Ubuntu 3G Networking Experience (Intrepid Spec)

• Blueprint: 3g-networking-intrepid

• Drafter: AlexanderSack

• Target: Intrepid and beyond

Use Cases

• Martin frequently travels for business reasons and is regularly at places that don't have public wifi. He still needs to be online and uses 3G services to get connected. When he starts his laptop he can use network manager to dial up and can happily use online services like web and email.
• Tony owns a mobile Internet device with 3G support. He frequently accesses his internet from places with no wifi, but can happily do so using 3G services through the integrated hardware.
• Chris has a 3G flatrate and wants as much online as possible. He configures the 3G connection associated with his flatrate subscription for auto connect and can happily roam to and from 3G networking.

Tasks

More or less sorted by priority (highest priority first)

• Ship network manager 0.7 on the desktop and get as many 3G options fixed; NM 0.7 already has basic support for CDMA and GSM connections, however, work might still be required to polish both the UI and the daemon. (essential)
• Assemble a list of frequently used hardware and 3G providers in the markets with the highest 3G penetration. For this we need to identify the markets with the highest 3G penetration as well as the hardware/service-providers commonly used in those markets. (important)
• Get most important hardware and subscriptions early in the release cycle to ensure that as many options as possible can be verified and get fixed. (mostly-essential)
• Unlocking devices appears to be a special case that will need be taken care of once we can test the various options presented above. (important)
• Take into account, that there are multiple classes for client devices (like PCMCIA or USB modem-like devices, mobile phones connected via USB, mobile phones connected via Bluetooth), and all of them are widely used. (important)
• Work on advanced but maybe required features: like "enable roaming for 3G subscriptions" (see Use Cases) and advanced power-saving logics important for UME. This might require some work, but most likely would be a welcome upstream contribution. (nice-to-have)
• Enable Hardware QA on the Ubuntu QA website. At this stage the hardware tester should ask the user just about his general experience with the given card. At some later points more automated tests could be run or data auto gathered (nice-to-have).

Implementation Notes

• 3G Market Information (as of July 2008) - 228 Operators in 94 Countries

  • WCDMA Subscribers Growth Rate:
    • Eastern Europe: 204%
    • Africa: 191%
    • Middle East: 175%
    • North America: 166%
    • APAC: 63%
    • Western Europe: 57%
    HSPA Statistics:
    • HSDPA
      • 207 Commercial Operators:
        • APAC: 44
        • Europe: 110
        • MEA: 26
        • Americas-Caribbean: 27
    • HSUPA
      • 51 Commercial Operators:
        • APAC: 7
        • Europe: 38
        • MEA: 4
        • Americas-Caribbean: 2
    There are 637 HSDPA devices by 110 Suppliers currently in the market, of which the distribution is:
    • 48.8% Cellphones/UMPCs/PMPs/Cameras (311)
    • 41.8% Notebooks/Modems (266)
    • 9.4% Wireless Routers (60)

    Data Compiled From: Internet Search, 3G World Congress, GSACOM

• (to be filled out while performing the tasks above)

• See NetworkManager/Hardware/3G