scope:

The scope of this technical report is focused on wireless interfaces for access to personal communications services characterized by terrestrial systems primarily using low-RF power levels serving voice and data. Medium and high power wireless access methods for PCS are discussed and the system and service objectives may be equally applicable to these access methods. The stated objectives apply to physical, link, and transport layers of public wireless interfaces, both indoor and outdoor. The scope is intended to be broad ranging and flexible enough to permit the use of this technical report for non-licensed applications, if desired.

Purpose

This technical report provides background, analysis and objectives for low-power digital radio systems for wireless access to personal communications services. The technical report is intended to be of assistance to standards bodies defining the wireless interfaces (e.g.T1E1.9/TR45.4.4 Joint Technical committee on Wireless Access) and other interested industry bodies (e.g., Telocator, WINForum). This technical report addresses physical, link, and transport layers and associated issues required to ensure appropriate transfer of information across the interface to support higher layer functions on either side the interface. Development of specifications for wireless access methods needs to progress rapidly to achieve a similar stage of development as that for wireline interfaces in support of Universal Personal Telecommunications (UPT). Complementary technical reports will be developed subsequently to provide guidance on other related issues.

Service objectives represent the perceived needs of users for service functionality, performance, flexibility, cost, and other user-related attributes offered by wireless access systems. The development of network capabilities, architectures, and interfaces (especially the air interface) which implement wireless service description should also strive to meet the performance aspects of service objectives and any other aspects not specifically mentioned in service descriptions.

System objectives represent the needs of network operators for services and capabilities to create, deploy, operate, and maintain the user services developed using the service objectives. System objectives may include network capabilities necessary in providing the user services, as well as Operational, Administrative, Maintenance, and Provisioning (OAM&P) capabilities required for the operator to support the user services. The capabilities required to support the network operators OAM&P needs and those capabilities required to support user services can be considered sufficient functional requirements with which to progress the development of network modeling, architectures, switching systems, access systems, operations systems, protocols, interfaces, and terminals.