Network

In line with our company’s motto – Ideas for Life – we strive to meet the demands for superior communications technology, enhancing the lives of people living in an increasingly connected world. We focus on the research and development of essential network technologies leading to the development of standardized solutions suitable for mass-market deployment.

The solutions we develop are targeted at providing seamless network connectivity, mobility and high quality AV delivery over PANs, LANs and WANs. We are a small, yet diverse team, with research activities spanning across layers 1 to 3 & 7 of the OSI model. Our main areas of focus include:

· Mobile sub-networking including mobile WPANs.

· QoS control and signaling for wired and wireless networks.

· High-rate wireless access technologies based on multi-antenna (MIMO) architectures.

· Secured adhoc network formation; and network node access control.

 

In the course of our work, we have created a sizeable wealth of intellectual property, thereby enabling the company to protect its future markets in the areas of wired and wireless networks. As a part of our R&D activities, staff members actively contribute to international standardization bodies such as IETF, IEEE802 and 3GPP, as well as industry forums such as WiFi and DLNA. Apart from promoting our work to industry, we also publish our results in international conferences.

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4G Mobile Communication

Network Team has been long involved in the research, development, and standardization of solutions to achieve ubiquitous mobile communication.  The focus of our work is on the essential technologies that enable seamless network connectivity and high quality AV transport over heterogeneous access networks. The research spans different layer of the OSI model that includes:

In the course of our work, the team has built up strategic intellectual properties that protect Panasonic for the current business and the introduction of new products and services in mobile networking. As part of the R&D activities, members of the team are also strongly involved and actively contributing to the international standardizations, such as IETF, IEEE802 and 3GPP.
In view of the business trend, the team is currently focusing on the research and standardization of 3GPP SAE (System Architecture Evolution) and LTE (Long Term Evolution). This includes the harmonization of the access to the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) service through various 3GPP access technologies, e.g. LTE, UMTS, GERAN, and non-3GPP access, e.g. WLAN, WiMAX, 3GPP2, etc. IP based mobility management solutions like PMIP (Proxy Mobile IP) and DSMIP (Dual Stack Mobile IP) have been introduced to achieve efficiency and extended features. With strong backgrounds in the related IETF groups, the team is leading the work in 3GPP community, especially on the aspects of multiple accesses and handover control.  Architecture below shows the system that makes use of the technologies in the 3GPP networks.

 

3GPP SAE architecture that supports both 3GPP and non-3GPP access (3GPP TS23.402)

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On the access network side, the team is focusing on the RRC (Radio Resource Control) of the LTE technology. This concerns the communication control and resource allocation for the radio bearers between the eNB (evolved Node B) and the UE (User Equipment). With the new development, the team is also working on the H(e)NB (Home Node B and eNB) architecture. The H(e)NB allows the operator to place the access base station inside the consumers’ premises. This allows the mobile operator to reduce their initial launch cost for the new technologies like LTE, and provides the opportunities for new services like LIPA (Local IP Access to home based Network and Internet). H(e)NB has been a major feature for 3GPP Rel-9 and beyond. Architecture diagram below illustrated how the eNB and H(e)NB connects to the EPC.

 

3GPP LTE eNB and HeNB connected to the EPC (3GPP TS36.300)

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The Network Team has been involved in all stages of the work in 3GPP standardization, including the Stage 1 Service Requirement work that is carried out in SA1, Stage 2 System Architecture Definition carried out in SA2, Stage 3 Protocol and Procedure Specification carried out in CT1 and RAN2, and testing specification carried out in RAN5. With the full involvement and commitment, the team is able to accuratly grasp the technology trend and develops corresponding solution ahead of time.