EDGEfantasy handset slippage....
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"From what handset vendors are telling us, EDGE handsets should be available by mid-2003 or end-2003," Henshaw said, adding that these would work across GSM and GPRS networks.
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LOL
Hey Nokia - where are the commercial handsets you promised US EDGE carriers by the end of 2002?
Now vendors begin to grease the backslide from mid-2003 to end-2003?
Something is not going well.
In 3GSM vendorspeak, does end-2003 mean Christmas 2004 or 1H 2005?
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Peoples Plans Mid-2003 Edge Launch
CommsDay Asia 10/10/02
Hong Kong GSM1800 operator Peoples said it will launch high-speed wireless data service using EDGE as early as mid-2003.
Charles Henshaw, CEO of Peoples, called EDGE a “very important” technology that is the natural progression for GSM operators. EDGE is capable of a maximum speed of 473.6Kbps with real world speeds of around 128Kbps, Henshaw told reporters at a luncheon. Peoples did not bid for a license in Hong Kong’s 3G-spectrum auction.
He said EDGE will be able to support most of the so-called 3G applications but with “very little” investment compared to WCDMA because it can be deployed on the same spectrum, uses the same base station and core network, as well as the same frequency plan as GSM.
In addition to tripling the speed of GPRS, EDGE also triples the network capacity and offers marginal gains in cell site coverage of GSM, he added.
EDGE deployment would involve some software upgrade and the installation of network cards at Peoples’ existing base stations, he said, adding that AT&T Wireless and Cingular in the US are already rolling out EDGE networks.
Ericsson, Peoples’ vendor, is already supplying the US operators with EDGE equipment and is in the process of migrating that 1900MHz US-based system to support 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM networks.
“From what handset vendors are telling us, EDGE handsets should be available by mid-2003 or end-2003,” Henshaw said, adding that these would work across GSM and GPRS networks. |
