Re: GPRS - EDGE - 1xMC - 1xEV - Sprint PCS
Pretty good article in Wireless Week. I've clipped some excerpts from the CDMA section focusing on Sprint PCS below, but the entire article is worth a read.
Interesting paragraph that provides an estimate of commercial availability of 1xEV, but more importantly, indicates that IS-2000A will include an increase in 1xMC peak dates rates to about 307 kbps.
I think it is maybe time for CDG to modify their web page that states that "the second release of 1X is being worked on in the TIA and will support faster data speeds with peak rates up to 614 KBPS".
There is also a paragraph in the article that explains why, as a Verizon user, I may be enjoying the benefits of cdma2000, a bit later than Sprint PCS users.
>> Putting Wings On Data Delivery
November 13, 2000
Special section to Wireless Week
"Wired vs. UnWired: A Split Identity?"
wirelessweek.com
Sprint PCS is on a rapid tear to keep ahead of the pack in mobile data implementation. And its rollout of commercial 3G technology commences in late 2001 with 3G1x. Sprint PCS and the rest of the CDMA community consider 3G1x the first phase of 3G technology and not an interim step to getting there.
"IS-95B and 64 kbps packet data is what we consider 2.5G," says Oliver Valente, vice president of technology and advanced systems development at Sprint PCS. "We’re not deploying that because we think it’s inefficient in terms of cost."
3G1x offers 144 kbps data, a tenfold increase over current circuit switched rates. Add in the doubling of voice capacity, and it’s clear to see why 3G1x was Sprint PCS’ choice.
Because there are no changes to CDMA’s 1.25 megahertz channel, upgrading the network is fairly straightforward. CDMA operators can choose to add new channel cards - which prepare individual spread spectrum data bits for transmission - or swap out existing ones, depending on the capacity requirements at existing base stations.
Valente estimates that 80 percent of Sprint’s network will involve channel card upgrades. The other 20 percent will require new radios, primarily because CDMA manufacturers are taking advantage of the upgrades to discontinue their single-carrier product lines.
"They give us a good deal, and it saves them from not having to develop or evolve what is an obsolete product line," he says.
The ability to avoid replacing wholesale radios is what Valente really likes about CDMA technology and why he believes Sprint PCS has the real mobile Web advantage. Despite the availability of a CDMA upgrade path that includes harmonization with W-CDMA, Valente doesn’t see Sprint PCS choosing that option because it requires a change in channel size from 1.25 megahertz to 5 megahertz.
CDMA technology has evolved considerably since the original CDMA 3G evolution roadmap, and "we think we can do the same things in 2.5 megahertz," he says. "Things like HDR [Qualcomm’s High Data Rate], which has been standardized into 1xEV, allow you to deploy the same data rates in one quarter of the spectrum."
1xEV offers a data-only transmission channel operating at 2.4 megabits per second and should be available commercially in late 2002 or early 2003. Also during 2002, 3G1x Release A will increase peak dates rates to about 307 kbps.
Offering these increased data rates within Sprint PCS’ existing spectrum is the objective and a realistic assumption, if CDMA delivers on its promises. Even in a heavily loaded market, such as New York, the carrier uses only 13 out of 30 megahertz, "so we have plenty of spectrum to spare for these high-speed data services we are talking about," Valente says.
It’s an advantage Sprint PCS’ other CDMA compatriots don’t share. While Sprint PCS operates only at 1900 MHz, other CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless use a combination of frequencies at 800 MHz and 1900 MHz. In addition, Verizon has analog service in its 800 MHz spectrum, which uses up much of the capacity so the carrier doesn’t have as much spectrum to work with.
"We have a single technology and a single-technology platform, which allows us to remain very spectrally efficient and alleviate the need to go out and get additional spectrum,"Valente says. <<
- Eric - |
