"My understanding is that the "standard" data evolution for IS-136 TDMA is to an GPRS/EDGE-like channel, but with the signalling necessary to be backward compatible with IS-136 TDMA."
OK... I've been out-acronymed. I'll get you for this, Allen.
The signals from the North American TDMA camp aren't absolutely definite yeat - but you would think that Cantel of Canada would not have started the EDGE collaboration with Ericsson if AT&T hadn't supported the move. AT&T owns a chunk of Cantel and aims for continent-wide roaming.
SBC has announced the target of convergence with GSM, which can only happen via EDGE, I think. BellSouth owns both GSM and TDMA properties, so they could use some convergence as well. BellSouth remains an attractive partner for Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom or Telefonica as long as they stick with the GPRS/EDGE plan... if they bolt, they lose a big chunk of that appeal.
Basically, if these three entities stick with EDGE, the US game is over - there won't be a way out of the Balkanized telecom market mayhem. Three out of top seven operators upgrade to EDGE, one to W-CDMA, Nextel God knows where and Sprint & BAM/Airtouch to cdma2000 and/or HDR.
It's hard to imagine a more damning indictment of the original "let's have four digital standards and show what red-blooded free-market competition can do for telecom markets!" strategy.
Tero |
