9/11 Post on BellSouth going CDMA on S.America.
Eric L. who wrote (3010)
From: 100cfm
Monday, Sep 11, 2000 5:00 PM ET
Reply # of 3511
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! |
