Personal Digital Cellular
Encyclopedia
Personal Digital Cellular (PDC) is a 2G
mobile
telecommunications standard developed and used exclusively in Japan
.
After a peak of nearly 80 million subscribers to PDC, it had 46 million subscribers in December 2005, and is slowly being phased out in favor of 3G technologies like W-CDMA
and CDMA2000
. At the end of October 2008, the count had dwindled down to 10.4 million subscribers.
. The standard was defined by the RCR
(later became ARIB
) in April 1991, and NTT DoCoMo
launched its Digital mova service in March 1993. PDC uses 25 kHz carrier, pi/4-DQPSK modulation with 3-timeslot 11.2 kbit/s (full-rate) or 6-timeslot 5.6 kbit/s (half-rate) voice codec
s.
PDC is implemented in the 800 MHz (downlink 810–888 MHz, uplink 893–958 MHz), and 1.5 GHz (downlink 1477–1501 MHz, uplink 1429–1453 MHz) bands. The air interface is defined in RCR STD-27 and the core network MAP by JJ-70.10. NEC and Ericsson
are the major network equipment manufacturers.
The services include voice (full and half-rate), supplementary services (call waiting, voice mail, three-way calling, call forwarding, and so on), data service (up to 9.6 kbit/s CSD
), and packet-switched wireless data (up to 28.8 kbit/s PDC-P). Voice codecs are PDC-EFR
and PDC-HR
.
Compared to GSM, PDC's weak broadcast strength allows small, portable phones with light batteries at the expense of substandard voice quality and problems maintaining the connection, particularly in enclosed spaces like elevators.
2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
mobile
Mobile computing
Mobile computing is a form of human–computer interaction by which a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage. Mobile computing has three aspects: mobile communication, mobile hardware, and mobile software...
telecommunications standard developed and used exclusively in 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...
.
After a peak of nearly 80 million subscribers to PDC, it had 46 million subscribers in December 2005, and is slowly being phased out in favor of 3G technologies like W-CDMA
W-CDMA
W-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
and CDMA2000
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
. At the end of October 2008, the count had dwindled down to 10.4 million subscribers.
Technical overview
Like D-AMPS and GSM, PDC uses TDMATime 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 standard was defined by the RCR
Arib
Arib is a town in northern Algeria....
(later became ARIB
Arib
Arib is a town in northern Algeria....
) in April 1991, and NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
launched its Digital mova service in March 1993. PDC uses 25 kHz carrier, pi/4-DQPSK modulation with 3-timeslot 11.2 kbit/s (full-rate) or 6-timeslot 5.6 kbit/s (half-rate) voice codec
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
s.
PDC is implemented in the 800 MHz (downlink 810–888 MHz, uplink 893–958 MHz), and 1.5 GHz (downlink 1477–1501 MHz, uplink 1429–1453 MHz) bands. The air interface is defined in RCR STD-27 and the core network MAP by JJ-70.10. NEC and Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
are the major network equipment manufacturers.
The services include voice (full and half-rate), supplementary services (call waiting, voice mail, three-way calling, call forwarding, and so on), data service (up to 9.6 kbit/s CSD
CSD
CSD may refer to:*Cali Swag District*California School for the Deaf*Cambridge Structural Database*Canonical signed digit*Canteen Stores Department *Canteen Stores Department *Carbonated Soft Drink*Cat scratch disease...
), and packet-switched wireless data (up to 28.8 kbit/s PDC-P). Voice codecs are PDC-EFR
PDC-EFR
PDC Enhanced Full Rate is a speech coding standardthat was developed by ARIB in Japan and used in PDC mobile networks in Japan. It operatates with a bit-rate of 6.7 kbit/s and is based on VSELP.The PDC-EFR is compatible with the AMR mode AMR_6.70....
and PDC-HR
PDC-HR
PDC Half Rate is a speech coding standardthat was developed by ARIB in Japan and used in PDC mobile networks in Japan. It operatates with a bit-rate of 3.45 kbit/s and is based on Pitch Synchronous Innovation CELP.-See also:* AMR* PDC* PDC-EFR...
.
Compared to GSM, PDC's weak broadcast strength allows small, portable phones with light batteries at the expense of substandard voice quality and problems maintaining the connection, particularly in enclosed spaces like elevators.
Operators of PDC service
- NTT DoCoMoNTT DoCoMois the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
(mova brand) - SoftBank Mobile (SoftBank 6-2 brand): Service terminated on March 31, 2010
- KDDIKDDIis a Japanese telecommunications operator formed in October 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp., KDD Corp., and IDO Corp. It has its headquarters in the Garden Air Tower in Iidabashi, Chiyoda, Tokyo....
- auAu (mobile phone operator), or au by KDDI, is a mobile phone brand in Japan marketed by KDDI Corporation in the main islands of Japan and Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa.-Naming:...
: PDC service terminated on March 31, 2003 - TU-KA: Service terminated on March 31, 2008
- au
Standardization organizations
- Association of Radio Industries and BusinessesAssociation of Radio Industries and BusinessesThe Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, commonly known as ARIB , is a standardization organization in Japan. ARIB is designated as the center of promotion of the efficient use of the radio spectrum and designated frequency change support agency...
(ARIB) - Telecommunication Technology CommitteeTelecommunication Technology CommitteeThe Telecommunication Technology Committee was established in 1985. This standardization organization is authorized by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to conduct research and to develop and promote standards for telecommunications in Japan.The TTC is a founding partner...
(TTC)