<<Someone posted on the moderated QCOM thread that Bell South considering switching from TDMA/EDGE to CDMA.>>
Actually............
From: 100cfm
It's finally happening!
Is this the tip of the iceberg??
Bellsouth sees CDMA for Latin America
by Lynnette Luna
One of the largest wireless companies in Latin America is considering a technology flip for the next generation.
Sources close to BellSouth say the carrier wants to convert TDMA systems in Latin American markets to CDMA-based 1XRTT.
A BellSouth spokesman declined to comment on whether the carrier has made a final decision, but indicated that CDMA is definitely an alternative.
Other sources close to the company say BllSouth has made the decision to change over Chile,Peru and Colombia and is preparing to select a vendor. BellSouth will study the prospect of the technology in Brazil,Ecuador and Panama.
The Carrier already operates a CDMA system in Argentina and Venezuela and will turn on CDMA service in Guatemala shortly. Sources say BellSouth's decision is an issue of which network it wants to run with for the next generation.
The 3G migration strategy for TDMA, the dominat standard in Latin America is the EDGE standard. It won't become commercially ready until late 2002. Some CDMA operators in south Korea are deploying 1X by the end of this year, while the U.S. carriers have deployment plans for mid 2001.
Analysts also question whether major handset vendors are dedicated to producing EDGE/TDMA mobile phones, though major TDMA operator ATT wireless says announcements are forthcoming.
Saless volumes of these handsets will be much lower and thus more expensive, Bob Egan, research director with the Gartner Group.
TDMA & GSM technology have the same migration plan to EDGE, but major carriers in Europe haven't publicly voiced their interest in deploying the technology at this point. If the majority of Euroopean carriers don't choose the technology, analysts say TDMA operators will lose the global economies of scale they are seeking. TDMA advocates insist it's too early to tell what operators will choose since auction processes in Europe have just begun.
The data market also is unproven at this point. An investment in Edge technology is an investment in the high speed data market, while an investment in 1X gives operators extra voice capacity along with higher speeed data services, say experts.
Spain's Tlefonica Noviles also has considered switching its CDMA and TDMA Latin American properties to GSM. While Latin American newspapers are reporting this change, Telefonica denies it. The decision was clear. We're not going to change to GSM said a Telefonica spokesman. We'll keep working with these technologies until IMT-2000 comes.
Eric, it looks like TDMA will be the fastest growing technology in Latin America for only a short while. YES!
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