re: “A UMTS cellular network will not be established this year, certainly not by Pele-Phone,” Pele- Phone CEO Yacov Gelbard told “Globes” today.“
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Pele-Phone asks Motorola, Nortel for EV-DO bids
Pele-Phone executives recently visited Japan and South Korea to examine applications of the system.
Guy Hadass
10 Feb 03 17:13
Sources inform “Globes” that Pele-Phone recently asked communications equipment manufacturers Nortel (NYSE: NT) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) for price bids for EV-DO systems. EV-DO technology is based on the CDMA-1x network of the type that Pele-Phone is currently setting up. The network costs $150 million, but the transition to EV-DO is actually an upgrading of the network, which will cost only a few million dollars more. The cost will vary according to the network deployment, required performance, and capacity. Pele-Phone will begin discussions on the matter with Nortel and Motorola in the coming weeks. Pele-Phone’s decision to continue basing its network on technology from East Asian countries, such as Singapore and Japan, will distance the company from the Partner Communications (Nasdaq: PTNRLSE:PCCD) initiative for a joint UMTS third generation network for all the cellular companies, the usual practice in Europe.
The EV-DO technology currently used in South Korea and Japan makes possible downstream data communications at 600-700 Kbps, and is slated to reach 2.4 Mbps upstream. UMTS provides 384 Kbps in both directions, and speeds of 1.5 Mbps are planned in the future.
Two weeks ago, Pele-Phone executives, including chairman Amnon Neubach, returned from a visit to the KDDI advanced cellular network in Japan, and SK, Samsung, and LG in South Korea. The purpose of the trip was to gain an impression, and examine the various capabilities and experience of these companies in operating advanced cellular networks. KDDI, which already operates EV-DO, has announced that it will cover 60% of the country with the advanced network by October, and will later reach 80-85%. The network already covers 60% of South Korea. Hitachi and Samsung are the infrastructure suppliers in these countries.
The Ministry of Communications is currently considering the three cellular companies’ request to jointly set up a cellular network. The companies established a joint committee to discuss technical and business aspects of setting up a joint infrastructure, and submitted their conclusions to the Ministry of Communications.
It is by no means certain, however, that Pele-Phone is interested in the joint infrastructure venture at this time, since it currently has a relative advantage in the field. Pele-Phone has begun operating its CDMA-1x network in various locations around Israel, while encountering technical problems. The network is capable of providing faster surfing speeds than the Cellcom and Partner’s GPRS network, based on the GSM network. If Pele-Phone decides to upgrade the network to EV-DO, it would theoretically have a real long-term technological advantage over its competitors, until the UMTS network is deployed.
globes.co.il |
