An Introduction

I have always been fond of writing but for some reason I have never started a blog site. Part of the reason I suppose is the nature and style of my writing. Of the former, I usually write about my travels which generally is done when I am on the road, waiting for a bus or stuck somewhere with rather unexpected delays. I usually do not have the patience to transfer such notes from scrapbooks to the computer. They have been largely unpublished and unread. Of the latter, my style of writing is rather formal, perhaps outdated and certainly unpopular with present day readers. Readers today like colloquial expressions and bursty modes of expression. They like a identifiable image of their everyday lives and popular culture. They do not want a textbook.

While I shall try to adapt my writing style to the taste of readers, the easier option is to write about something for which formalism and textbook style writing is apt. The intent of this blog is to share my thoughts about wireless technologies that are shaping the way we live. While most of the blog will be technical, there will occasionally be articles free of technical jargon that I hope will appeal to the general public. To give credibility to my notes, it will be fit to tell you a little bit of my background and experience.

I have been in the field of wireless protocol engineering for ten years. I started working on DECT at the National University of Singapore. It was an R&D project in which I used the PHY layer of DECT and designed a different non-standard MAC layer to implement an ad hoc network. I then moved on to UMTS protocol stack development with ST Microelectronics in Singapore. I worked on the implementation of UE-RRC. In addition to development, I was deeply involved in Access Stratum integration and protocol optimization. I continued with ST Microelectronics to work on a GPRS protocol stack acquired from Alcatel. I maintained the RLC/MAC layers of this stack and made some feature additions to it. From Singapore, I moved on to the UK to join Altran Technologies. This was my first foray into the area of consultancy. Satisfying customers has been one of the biggest challenges in the face of aggressive and changing requirements. Altran gave me the opportunity to work on two reasonably good projects. I worked first with Anite, making important enhancements to their Standalone Simulator (SAS). This involved both UTRAN and GERAN. It required me to exercise all phases of a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). At Anritsu, I was involved in the maintenance and enhancement of their Protocol Test System (PTS). My work involved only UTRAN covering HSDPA, HSUPA and MBMS. Design changes, code refactoring or software optimizations that were made to the framework were done with good teamwork. Part of my responsibility in both these organizations was to train their engineers in the details of RRC (UMTS) and RLC/MAC (GPRS). I am currently in India working as an independent Telecoms Consultant.

I shall soon start posting about wireless protocols, market trends, software coding practices, the future, the past and anything else relevant to the world of wireless. Do visit again. I look forward to your unreserved comments. Part of the motivation for this blog is to clarify doubts and fill gaps in my own knowledge which I hope readers will fulfill. Here’s a final summary of my profile:

Experience

Task Planning	Prioritized tasks. Identified sub-tasks and allocated them to team members. Captured requirements in detail and estimated resources with certain margins.
Technical Consulting	Provided quick and efficient response to technical queries from customers. Communicated product roadmaps to customers. Clarified customer requirements.
Software Optimization	Applied known software metrics. Identified bottlenecks and suggested changes. Facilitated formulation of coding guidelines.
Process Automation	Introduced time-saving tools for development teams. Automated routine processes. Initiated these measures and convinced management of the long-term benefits.
Feature Integration	Performed early on-site integration of features with customers. Resolved critical issues in consultation with internal and external teams.
Design & Development	Consulted teams to define module interfaces. Designed sub-systems using object-oriented methodologies and common design patterns. Developed many protocols.
Testing	Formulated test strategies based on requirements. Designed modular test procedures. Measured test coverage. Performed debugging and troubleshooting.
Training	Prepared technical training material. Delivered technical and non-technical trainings. Facilitated trainings with expert trainers. Mentored junior engineers.

Projects

Feb 06	–	Aug 07	Protocol Test System (Engineering & Consultancy); Anritsu Limited, Luton, UK
Jan 06	–	Jan 06	Genesis Test Bed; 3 UK, Maidenhead, UK
Oct 05	–	Jan 06	GERAN Enhancements to Standalone Simulator; Anite Telecoms Ltd, UK
Aug 04	–	Sep 05	UTRAN Enhancements to Standalone Simulator; Anite Telecoms Ltd, UK
Feb 03	–	Jul 04	Enhancement of UE GPRS Protocol Stack; STMicroelectronics, Singapore
Feb 02	–	Jan 03	Optimisation of UE UMTS Protocol Stack; STMicroelectronics, Singapore
Nov 01	–	Jan 02	Programming PDA Command Engine; STMicroelectronics, Singapore
Jan 00	–	Oct 01	Development of UE UMTS Protocol Stack; STMicroelectronics, Singapore
Jul 97	–	Dec 99	Video over Mobile Ad-hoc Networks; National University of Singapore

Technical Skills

Protocols & Features	UMTS-FDD (RRC, RLC, MAC), GSM, GPRS (RLC/MAC), 802.11, DECT (MAC), TETRA, HSDPA, HSUPA, MBMS, UMTS Security, BMC, NACC.
Languages	SDL, TTCN, ASN.1, UML, C, C++, STL, BOOST, Java, VBScript, shell scripting, sed, awk, perl, php, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, Joomla!
Tools	Telelogic Tau, Armulator, ClearCase, Nethawk, some In-Circuit Emulators, MSVC++, MS Office, Borland Builder, Visual Source Safe, CVS, Ethereal, gdb, ddd, Solaris Debuggers and Profilers.
Platforms/OS	Unix, Posix, Windows, Linux, ARM, VxWorks, Symbian EPOC.

Education

Mar 02, M.Eng.	Electrical: Communications; National University of Singapore.
Jul 97, B.Eng. (Hons)	Electrical: 2nd Upper Class: Communications; National University of Singapore.