Europe’s telecommunications industry became the world leader in the 1990s. Now European researchers are working to maintain that lead by developing an innovative services platform for 'Beyond 3G’ communications.
European researchers at the EU-funded SPICE project are putting the final touches to a total solution that advances wireless telecommunications services beyond that of current 3G technologies.
3G is the third generation of standards and technologies for mobile phones and enable telecommunications providers to offer a wider range of advanced services - such as video calls and wireless data transmission - than the previous 2G standards.
The SPICE platform responds to the growing needs of network operators, service developers and providers and consumers for an even wider range of services by creating an overall architecture for a new set of standards.
The development will mean dramatic advances in mobile services. Users will be able to transfer movies, music or any media, on the fly, from one device to another as they go through their daily routine.
Mobile devices will also be aware of both the location and context of their owners, and can make appropriate suggestions. Consumers will be able to develop their own custom services.
Universal architecture
The researchers also sought to define a universal architecture for advanced communications services, one that could work seamlessly with any device, on any network.
They also sought to develop the appropriate tools and middleware to make it easy to develop and deploy compelling new services. And they created a middleware framework that handles service roaming, billing and digital rights protection, among others tasks.
SPICE was an ambitious research programme, both in the range of stakeholders the technologies are aimed at, and the degree of technological innovation required.
But then the SPICE project is large in every sense. Its 24 partners, who include France telecom-Orange, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, and the Fraunhofer Institute, are leaders in Europe’s telecoms research and industry.
Compelling services
The SPICE team have already demonstrated services that give just a hint of what will be possible in the near future. In one demonstration, a user watches a movie in her hotel room. Once she leaves her room, the movie starts playing on her mobile device.
“But we can also split media, so the image appears on your mobile screen, or on your laptop or TV, but the audio comes through your headphones or your stereo, for example,” says Christophe Cordier, the project’s coordinator.
In another demonstrator, a mobile device becomes a security token for a user’s internet passwords. With all the internet services available, passwords multiply rapidly. It is easy to forget which password applies to which service. Even back-up solutions, such as a text file with the password or security questions, can fail.
But with the SPICE solution, the proximity of a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device acts as proof of a person’s identity. Security can be improved by using the phones PIN code as a universal password.
The advantage is that a PIN and the device will replace dozens of passwords, making the system both simpler and more secure.
