A friend from Germany introduced me to an upcoming trend in the telecommunication industry, that of an Ambient Network. In an increasingly mobile world, we have a lot of networks around us. A network between two phones, a network between a phone and a computer, a network between two computers etc.

An Ambeint Network is basically a network integration solution to the modern-day problems of switching from one network to the other in order to keep in contact with the outside world. This project aims to develop a network software-driven infrastructure that will run on top of all current or future network physical infrastructures to provide a way for devices to connect to each other, and through each other to the outside world.

If you still have’nt grasped what it is about, let’s take this example. I often use my GPRS/EDGE enabled cell phone to connect to the internet using my laptop which has a bluetooth connection. This is how I connect:

Laptop -> ( via Bluetooth) -> Mobile -> (via GPRS/EDGE) -> Mobile phone network

My laptop also has WLAN/WiFi connectivity options available. The GPRS/EDGE option is definitely very expensive as compared to WLAN which is normally free of cost.

Suppose that I am ‘on-the-go’ and pass into an area where WLAN is available, would’nt it be great that my bluetooth connection (which uses my phone’s GPRS/EDGE connection to connect to the internet) seamlessly transfers the connection to the WLAN/WiFi, saving me a lot of money? And again, when I move out of the WLAN/WiFi coverage area, my internet connection gets back to my expensive but necessary EDGE/GPRS connection! (If at all it is that necessary!)

This is precisely what the Ambient Network Project aims at providing. Seamless integration of multiple networks in our use – using a software-driven infrastructure which switches easily between the various available networking options.

A little about the project, The Ambient Network Project is another collaborative project under the European Union’s 6th Framework Program that investigates future communication systems beyond today’s fixed and 3rd generation (3G) mobile networks.

The Ambient Network Project website describes the project as:

“In the telecommunications world of future, there will be many different networks. To provide users with the services they want irrespective of their location, these networks have to cooperate. In a highly mobile environment, this network cooperation will have to be established ‘on the fly’. The Ambient Networks project is about making this fast network cooperation a reality. Through R&D, co-funded by the EU through the 6th Framework Programme, the Ambient Network project will ensure that the European telecommunications industry is prepared for the future.”

The concept is beautifully elaborated in a few lines as:

“Next generation communication networks will be characterized by the coexistence of multiple technologies and user devices in an integrated fashion. The increasing number of devices owned by a single user will lead to a new communication paradigm: users owning multiple devices that form cooperative networks, and networks of different users that communicate with each other, e.g., acquiring Internet access through each other. In this communication scenario no user intervention should be required and technology should seamlessly adapt to the user’s context, preferences, and needs.”

Not that I’m a big businessman or anything, I just have this craze of being online and on-the-go! So yeah, it is a similar situation in which I have personally found myself on a number of occasions what the Ambient Network project aims at easing out. It is definitely a hassle disconnecting your existing connection and establishing your presence with the new, cheaper and definitely faster available option.

I’d like to mention here again that it is a SOFTWARE-DRIVEN infrastructure that an ambient network provides.

Still in its early days, a lot of Research and Development work is being carried out on the project. It is definitely one prospect I would like to explore more in terms of selecting my Final Year Project for my Telecommunication Engineering degree.

Hope you’re not bored by now? I’m really not used to writing on techié stuff but its fun – I am getting to terms with it! :D