QCOM Latest:
From Mika over on the original Q thread.....
Qualcomm's HDR beats 1xtreme to the punch
From www.the451.com, unfortunately a pay site, but you can get a 15 day trial free. Pretty good writers, started from the people who originally wrote on FT newsletters:
Qualcomm's HDR beats 1xtreme to the punch
Ray Hegarty - Bio | Contact
GMT Jul 11, 2000, 07:15 PM | ET Jul 11, 2000, 02:15 PM | PT Jul 11, 2000, 11:15 AM
London - Motorola and Nokia are running out of time if they want to get their 1xtreme technology accepted for the standardization process by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). The 1xtreme proposal claims to enable real-time voice, data and multimedia services on existing third-generation cdma2000 networks. But Qualcomm and Lucent seem to have beaten them to the punch.
Speaking to the451, Qualcomm director of product marketing Kimberly Kleber confirmed that the company's competing high data rate (HDR) technology has already been accepted for the ratification process by the 3GPP2.
3GPP2 is the standardization body that is working on creating the technical specifications for access to 3G networks. Qualcomm said it was quietly confident that its submission would be ratified as a standard by the fall. The company claims HDR provides Internet access up to 2.4Mbps in a standard bandwidth 1.25MHz channel.
The company claims that one of the inherent benefits to using HDR is its ability to work in existing code-division multiple access (CDMA) networks. However, cellular companies have to add extra equipment at each cell site. Qualcomm expects HDR to be used extensively for email/messaging, personal organizer/scheduling, Internet access, dispatch, database access, faxing and from wireless locations.
Meanwhile, Motorola and Nokia claim that 1xtreme provides integrated voice and data speeds up to 5.2Mbps on a single 1.25MHz CDMA carrier. It also works in existing networks. 1xtreme will initially deliver up to 1.38Mbps in its phase one release.
While both HDR and 1xtreme provide a progression path for cdma2000, the two camps differ on the best way to deliver and manage the expected increase in voice and data that will be generated by the anticipated 'wireless Internet' boom. The initial 1XRTT CDMA (cdma2000) standard will provide increased data rates, significant capacity increases, as well as extended battery life for handsets. Network operators also plan to roll out third-generation CDMA technology, including Multi-Carrier (cdma2000 1xMC and HDR in 1.25MHz bandwidth), and 3xMC in 5MHz bandwidth and Direct Spread (WCDMA in 5MHz bandwidth).
The 1xtreme proposal consolidates Nokia's and Motorola's efforts, including Motorola's Aspira Internet Protocol backbone and Nokia's 3G All-IP Core. Motorola and Nokia argue their 1xtreme proposal offers integrated voice and data, while the Qualcomm and Lucent HDR offering is a data-only solution. A separate data layer is necessary for voice in the Qualcomm proposal they say.
Qualcomm argues that the separation of voice and data is necessary because of latency issues. During periods of optimum data activity, voice can be pushed to the edge of the cell, affecting the quality of the connection. "When data is separate you can optimize the service by transmitting data bursts," says Kleber. Qualcomm questions whether throughput for data and voice is sustainable in a loaded sector under the 1xtreme proposal.
Motorola's public relations manager, Rod Kelly, argues peak-data and average-data throughput in 1xtreme's first phase will be 1.38Mbps and 560Kbps respectively. Voice and data busy hours are not coincident, and it's possible to support data traffic with unused voice capacity, he argues.
Kleber counters that while there are different data and voice busy periods, they don't work as exact opposites. "In periods of extreme volume how do you allocate a voice and data trade off?" You don't have zero data when you have peak voice, or vice versa.
While the two camps duke it out, it's the 3GPP2 and the network operators that hold the key to the future success of the wanna-be standards.
On this front, Qualcomm and Lucent seem to have the upper hand. While the HDR 3GPP2 specification process doesn't rule out future acceptance of 1xtreme, it's likely to negate any impact that its acceptance will have. In addition, Qualcomm already has several HDR supporters, including Samsung, Hitachi and Lucent, as well as operators Sprint, Korea Telecom's Freetel and Japan's IDO.
Qualcomm's Kleber says its HDR technology is already being trialed at several companies. "HDR is available today, you can't get the same experience with 1xtreme," she points out. Nokia and Motorola have yet to announce any trials or supporters.
"All the network operators have remained mum," admitted Kelly, "we have pitched to them, but for now they are sitting back."
Kelly suggested that several operators might be concerned and confused by the technical intricacies of the proposals. Other observers have suggested that Qualcomm's influence in the CDMA market must weigh heavily on prospective operators and partners. Qualcomm has 327 patents on CDMA technology, and it would be very difficult for anyone to deploy a CDMA product without infringing Qualcomm's intellectual property rights.
Ultimately, Motorola will follow the decision of the standards body, concedes Kelly. But he believes 1xtreme still has time to convince the doubters. He accepts that the standardization process for 1xtreme has come a bit late in the day but claims Motorola's experiences in Japan, working on commercial 64Kbps high-speed wireless Internet access for cdmaOne networks with DDI /IDO Corp, had convinced the company that it was worth going ahead. "We felt we had to have a plausible offering after our experiences," said Kelly. Separate data and voice does not encourage economies of scale he maintains.
Kelly claims that the cost of 1xtreme is in its favor. Initiation of the 1xtreme integrated voice and data solution will cost $130 per subscriber, whereas the necessary voice and data overlay with HDR would cost $200 per subscriber. "1xtreme gives wireless network operators the ability to provide their customers with integrated real-time voice and data, at twice the data rate of a proposed HDR system," he said.
Kleber questions the validity of the Motorola and Nokia price comparison. "HDR is a cost-effective system," she argues. "The capital intensity is nominal. HDR is a channel card and software upgrade not a replacement for a new base station."
The companies jointly presented 1xtreme to the 3GPP2 meeting in Cheju, S. Korea on March 27. Originally, Motorola's proposed standardization schedule anticipated that the spec would be published by the 3GPP2 in August, followed by a members ballot for acceptance. Motorola had hoped the accepted standard would be published by October this year. That is looking unlikely.
In addition to 1xtreme, Motorola is proposing a minor enhancement to the existing 1X standard that allows for data rates up to 1.6Mbps for 1XRTT-enabled CDMA networks. Trials both for this enhancement and 1xtreme will be conducted by the end of this year, it claims. Commercial deployment for enhanced 1X is planned for the year 2001, while commercial deployment for 1xtreme is planned for the end of 2002.
Sprint PCS is planning a commercial deployment of HDR for the first quarter of 2001. HDR is expected to be competitive with DSL- and cable-based solutions and will support mobile access. Data rates of up to 1.8 Mbps in a fixed and mobile environment were recently demonstrated utilizing a variety of terminal equipment. Qualcomm will also benefit from its other complementary products and services. Its email client Eudora is expected to help users send and receive emails from their data-enabled cell phones. And Qualcomm's Omnitracs is a satellite-based system that provides position-location and messaging services for long-haul truckers.
Qualcomm has also released details on a new family of chipsets and system software that support HDR technology.
|
