Motorola Lands Equipment, Networking Deals with U.S., Nextel
dailynews.yahoo.com
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...Nextel System Upgrade
In the private sector, Motorola will upgrade its iDEN wireless network for Nextel, which Nextel said will double the network's voice capacity.
Nextel said this capacity improvement, in addition to development of low-cost, entry-level iDEN handsets by Motorola, will allow it to expand its existing markets.
Cost Savings Sought
"This allows us to double the number of people we can serve on the same network, and we can manage increased capacity without adding infrastructure," Nextel spokesperson Audrey Schaefer told Wireless NewsFactor. "With just a software change, we should receive significant cost savings." Increased voice capacity will be available early in 2003, she said.
In addition to the supporting infrastructure, Motorola produces iDEN wireless phones, which feature "always-on" Internet access, text messaging and a two-way radio function, for Nextel.
Sticking With What Works
Nextel also said it is preparing to significantly enhance application performance on the nation's first IP packet-based nationwide wireless data network. Data transmission speeds of up to 60 to 70 kilobits per second (kbps) are expected for use with general office applications when the company rolls out data compression technology in 2002.
"The two most important factors driving carriers to 3G technology are to increase voice capacity and deliver packet data service at acceptable speeds," said Tim Donahue, president and chief executive of Nextel. "After careful consideration of our various technology and strategic options, Nextel has decided to go forward with enhancements to its existing iDEN network."
With this decision, Nextel has signaled that it likely will not adopt the CDMA (news - web sites) 1X wireless standard based on the CDMA (code division multiple access) digital wireless platform offered by Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM - news).
Qualcomm earlier this week said it is developing wireless network technology that will improve voice capacity above and beyond the nearly twofold improvement provided by 3G (third generation) CDMA2000 1X systems. |
