More details on 1xEV trial
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Saturday, June 24 2:16 AM SGT
Lucent, Sprint To Test 2.4 Mbps Wireless System
MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY, U.S.A., 2000 JUN 23 (NB) -- By Kevin Featherly, Newsbytes.
In what one analyst is calling a "big deal" for consumers, Lucent Technologies [NYSE:LU] and Sprint PCS [NYSE:PCS] said Thursday they are engaging in test trial of a high-speed wireless data system meant to bring broadband access to laptops and modem-equipped handheld devices.
The companies said they will test a third-generation wireless technology called 1xEVolution (1xEV), which is based on Qualcomm's High Date Rate (HDR) technology. The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology was developed jointly by Lucent and Sprint, the companies said.
The trial, which will take place initially in the Sprint PCS Technology Integration Center in Lenexa, Kan., during the first part of 2001, involves testing and verification of 2.4 megabit per second (Mbps) third-generation (3G) data capability. That speed would compare to today's rates in the range of 14.4 kilobytes per second (Kbps) to 19.2 Kbps.
Bob Egen, a mobile and wireless telecom analyst for the Gartner Group, told Newsbytes today that the 1xEV technology is really just a spin-off of the original HDR standard. He said that Sprint PCS has declared in the past it requires several additions to HDR technology as it moved forward with its wireless data plans - especially link management and the ability for consumers to roam between HDR and another voice and data system called 1xRT.
"Lucent had committed to building HDR infrastructure and Sprint had taken a look at it a couple of times," Egen said. "So I think what Lucent decided to do is they have made the improvements based on Sprint's requirements and given it a new name - 1xEV. To me, it's not unexpected."
A number of companies are currently competing to develop high-speed data that can be picked up on laptops and PDAs. If the Sprint PCS-Lucent combination is able to get to market first, they will have a terrific advantage in drawing consumers now reluctant to adopt board wireless access for their portable computing device.
"This generation of wireless is no longer a remote access solution," Egen said of 3G connectivity. "They (the companies) think of people carrying laptops who really have a lot of sensitivity to high-speed data. They have these expectations based on their ability to dial in to higher speed networks with cable modems or DSL. These are not people who are going to be great adopters, and therefore they won't churn a lot of minutes on these wireless networks, unless they are given lots of speed."
Egen said that 2.4 Mbps of remote wireless bandwidth is indeed a big deal. "From a consumer standpoint and especially business perspective, people who are going to be traveling with laptops now are likely to be attracted because of the insatiable demand for higher and higher speed," he said. Those demands would be met by the Sprint-Lucent technology, he said.
Egen said the system does not have voice capability and won't be seen on mobile phones, at least in the current generation of development.
"This is an asymmetrical data solution," he said. "It's more likely that you're going to see a pile of people go out and build handsets, at least in this generation. But you are going to see modems. Modems can be put in handheld devices, PDAs, laptops. That's likely where this thing is going to be best felt among consumers."
The two companies said in a joint statement late yesterday that next year's Kansas trial will enable them both to test the technology in a "real world environment," and to also tests the functionality and network impact of a wide range of applications enabled by the mobile Internet.
Spokesmen for both Sprint PCS and Lucent could not be reached for comment in time for this article. |
