Stefano wrote:
>>Have any UMTS networks enabled Cell Broadcast?
>
> What is it?
Strictly one-way SMS messaging broadcast to all receivers
listening on predefined cell broadcast channels.
"The CBS service is analogous to the Teletex service offered on
television, in that like Teletex, it permits a number of
unacknowledged general CBS messages to be broadcast to all
receivers within a particular region. CBS messages are
broadcast to defined geographical areas known as cell broadcast
areas. These areas may comprise of one or more cells, or may
comprise the entire [network]. Individual CBS messages will be
assigned their own geographical coverage areas by mutual
agreement between the information provider and the PLMN
operator." (3GPP 23.041).
Examples from 3GPP 23.041 show its possible use for all sorts of
things from local taxi numbers to local and general news, stock
exchange quotes, weather, sports results, any number of
categories of goods for sale, and much more.
It's most commonly used for broadcasting GSM "area info" on
channel 50. This usually takes the form of the name of the
suburb or town where the BTS is located. This can be vert
useful for knowing which state or country the serving cell is
in, in case there are pricing differences because of time zones
or location.
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_Broadcast
John
Cell Broadcast
Linear Mode
