Merrill- QCOM positive impact from Nextel / Sprint Combo- (courtesy of AOL)
Snip >>>>>>-
• In addition, we believe Qualcomm bundled along with
the CDMA offering an offer to deploy the TD-CDMA
technology, developed by privately owned IP
Wireless, in the 2.5 GHz MMDS band owned by
Nextel. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Interesting, however I did not find IPWireless on Qualcomm’ Licensee List. George Gilder has spoken on Soma Networks (a Licensee) which Soma states is based on Qualcomm’s technology.
MER Report Highlights: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
• We believe Qualcomm may have offered to Nextel
a unique combination of CDMA EV-DO on its 800
MHz and 1.9 GHz bands, together with a TDCDMA
technology to be deployed on the MMDS
2.5 GHz band.
• We believe the combination of CDMA and TD-CDMA
as suggested by Qualcomm is compelling for Nextel as
it satiates Nextel’s desire to have standard base
technology together with unique applications, enabled
by the ultra-high bandwidth offered by TD-CDMA
technology. This seems to be Nextel’s main objective in
its vendor selection.
• The implications of such an eventuality would be
positive for Qualcomm and Lucent and negative
for Motorola.
• In its search for a differentiating 3G technology,
Nextel has so far focused mainly on the OFDM
technology of the private company, Flarion. While we
think Flarion offers a unique solution, it suffers from
lack of vendor support on both the infrastructure and
handsets sides.
The Offer
• In our understanding, Qualcomm offers to deploy
CDMA EV-DO in the 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands
that Nextel owns. This will allow Nextel to enjoy the
benefits of the well-developed Eco-System supporting
Qualcomm’s technology.
• In addition, we believe Qualcomm bundled along with
the CDMA offering an offer to deploy the TD-CDMA
technology, developed by privately owned IP
Wireless, in the 2.5 GHz MMDS band owned by
Nextel. This deployment would be designed to
provide superior data rates that could support
applications impossible in other networks (at least for
the next 3-5 years).
IP Wireless TD-CDMA Technology
• The technology developed by IP Wireless is based on
TDD UMTS (also called TD-CDMA) and is a part of
the 3GPP standard (unlike Flarion, which uses a
proprietary solution). It offers higher data rates and
better coverage, especially at the edge of the cell area,
as compared to WCDMA.
• For example, using two 10 MHz channels, IP Wireless
can currently offer 1.5Mbps on the downlink
(4.5Mbps in 2006) and 7.2Mbps on the uplink. As a
comparison, HSDPA offers only 384kbps uplink
speed. In theory, having such an advantage in
downlink and uplink speeds could enable Nextel to
offer unique applications.
• Also, IP Wireless TD-CDMA technology is a packet
based technology both on the up and down links,
while WCDMA is still based on Circuit Switch
technology, and HSDPA will only make the down link
packet based, but not the up link.
The 2.5 GHz spectrum
• Nextel owns licenses for about 60 of the US top 100
markets, and range in bandwidth from about 10 MHz
to 200 MHz (with about 90 MHz on average).
• Such a frequency band could enable Nextel to offer
very high bandwidth, in excess of 4Mb/s both for the
down and up links.
Implications of a Possible Merger with Sprint PCS
• A possible merger between Nextel and Sprint, as
conjectured in recent press reports, will increase the
attractiveness of Qualcomm’s CDMA offering to
Nextel.
• Also, since Sprint is the second largest owner of
MMDS frequencies, the combined company coverage
in the US market will grow to 80-90% of the top 100
cities, again making Qualcomm’s offering more
attractive. |
