Chapter 4.2 The motives behind the 3G evolution Erik Dahlman, Stefan Parkvall, Johan Skold and Per Beming Before entering into a detailed discussion on technologies replaced by new mobile-communication technologies. being used or considered for the evolution of 3G mobile Similarly, the technical advancement in digital processors communication, it is important to understand the moti- enables new and more powerful systems that not only can vation for this evolution: that is, understanding the provide the new services, but also can provide the underlying driving forces. This chapter will try to existing successful services better and at a lower cost highlight some of the driving forces giving the reader an than the dominant mobile-communication technologies understanding of where the technical requirements and of today. Thus, the key drivers are: solutions are coming from. staying competitive; services (better provisioning of old services as well as 4.2.1 Driving forces provisioning of new services); cost (more cost-efficient provisioning of old services A key factor for success in any business is to un- as well as cost-effective provisioning of new derstand the forces that will drive the business in services). the future. This is in particular true for the mobile- The technology advancement is necessary to provide communication industry, where the rapid growth of the new and more advanced services at a reasonable cost as number of subscribers and the global presence of the well as to provide existing services in a better and more technologies have attracted several new players that cost-efficient way. want to be successful. Both new operators and new vendors try to compete with the existing operators and 4.2.1.1 Technology advancements vendors by adopting new technologies and standards to provide new and existing services better and at a lower Technology advancements in many areas make it possible cost than earlier systems. The existing operators and to build devices that were not possible 20, 10, or even vendors w