ZTE´s Solution to GoTa Trunking Services

GoTa, the world´s first CDMA-based digital trunking system, is a practical and professional solution to 3G-oriented trunking services.

    By merging trunking services with broadband data services, the GoTa system is able to meet the increasing diverse market demands and generate higher revenues for operators. The maturing industrialization of CDMA technology helps to lower the cost of GoTa terminals, to expand the application scope of the trunking services, and to satisfy the requirements for sustained development of operators´ networks.

More information at:
http://www.zte.com.cn/English/06publication/open1.jsp?ID=1110

1 World´s First CDMA-Based Digital Trunking Solution
GoTa (Global Open Trunking Architecture) is the world´s first CDMA-based digital trunking system launched by ZTE Corporation. Without a doubt, the GoTa technology will greatly accelerate the technological development for future generation of trunking communication system.

    GoTa is a practical and professional solution to 3G-oriented trunking services, based on optimized CDMA technologies.

    Spearheading the future digital trunking communication systems, the concept of "trunking services over public mobile networks" can bring many benefits such as channel sharing, frequency sharing, public network service sharing and low infrastructure expenditure. In terms of the system design, ZTE developed the common network approach, that is "trunking services over public mobile networks", and carefully considered the various demands of commercial mobile users. The integration of multiple services (trunking dispatch services, plain ordinary telephone service, packet data services and value-added services) into a single GoTa terminal within a common public network enables subscribers to access variety of wireless services.

    By utilizing the CDMA2000 1X service platform, the GoTa solution smartly combines trunking and traditional mobile services on the system and terminals while taking into consideration the needs of public and dedicated network subscribers. As an innovative trunking communication system, the GoTa offers highly advanced technologies with more diversified services. Due to the fact that GoTa is able to meet the needs of users for broadband data services and value-added services, it will undoubtedly enhance the competitiveness of the operators.

2 GoTa System Advantages
As shown in Figure 1, the GoTa system is basically composed of the Base Station Subsystem (BSS), Dispatching Subsystem (DSS), Mobile Switching Subsystem (MSS), Packet Data Service System (PDSS), terminals, and other extended service subsystems.

    The GoTa system inherits many advantages of the CDMA netwrok.

(1) More advanced technology, higher spectrum utilization, and simpler network planning
    The GoTa solution has successfully implemented the key technologies required for delivering trunking services over CDMA technology. As a result of the special characteristics of trunking calls, the GoTa system optimizes the original CDMA2000 air interface technology. Therefore, the same group of subscribers in the same cell can share the same forward traffic channel. At the same time, to improve call setup speed, the system defines a set of system architectures and protocol stacks to meet the needs of fast connection of the trunking communication system. In particular, the GoTa system addresses two key technologies for CDMA to implement trunking functions, the channel sharing and the fast connection. Furthermore, with simple implementation, low investment and convenient deployment, the new trunking services will not affect the performance of traditional mobile services and network resources.

(2) Quality voice, higher capacity, and lower network construction cost
    By combining the spread spectrum technology of the CDMA system with advanced inner & outer loop power control and voice activation technology, higher capacity is achieved for the CDMA system. The more efficient frequency reuse ensures lower network construction cost.

(3) More professional radio dispatch and high-speed wireless data services
    The GoTa system not only provides professional trunking services, but also offers diversified value-added services, such as short messages, missed call notification, location services, broadband data services, and video monitoring. The GoTa system is able to deliver quality services to enterprises, groups and individuals by integrating the trunking services with value-added services.

(4) A full array of solutions to systems, terminals, services and application models, including diversified vendors for supply chains
    ZTE is able to provide a full portfolio of GoTa trunking solutions. It is now playing a leading role in the GoTa industry chains. At the same time, ZTE cooperates with system manufacturers such as Nortel to provide GoTa system equipment, with terminals manufacturers such GuanRi to provide GoTa terminals, and with industry application manufacturers to provide industry application solutions.

(5) Core technologies for trunking based on CDMA
    ZTE successfully resolved the key issues of implementation of  CDMA-based trunking services. The core technologies of GoTa consist of forward traffic channel sharing and speedy group call establishment. ZTE has registered over 30 core patents for GoTa at both domestic and overseas Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) organizations.

(6) 3G technical platform with smooth migration path
    CDMA2000 is the only solution for a smooth and seamless evolution to 3G, without changing the architecture, operating frequency and system equipment. At the same time, the terminals are backward compatible. With the advantages of GoTa, the risk for operators´ investment is low, and its maturity in the commercial applications has attracted more operators and equipment manufacturers.

(7) A full array of wireless coverage solutions
    The coverage quality of the GoTa trunking network is optimized by means of a full array of wireless network solutions, for example, macro BTS, micro BTS, remote Radio Frequency System (RFS), and repeaters. Wide area coverage solutions can be employed for remote areas, such as railways, highways and rivers. Super far coverage solutions can be employed for coastal areas, inland grasslands, deserts and forests with a sparse population, with maximum coverage up to 100 km. The in-depth coverage solutions can be employed in high-rise buildings of the large and medium-sized cities.

3 Professional Trunking Services and Value-Added Services
In addition to the trunking services such as group call, private call, talker preemption, late-join, and dynamic regrouping, the GoTa system develops new services to meet customers´ requirements, including talker queue, online user status query, call restriction, call forwarding, service priority and Don´t Disturb. Apart from the basic functions of professional dispatch agent and management stations, the GoTa system provides new functions such as short message group sending, status display and number management. It supports value-added services such as broadband data services, short message services (for example, cell broadcast, short message group sending and missed call notification), wireless location services, and wireless data industry application services.

3.1 Featured Trunking Services
(1) Talker Preemption
    During a call, a group member with higher priority can seize a call from a lower priority member.

(2) Talker application queue
    The system assigns queues for group members who wish to talk.

(3) User status query
    A user is allowed to query the online status of other members in the group with the terminal.

(4) Service priority
    The operator can rearrange the priorities of the services. The default service priority is that the trunking service takes precedence of the phone service, and that the phone service takes precedence of the data service.

(5) Call priority
    A higher priority caller can have precedence in acquiring system resources. The operator can set and change the call priority if required.

(6) Dynamic group management
    The administrator can achieve real time management on the group through his/her terminal, including adding/deleting a user, setting a user´s authority and setting the duration of call.

(7) Don´t Disturb
    When a user doesn´t want to join in a trunking call, he can set the trunking service to the "Don´t Disturb" status. In this status, with the exception of the call initiated by the dispatch station and the emergency call, the user´s terminal will not be included in trunking calls. The user can disable the "Don´t Disturb" status whenever necessary.

(8) Dispatch management station
    It is used to provide the Virtual Private Network (VPN) features to group users.

    The Group Management manages groups or users within the dispatch management station´s authority.
The Authority Management is used to manage the authorities of the individual users or groups. Individual users can be divided into multiple levels with corresponding authorities for different features. For example, the talker preemption feature is realized by the way of user´s authority.

(9) Dispatch control station
    It is used to fulfill command and dispatch. Through the dispatch station interface, the status of group members can be displayed in real time, so as to facilitate direct participation in command and dispatch.

(10) Dispatch station location
    ZTE´s trunking dispatch station combines the functions of dispatch and location. The dispatcher uses the location service module to observe real time location and tracking of the dispatched group/users when dispatching the group call or single call.

3.2 Data Services
The GoTa system supports the 14.4 kb/s circuit data services for G3 fax, low-speed Internet access, and 
low-speed data transmission.

    The GoTa system supports the 153 kb/s packet data services for mobile office, video on demand, online query, multimedia mails and other data applications. It also provides support for the feature of terminals´ "always online".

(1) Mobile Commerce
    The mobile commerce applications include e-commerce, mobile shopping, mobile online banking, online stock trading, foreign exchange transaction, insurance, financing and more.

 (2) Multimedia
    This service can provide entertainment and game related contents such as, Video on Demand/Audio on Demand (VoD/AoD), movie preview, MTV, and more.

(3) Video monitoring
    The system uses the broadband network to interconnect the scattered, individual video images captured onto a centralized site. This allows a unified monitoring, unified storage, unified management and resource sharing of video images. Combined with the wireless technology, it is convenient for mobile end users to achieve remote image control, and it is especially helpful for transportation, banking and household users.

(4) Streaming media
    It offers media on demand and broadcasting capabilities. Also, it provides public services such as information query, game download, entertainment and video on demand, as well as professional services for traffic monitoring, police security, insurance and supermarkets.

(5) WAP gateway
    It supports WAP access of the terminal, and may provide browse, download, mail and Push services.

(6) CDMA video phone
    It supports such functions as face-to-face communication, multi-party conference, roaming, dispatching and picture in picture. In addition, it supports the interworking with conferencing system.

(7) Wireless DDN
    With the Wireless DDN service, the enterprise can make use of the operator´s wireless network to form a transmission network for collection control. At the collection control point, a wireless Data Transfer Unit (DTU) or wireless router can be added to connect data with the enterprise collection control center via the wireless network.

(8) Mobile Office
    The enterprise can make use of the operator´s mobile network to form a secure and mobile VPN network for safe access to enterprise resources and applications anytime and anywhere.

3.3 Location Service
Each location positioning process, according to the location accuracy, terminal capability and environment conditions, may flexibly select location techniques based on Global Positioning System (GPS), CellID, Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and more. The system supports a variety of terminals including ordinary CDMA card or handset, GPS vehicle-mounted station and gpsOne handset. The ZXMLS E-star (Enterprise Star) system can be combined with the GoTa system to deliver location-based dispatch service of enterprise resources (including vehicle, staff, etc), and to provide open interfaces for SP/CP to conveniently deploy mass applications and enterprise applications. Therefore, it can meet the requirements of individuals and enterprise users.

4 GoTa Terminals
ZTE has numerous years of experience in R&D, design and production of the handset terminals. ZTE is one of the few enterprises in China with independent handset design, R&D and manufacturing capabilities. ZTE has also set up a comprehensive system from handsets R&D and manufacturing, to sales and services. At the same time, ZTE is actively cooperating with number of terminal manufacturers, for example, Guangzhou Soutec (Group) Technology, Xindeco Youth Net Communication, Guanri and Hengxin, to promote the development of GoTa trunking terminals and the industrialization of terminal products. The terminal products to be developed will include common GoTa handsets, "three-prevention handsets", vehicle-mounted terminals, Data Transfer Unit (DTU) devices and wireless modem cards.

5 GoTa Applications
The GoTa digital trunking system offers a wide range of applications to disaster relief, medical first aid, public transportation, mines, construction sites, hotels, public dispatching, conference, exhibition, enterprises, residential communities, public security, traffic police and small household groups. It can greatly improve work efficiency, and it is of great importance to national economic development, and public security and safety.

     By merging trunking services with broadband data services, the GoTa system is able to meet the diversified market demands and generate higher revenues for operators. The maturing industrialization of CDMA technology helps to lower the cost of GoTa terminals, to expand the application scope of the trunking services, and to satisfy the requirements for sustained development of operators´ networks.

    China Railcom and China Satcom have put ZTE´s GoTa products into commercial operation. Moreover, ZTE´s GoTa system has taken part in the trial or commercial operation of operators of over ten countries such as Russia, Norway, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt and Algeria.

Manuscript received: 2005-03-10