VINOD SOOD Vice President &Head of Engineering Hughes Software Systems, India

It gives me great pleasure to write the foreword of the book 3G Networks: Architecture,Protocols and Procedures, a comprehensive text for engineers and wireless networkingprofessionals. While considerable system development efforts are currently underwayin the 3G arena, especially for the UMTS networks based on 3GPP specifications, theavailable literature is inadequate in terms of ease of understanding, comprehensivenessand presentation. As a leader in creating communication software forwireless networks, we at Hughes Software Systems (HSS) are constantly ramping upengineers to work on this emerging technology. We have always felt the need for agreater variety of introductory and reference reading material. This book fills boththese requirements very well. I am sure that this will find a place on the bookshelves ofmany professionals.

The strength of this book is its organization, procedural descriptions and detailedillustrations. Spanning across topics such as UMTS Network Architecture (includingAccess Network and Core Network), Protocols (including RRC, NBAP, RANAP,MM/GMM, MAP and GTP), Procedures (including UTRAN procedures, MobilityManagement, Call/Session Handling and Security Management), and Services (includingSupplementary Services and Value-Added Services), the book touches almostevery imaginable aspect of a 3G network. The coverage of contemporary topics such asIP Multimedia Sub-system (IMS) and SIGTRAN are also noteworthy. Appendix Aproviding the status of deployment of a 3G UMTS Network, complements the theoryand procedural description. Similarly, the brief introduction of 4G Networks inAppendix B sets the tone for the tomorrow that we are all working towards. Possibly,with a greater emphasis on 3G services in the next edition, this book will be titled3G Networks: Architecture, Protocols, Procedures and Services.

I congratulate my colleagues at HSS, who through their deep understanding of thesubject and comprehensive treatment have given the book its unique flavor. I am quitehopeful that this book will be a valuable guide to people working on 3G UMTSnetworks, and anyone who wants a view of what the future holds.