Say Hello To GSM 400 For Extended Cellular Range
e-topics.com
[Newsbytes News Network]
June 19, 2000
PARIS, FRANCE, Newsbytes via NewsEdge Corporation : The European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) has standardized the GSM 400 megahertz (MHz) cellular frequency, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has announced.
The move means that the GSM 400 standard will soon start to be rolled out by carriers around the world, alongside the existing GSM/PCS 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz standards.
Initially, plans call for GSM 400 to be rollout out in Eastern and Northern Europe, where the NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony) 450 analog networks are already operational.
Because the frequency bands are so close, the GSA says it expects to see benefits from both a carrier and an end user perspective, as hardware vendors can develop common architectures for both technical standards.
A spokesperson for the GSA told Newsbytes that the GSM 400 standard is now being finalized ETSI, which will release a GSM 400 specification as part of its ETSI/SMG GSM99 specification.
Once this happens, it is expected that carriers will start offering GSM 400 services in Europe some time in 2001.
One important feature of GSM 400 is that signals can reach much further than GSM 900 and GSM/OCS 1800/1900 systems. This makes the technology useful for rural and non-metro areas where calling volumes are lower than in the cities.
The GSA says that operators can use the same cell structure for EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) on GSM 400 as on GSM 900, so reducing the cost outlay for the additional cell sites that the introduction of EDGE would otherwise require.
Depending on the operator's strategy for providing high-speed data services, the GSA says that GSM 400 allows both GSM 900 and GSM 1800 operators to trim their costs of operating sites covering rural and suburban areas.
The GSM Association's Web site is at gsassociation.org .
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