The interworking approach for narrowband access to ATM transport-based multiservices mobile networks

There has been an overwhelming interest in wireless ATM. In this article several key issues of mobile ATM, in the context of provision of multiservices by narrowband cellular systems, are examined. Brief reviews of GSM, DECT, and UMTS systems are presented to clarify their capability of catering for multiservices. Generic architectures of ATM-based wireless systems are presented next to emphasize that, while mobile ATM is certainly technically feasible, due to a host of factors it is also wasteful and cumbersome. Although we consider mainly narrowband systems in this article, some of the issues discussed here may prove important in designing broadband systems too. Examples of interworked scenarios of ATM transport and DECT access are presented in the belief that interworking will provide both better flexibility and bandwidth efficiency