"you seem to have some misunderstanding of the compatibility issues. The iDEN air interface uses TDMA equipment to transmit and receive the digital signals between the base stations and the numerous handsets that are on at any given time. This equipment is not compatible with any CDMA based air-interface."
That's a no brainer. What you forgot to add was the word "existing" to the last sentence. You assume that 3G-CDMA will only work on CDMA systems. You assume too much. 3G, which is STILL VAPORWARE, will somehow overlay all existing digital technologies. If you think that ERICY made a deal with QCOM that required Europe to switch to existing CDMA, or that requires Europe to trash its GSM system then you've been smoking something. 3G will fit on their existing GSM technologies. Have you so soon forgotten that at one point Europe threatened to leave QCOM and CDMA out of the 3G standard compatibility issue? And, more pertinent to this discussion, MOT will have a 3G solution for iDEN. Further, if NXTL gets NW's licenses then MOT will provide an iDEN solution for 1800 mhz. Obviously MOT will also have to provide a dual phone capacity for "roaming" from NXTL's hoped-for 1800 mhz to NXTL's 800 mhz and 900 mhz. As we both know, there will be no roaming for NXTL users for outside the NXTL system.
"This equipment is not compatible with any CDMA based air-interface. That means that if Nextel deploys a 3G CDMA system of any type, then;" and then you list a series of doomsday senarios.
Again you forgot to add "existing" to "any CDMA based air-interface." It's thinking like the above that allowed NXTL to get such a huge lead in the high end market. I like your thinking because when it finally dawns on you and those who think like you, NXTL's share price will be far north of here. You and your fellow thinkers will then drive the stock price even higher into the stratosphere.
Let me add that CDMA currently does not have a push-to-talk answer to iDEN's DC. Until they do, they are locked out of NXTL's market. Even when they do have an answer, CDMA telcos will have to spend gazillion$ to install. ADVANTAGE NEXTEL. Meanwhile NXTL will have a 3G application that will do what the competition does with data.
Feel free to disagree with me now but remember to return to this thread several years from now and admit that you were wrong.
"You can't argue technology doesn't matter."
I didn't and, in fact, I would argue that technology does matter but only to the extent that it's exclusive to a particular wireless telco. Unique technology is why iDEN's DC is winning the high end game. Have you noticed the difference between Sprint PCS's arpu and NXTL's? FYI it's $20 and that didn't happen by accident. On CDMA's capacity advantage, it's not a factor for another 3-5 years, if then. I believe that MOT is currently working on a 6:1 cellular solution for iDEN which would give NXTL a theoretical voice capacity that would carry them to 2010.
Users don't care whether they are using CDMA, TDMA, GSM, iDEN or analog system. But they do care about the features. As long as NXTL has the DC advantage, they will be the ONLY digital wireless telco with a differentiating feature. Except for the DC advantage, the battle for wireless customers will be won by the telco with the best marketing effort.
Arnie |
