Release 5 to the 3G Rescue

High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
A new modulation and transmission scheduling technique that boosts downlink data rates to 10 Mbit/s [ed. note: we’ll believe that when we see it]. However, even though lots of folk are getting excited about this (see DoCoMo Cranks Up 3G), the commercial timeline is uncertain.

Connection of RAN Nodes to Multiple Core Network Nodes
Adds additional routing capabilities to the Radio Network Controller (RNC) so that it can load-balance among multiple MSCs (Mobile Switching Centers) or SGSNs (Serving Gateway Support Nodes). This should make more efficient use of network equipment and therefore save carriers money.

IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) Phase I
“A feature to support applications involving multiple media components per session in such a way that the network is able to dissociate different flows with potentially different QOS characteristics associated to the multimedia session,” says the 3GPP.

It’s far from clear what exactly this will mean in practice [ed. note: or in English!], but push-to-talk is one application that’s being touted (see Vendors Push Carrier Upgradesand Giants Complete PTT Spec). The main drawback is that IMS specifies the use of IPv6 (see Poll Shows Divisions Over IPv6) and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) clients on the handsets. Don’t hold your breath.

IP in the UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network)
Introduces the ability for operators to use IP transport in place of ATM among base station, RNC, SGSN and MSC. This doesn’t affect the end-user in anyway but could lower carriers' operational costs. Most likely to be used to connect heavy-traffic base stations

Wideband Adaptative Multi Rate Codec
A new wideband speech codec that uses 7 KHz of bandwidth instead of the narrowband 3.4 KHz used today. The 3GPP says it will bring speech quality exceeding that of (narrowband) wireline to 3G systems.