Nextel Testing CDMA Wireless Technology for Upgrades
Reston, Virginia, May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Nextel Communications Inc. may use a different technology to upgrade its wireless network after tests showed the equipment can carry more phone calls than its current system, Chief Financial Officer John Brittain said.
Code-division multiple-access may be used to provide new services such as fast Internet access, Nextel said. Qualcomm Inc. developed and has patents on CDMA. Shares of San Diego-based Qualcomm rose $3.45 to $60.37 in midafternoon trading.
An earlier report by Dow Jones Newswires that said Nextel will shift its wireless network to CDMA technology was wrong, the company said.
``We have not made a definitive decision to order anything,'' said Paul Blalock, head of investor relations at Nextel. ``We are just now gathering the information to do that.''
Nextel will continue to operate its existing wireless network, which uses Motorola Inc. equipment and phones that provide walkie-talkie services, voice calls and Internet access, Blalock said. Nextel uses a rival standard to CDMA known as iDEN, or integrated digital enhanced network. Shares of Motorola, based in Schaumburg, Illinois, fell 59 cents to $15.15.
The next generation of CDMA technology, known as 1xRTT, boosts the number of calls a network can carry and would give Nextel ``the ability to run broadband data services,'' such as fast Internet access, Brittain said at a Banc of America Securities conference in New York.
``We're continuing to move forward with that testing,'' he said in an interview. Nextel has asked makers of wireless equipment to provide cost and quantity estimates to upgrade its network. These should be available in 60 days to 90 days, Blalock said.
Brittain declined to say if or when Nextel will begin using CDMA in its network. Nextel wants equipment and phones that would work with either CDMA or iDEN technology, Blalock said.
Nextel's customers are mostly members of mobile workgroups such as construction crews and those who work on trading desks. Nextel on May 1 said it planned to cut 800 jobs, or 5 percent of its U.S. workforce, after its first-quarter loss widened on higher costs.
Shares of Nextel fell 74 cents to $17.35. They had already declined 27 percent this year. |
