Integrated Digital Enhanced Network
Encyclopedia
Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN) is a mobile telecommunications technology, developed by Motorola
, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone
. iDEN places more users in a given spectral space, compared to analog cellular and two-way radio systems, by using speech compression and time division multiple access (TDMA)
.
) is licensed in blocks of 30 kHz channels, but each emission occupies 40 kHz, and is capable of serving the same number of subscribers per channel as iDEN. iDEN uses frequency-division duplexing to transmit and receive signals separately, with transmit and receive bands separated by 39 MHz, 45 MHz, or 48 MHz depending on the frequency band being used.
iDEN supports either three or six interconnect users (phone users) per channel, and six dispatch users (push-to-talk users) per channel, using time division multiple access
. The transmit and receive time slots assigned to each user are deliberately offset in time so that a single user never needs to transmit and receive at the same time. This eliminates the need for a duplexer at the mobile end, since time-division duplexing of RF section usage can be performed.
cards, similar to, but incompatible with GSM handsets' SIM cards. Early iDEN models such as the i1000plus stored all subscriber information inside the handset itself, requiring the data to be downloaded and transferred should the subscriber want to switch handsets. Newer handsets using SIM technology make upgrading or changing handsets as easy as swapping the SIM card. Four different sized SIM cards exist, "Endeavor" SIMs are used only with the i2000 without data, "Condor" SIMs are used with the two-digit models (i95cl, for example) using a SIM with less memory than the three-digit models (i730, i860), "Falcon" SIMs are used in the three-digit phones, (i530, i710) and will read the smaller SIM for backward compatibility, but some advanced features such as extra contact information is not supported by the older SIM cards. There is also the "Falcon 128" SIM, which is the same as the original "Falcon", but doubled in memory size, which is used on new 3 digit phones (i560, i930).
The interconnect-side of the iDEN network uses GSM signalling for call set-up and mobility management, with the Abis protocol stack modified to support iDEN's additional features. Motorola has named this modified stack 'Mobis'.
Each base site requires precise timing and location information to synchronize data across the network. To obtain and maintain this information each EBTS uses GPS satellites to receive a precise timing reference .
and SouthernLINC Wireless
, and several small public and private iDEN service providers. Numerous private systems exist, including one run by ARINC
, covering all major airports. Countries which have operating iDEN networks include Canada
, Argentina
, Peru
, Mexico
, Brazil
, Jordan
, Chile
, Israel
, Philippines
, Singapore
, Saudi Arabia
, Japan
, El Salvador
, China
and most recently India
and Guatemala
. Full Roaming is available between Sprint/Nextel in the US, Telus (Canada), and NII (Mexico and S. American markets) Data/Voice/Radio. For markets not controlled by NII Holdings, Inc., the roaming is for voice telephony only.
Motorola
is committed to support of iDEN technology despite the Sprint buyout of Nextel and Sprint/Nextel's supposed eventual conversion to Sprint's CDMA system. Nextel has stated they will support iDEN until at least 2010 and Sprint has recently released new iDEN handsets and maintained their iDEN holdings with the purchase of the Sprint CDMA affiliate network, iPCS, for $426 million, which Sprint was repeatedly engaged in lawsuits with over non-compete agreement violations stemming from the 2005 purchase of Nextel and the later purchase of Nextel Partners. Other iDEN carriers have no foreseeable expiration date for their services. The speed of iDEN's push-to-talk
(a.k.a dispatch) feature remains the fastest in the industry as compared to Sprint Qchat [Qualcomm PTT over EVDO Rev. A] and Verizon PTT [requiring at least 1XRTT data] in the US.
There is a smaller subset of the iDEN network called "Harmony Wireless Communications System". With Small System Release 7.0, it supports a maximum site count of 160 or 576 individual cells. Harmony has the ability to interface with a full iDEN system, and has the ability to support interconnect, dispatch, and packet data. SSR7.1 is the latest Harmony release.
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, which provides its users the benefits of a trunked radio and a cellular telephone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. iDEN places more users in a given spectral space, compared to analog cellular and two-way radio systems, by using speech compression and time division multiple access (TDMA)
Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
.
Operating frequencies
iDEN is designed and licensed to operate on individual frequencies that may not be contiguous. iDEN operates on 25 kHz channels, but only occupies 20 kHz in order to provide interference protection via guard bands. By comparison, TDMA Cellular (Digital AMPSDigital AMPS
IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS . It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada. D-AMPS is considered end-of-life, and existing networks have mostly been replaced by GSM/GPRS or CDMA2000...
) is licensed in blocks of 30 kHz channels, but each emission occupies 40 kHz, and is capable of serving the same number of subscribers per channel as iDEN. iDEN uses frequency-division duplexing to transmit and receive signals separately, with transmit and receive bands separated by 39 MHz, 45 MHz, or 48 MHz depending on the frequency band being used.
iDEN supports either three or six interconnect users (phone users) per channel, and six dispatch users (push-to-talk users) per channel, using time division multiple access
Time division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
. The transmit and receive time slots assigned to each user are deliberately offset in time so that a single user never needs to transmit and receive at the same time. This eliminates the need for a duplexer at the mobile end, since time-division duplexing of RF section usage can be performed.
Hardware
The first commercial iDEN handset was Motorola's L3000, which was released in 1994. Most modern iDEN handsets use SIMSubscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
cards, similar to, but incompatible with GSM handsets' SIM cards. Early iDEN models such as the i1000plus stored all subscriber information inside the handset itself, requiring the data to be downloaded and transferred should the subscriber want to switch handsets. Newer handsets using SIM technology make upgrading or changing handsets as easy as swapping the SIM card. Four different sized SIM cards exist, "Endeavor" SIMs are used only with the i2000 without data, "Condor" SIMs are used with the two-digit models (i95cl, for example) using a SIM with less memory than the three-digit models (i730, i860), "Falcon" SIMs are used in the three-digit phones, (i530, i710) and will read the smaller SIM for backward compatibility, but some advanced features such as extra contact information is not supported by the older SIM cards. There is also the "Falcon 128" SIM, which is the same as the original "Falcon", but doubled in memory size, which is used on new 3 digit phones (i560, i930).
Each base site requires precise timing and location information to synchronize data across the network. To obtain and maintain this information each EBTS uses GPS satellites to receive a precise timing reference .
Operators
In the United States of America there are two large public iDEN service providers: Sprint NextelSprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
and SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless
SouthernLINC Wireless is a regional iDEN carrier providing coverage in areas of the south east United States including southeast Mississippi, all Alabama, all Georgia, and the Florida panhandle...
, and several small public and private iDEN service providers. Numerous private systems exist, including one run by ARINC
ARINC
Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated , established in 1929, is a major provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for eight industries: aviation, airports, defense, government, healthcare, networks, security, and transportation...
, covering all major airports. Countries which have operating iDEN networks include Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and most recently India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. Full Roaming is available between Sprint/Nextel in the US, Telus (Canada), and NII (Mexico and S. American markets) Data/Voice/Radio. For markets not controlled by NII Holdings, Inc., the roaming is for voice telephony only.
Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
is committed to support of iDEN technology despite the Sprint buyout of Nextel and Sprint/Nextel's supposed eventual conversion to Sprint's CDMA system. Nextel has stated they will support iDEN until at least 2010 and Sprint has recently released new iDEN handsets and maintained their iDEN holdings with the purchase of the Sprint CDMA affiliate network, iPCS, for $426 million, which Sprint was repeatedly engaged in lawsuits with over non-compete agreement violations stemming from the 2005 purchase of Nextel and the later purchase of Nextel Partners. Other iDEN carriers have no foreseeable expiration date for their services. The speed of iDEN's push-to-talk
MOTO Talk
MOTO Talk is a feature on some Motorola iDEN cellular phone handsets which allows users to make short-range 'push-to-talk' calls to other such handsets without being on the iDEN network. This feature goes by different names on iDEN service providers. In the US, Nextel calls it 'DirectTalk' and...
(a.k.a dispatch) feature remains the fastest in the industry as compared to Sprint Qchat [Qualcomm PTT over EVDO Rev. A] and Verizon PTT [requiring at least 1XRTT data] in the US.
There is a smaller subset of the iDEN network called "Harmony Wireless Communications System". With Small System Release 7.0, it supports a maximum site count of 160 or 576 individual cells. Harmony has the ability to interface with a full iDEN system, and has the ability to support interconnect, dispatch, and packet data. SSR7.1 is the latest Harmony release.
Countries operating iDEN networks
| Company Name | Country | Push To Talk Name |
|---|---|---|
| Airtel Wireless Ltd. |  Calgary, Alberta, Ca |
Churp |
| Fleetcom Inc. | Toronto, Ontario, Ca |
Push-to-Talk |
| Airpeak |  United States |
Talk Direct |
| ARINC | United States |
|
| Avantel |  Colombia |
Comunicación Inmediata |
| Boost Mobile Boost Mobile Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks... |
United States |
Chirp |
| Bravo Telecom Bravo Telecom BRAVO-TELECOM is a digital radio trunking operator in Russia under a B.O.T agreement with the incumbent operator STC. It was launched in third quarter of 2005 using Motorola's proprietary iDEN technology operating on the SMR-800 frequency band.... |
 Saudi Arabia |
Push To Talk |
| Procall Pvt. Ltd. |  India |
Digital Push To Talk |
| China Satcom Guomai Comm Co. L |  China |
|
| Iconnect | China Hong Kong(SAR) |
|
| Connect Net | United States |
|
| GRID Communications |  Singapore |
Push To Talk |
| Iconnect |  Guam |
iConnect PTT |
| Intelfon |  El Salvador |
RED |
| Intelfon |  Guatemala |
RED |
| Mirs |  Israel |
Walkie-Talkie |
| Monttcashire |  Ecuador |
|
| NEXNET |  Japan |
|
| Spacedata | United States |
|
| Sprint Nextel Sprint Nextel Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility... |
United States |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Nextel Argentina |  Argentina |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Nextel Brazil |  Brazil |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Nextel Chile |  Chile |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Nextel Mexico |  Mexico |
Conexión Directa Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Nextel Peru |  Peru |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Vona | Brazil |
Radio Despacho |
| Next Mobile |  Philippines |
Walkie-Talkie |
| Proxtel Wireless |  Puerto Rico |
Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
| Shenzhen Yunliantong Comm Service | China |
|
| KT Powertel |  South Korea |
|
| SouthernLINC Wireless SouthernLINC Wireless SouthernLINC Wireless is a regional iDEN carrier providing coverage in areas of the south east United States including southeast Mississippi, all Alabama, all Georgia, and the Florida panhandle... |
United States |
InstantLINC |
| Telus TELUS Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver... |
Canada |
Mike Mike (cellular network) Mike is a Canadian mobile phone and push-to-talk network, launched in 1996 using the proprietary iDEN platform from Motorola. The network was initially launched by Clearnet in the Windsor to Québec corridor, while its roll-out in western Canada followed in 1997... |
| Inquam Telecom |  Morocco |
|
| XPress XPress Telecom XPress Telecom is a wireless telecommunication operator in Jordan. It holds a digital trunking radio system license from the country's telecommunication regulatory body, the TRC; the technology used is Motorola's proprietary iDEN technology operated on the SMR-800 frequency band.Its offering is... |
 Jordan |
XPress Direct Connect Direct connect Direct connect may refer to:* Direct Connect , a file sharing client and protocol* A protocol used by the program AOL Instant Messenger* A push-to-talk system similar to a walkie-talkie, first marketed by Sprint Nextel... |
See also
- Motorola iDEN phone models
- Push to Talk over Cellular
- Radio Service SoftwareRadio Service SoftwareRadio Service Software is a software package used to program commercial Motorola two-way radios and cellular telephones. An update of RSS is CPS, a Windows-based version of the package used for some of Motorola's newer radio models.-Licensing:...
- WiDENWiDENWideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, or WiDEN, is a software upgrade developed by Motorola for its iDEN enhanced specialized mobile radio wireless telephony protocol. WiDEN allows compatible subscriber units to communicate across four 25 kHz channels combined, for up to 100 kbit/s...