedia applications and high-speed mobile data services.
The need for communications to be mobile is explained in three ways:
 User mobility: The user is forced to move from one location to location during fulfilling his activities.
 Device mobility: User activities require a device to fulfill his needs regardless of the location in a mobile environment.
 Service mobility: The service itself is mobile and can be used in different systems and move seamlessly among those systems.[5]
Multimedia rich mobile communications finds a wide variety of applications in our daily lives. With various available services in mobile communication, sharing of data has become much easier. Accessing information has never been easier. The mobile service providers now give access to internet, voice messaging, video calls, MMS and much more in a mobile environment.
LITERATURE SURVEY
From the early analog mobile generation (1G) to the last deployed Third Generation (3G) the paradigm has changed. The new mobile generation not only tries to improve the quality of voice communications, but also tries to give the user access to a new global communication reality. The aim is to reach communication ubiquity (anytime, anywhere) and to provide users with a new set of services.
The first generation of systems for mobile telephony was analog, circuit switched, and it only carried voice traffic. The analog phones used in 1G were less secure and prone to interference where the signal is weak. Analog systems include AMPS, NMT and ETACS.
The second-generation phones cover all speech into digital code, resulting in a clear signal that can be encrypted for security. Most also include some kind of messaging, as well as support for Centrex style services such as voice mail and caller ID. The most popular is GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), but several others are used around the world. They can send data, but usually at less than 10 kilobits per second (Kbps); by comparisons, most modems achieve a real speed of atleast 30 Kbps. 2G networks include GSM, D-AMPS (TDMA) and CDMA. 2G networks can support SMS applications.
The successor of the 2G technology is the 2.5G. 2.5 G supports higher data speeds. The term 2.5G also applies to technology such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), which uses a version of the web to fit into a mobile phone’s slow data rate and small screen. 2.5G networks include EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). These networks support WAP, MMS, SMS mobile games, and search and directory. Though MMS was introduced in the 2.5G, it really gained its momentum and fame only with the introduction of 3G.
The present hype is around the Third Generation (3G) phones, which is expected to play a very important role until at least 2010. 3G systems will provide a variety of advanced services, including data transfer at up to 2 megabits per second (Mbps). 3G will support multimedia applications such as full-motion video, video conferencing and Internet access. 3G will cover bot only the connection between a mobile terminal and its base station, called the WAN (Wireless Area Network), but also the LAN (Local Area Network). 3G is a generic term covering a range of future wireless network technologies, including WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), CDMA2000 (Code Division Multiple Access), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) and EDGE.
Fourth generation wireless system is a packet switched wireless system with wide area coverage and high throughput. It is designed to be cost effective and to provide high spectral efficiency. The 4g wireless uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Ultra Wide Radio Band (UWB), and Millimeter wireless. Data rate of 20mbps is employed. Mobile speed will be up to 200km/hr. The high performance is achieved by the use of long term channel prediction, in both time and frequency, scheduling among users and smart antennas combined with adaptive modulation and power control. Frequency band is 2-8 GHz. it gives the ability for worldwide roaming to access cell anywhere.[8]Fourth Generation networks are already in the labs, targeted for deployment beginning in 2010. They will provide data rates up to 100 Mbps, enough for tele-presence. This is a type of virtual reality, defined as full stimulation of all senses required to provide the illusion of actually being somewhere else – an illusion that cannot be distinguished from the real thing.[6][7][8]
ELEMENTS OF MULTIMEDIA RICH MOBILE COMMUNICATION
The following are the various elements that contribute to Multimedia Rich Mobile Communication:-
Voice and Video: Voice calls and voice recognition systems are one of the elements. When a user cannot complete a call due to some reasons, the voice call service gives him a chance to leave a message, which can be retrieved at a later time. Voice over Internet Protocol (Voice over IP, VoIP) is one of a family of internet technologies, communication protocols, and transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.[9]Voice and video calls can be carried out across the Internet giving us ease in communication.
Messaging: Messagingservice is not limited to text messaging only. Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length. The most popular use is to send photographs from camera-equipped handsets, although it is also popular as a method of delivering news and entertainment content including videos, pictures, text pages and ringtones. Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), is a cross-industry collaboration between Samsung, Ericsson, Motorola, Siemens and Alcatel, among others. It is an application-level extension to Short Message Service (SMS) for cellular phones available on GSM, TDMA and CDMA networks. EMS is an intermediate technology, between SMS and MMS, providing some of the features of MMS. EMS is a technology that is designed to work with existing networks, but may ultimately be made obsolete by MMS. An EMS enabled mobile phone can send and receive messages that have special text formatting (such as bold or italic), animations, pictures, icons, sound effects and special ring tones. EMS messages that are sent to devices that do not support it will be displayed as SMS messages, though they may be unreadable due to the presence of additional data that cannot be rendered by the device. In some countries, EMS messages cannot generally be sent between subscribers of different mobile phone carriers, as they will frequently be dropped by the inter-carrier network or by the receiving carrier. However, in other countries, such as the UK, inter-carrier interoperability is generally achieved.[10][11]
Switched data: Data switching is done in two forms – Circuit Switching and Packet Switching
Circuit Switched Data (CSD) is the original form of data transmission developed for the time division multiple access (TDMA)-based mobile phone systems like Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). CSD uses a single radio time slot to deliver 9.6 kbit/s data transmission to the GSM Network and Switching Subsystem where it could be connected through the equivalent of a normal modem to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) allowing direct calls to any dial-up service.[12]
High-speed circuit-switched data (HSCSD), is an enhancement to Circuit Switched Data (CSD), the original data transmission mechanism of the GSMmobile phone system, four times faster than GSM, with data rates up to 38.4 kbit/s.
Channel allocation is done in circuit-switched mode, as with CSD. Higher speeds are achieved as a result of superior coding methods, and the ability to use multiple time slots to increase data throughput.[13]
Packet switching is a digital networking communications method that groups all transmitted data – regardless of content, type, or structure – into suitably-sized blocks, called packets. Packet switching features delivery of variable-bit-rate data streams (sequences of packets) over a shared network. When traversing network adapters, switches, routers and other network nodes, packets are buffered and queued, resulting in variable delay and throughput depending on the traffic load in the network.
Packet switching contrasts with circuit switching, a method which sets up a limited number of dedicated connections of constant bit rate and constant delay between nodes for exclusive use during the communication session. In case of traffic fees, for example in cellular communication, circuit switching is characterized by a fee per time unit of connection time, even when no data is transferred, while packet switching is characterized by a fee per unit of information.[14]
Medium and High Multimedia:Web surfing, Gaming, Video-Conferencing
Surfing the internet on mobile phones is becoming more and more common. Mobile phones usually connect to the internet via two different methods: Over a mobile phone operator's network, such as EDGE or HDSPA, or over local Wi-Fi (wireless internet), like the wireless internet connection you may have at home.
When it comes to mobile networks, there are different speeds available. GPRS (128kb/s) is the slowest, and EDGE (236kb/s) is the next step up. 3G (third generation) refers to a collection of different networks, which offer even faster speeds (384kb/s), letting you download a 3MB file (one song) in about a minute. HSDPA (sometimes dubbed '3.5G') is even quicker - up to 14.4Mb/s - though networks tend to offer 3.6Mbps, which can download a song in 8.3 seconds. Some mobile operators are already talking about 4G connection speeds, a term which often includes WiMax and LTE networks. LTE networks are currently being tested across the UK, with speeds reportedly reaching 150mb/s, but none are commercially accessible yet.[15] Another way to access the Internet from mobile phone is through a wireless network router.
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, handheld computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable. Mobile games are played using the technologies present on the device itself. For networked games, there are various technologies in common use. Examples include text message (SMS), multimedia message (MMS) or GPS location identification. However, there are non-networked applications that simply use the device platform to run the game software. The games may be installed over the air, they may be side loaded onto the handset with a cable, or they may be embedded on the handheld devices by the OEM or by the mobile operator. Mobile games are usually downloaded via the mobile operator's radio network, but in some cases are also loaded into the mobile handsets when purchased, via infrared connection, Bluetooth, or memory card.[16]
A videoconference or video-conferenceis a set of interactive telecommunicationtechnologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called 'visual collaboration' and is a type of groupware.
For example, a point-to-point (two-person) video conferencing system works much like a video telephone. Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the network and delivered to the other's speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in a window on the other participant's monitor.
Multipoint videoconferencing allows three or more participants to sit in a virtual conference room and communicate as if they were sitting right next to each other. Until the mid-90s, the hardware costs made videoconferencing prohibitively expensive for most organizations, but that situation is changing rapidly. Many analysts believe that videoconferencing will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the computer industry in the latter half of the decade.[17][18]