The following press release provides information on the construction of Sprint PCS' infrastructure:
New Sprint PCS Technology Center to be Focal Point For All-Digital Nationwide PCS Network
State-of-the-Art Facility Will Serve as Network Control and Testing Center
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint PCS today announced the formal opening of its state-of-the art Sprint PCS Technology and Network Management Center. The multi-million dollar facility will serve as the nerve center for the 100 percent PCS (personal communication services), 100 percent digital, Sprint PCS network -- the next generation of wireless communications.
The Technology and Network Management Center is home to 120 Sprint PCS
employees and is located in Lenexa, Kansas, southwest of Sprint PCS's
headquarters here.
The facility combines two critical functions -- network monitoring and
technology assessment -- both aimed at ensuring that Sprint PCS customers enjoy consistent quality service wherever they are located within Sprint PCS service areas.
"We believe our Technology and Network Management Center has no equal
anywhere in the industry," said Andrew Sukawaty, chief executive officer for Sprint PCS. "This facility will enable us to perform some extremely critical functions allowing us to provide consumers and businesses with the next generation of wireless communications. The center monitors our network 24 hours a day, giving us the ability to ensure the quality of customer calls and overall service performance."
The network monitoring function is carried out in a large amphitheater-shaped room. Called the National Operations Control Center, or NOCC, the room in many ways resembles NASA Mission Control in Houston. Rising tiers of computer consoles face a wall covered by large video screens. The computers are connected electronically to numerous switches, thousands of cell sites and other system elements across the country that make up the Sprint PCS wireless network. If a problem should surface anywhere at any time, technicians monitoring the computers 24 hours a day will be alerted immediately -- allowing problems to be corrected.
"The key words are detect, analyze, correct," said Al Kurtze, chief
operations officer for Sprint PCS. "If there's a problem with a switch, we'll know about it. If the temperature at a cell site rises above or falls below an appropriate level, we'll know about it. If an aircraft warning light on one of our towers burns out, we'll know about it, and we can correct it right away."
If an extensive or particularly worrisome difficulty should arise, the
appropriate data will be projected on one or more of the NOCC's video screens to facilitate problem-solving by a larger group of technicians.
Technology assessment is conducted in another large room where technicians have installed equipment identical to equipment throughout the Sprint PCS network that will switch and transmit wireless calls, and provide Sprint PCS customers with enhanced features, such as voice mail and caller ID.
The room also serves as a testing facility for new features and
applications before they are deployed on the Sprint PCS network.
"It's basically a quality control measure," Sukawaty explained. "This
testing facility allows us to test the many features and applications we'll be offering our customers to ensure they will operate well on our network. We can test those applications here, under simulated field conditions, before deploying them. That function is critical. We want those features to work consistently throughout the Sprint PCS network. We will also use the center to research and test potential new features."
Kurtze added: "One of the key advantages of having the technology
assessment and NOCC organizations in the same building is that we can put people from both groups to work on an issue right away. You'll find that doesn't happen in many other companies because the functions are usually miles apart in different cities."
If the facility's structure is ever compromised, a fully functional backup center is located nearby and available at a moment's notice.
Sprint PCS is a joint venture of Sprint Corporation, Tele-Communications Incorporated (TCI), Cox Communications and Comcast Corporation. The partnership has licenses to provide PCS service in 33 Major Trading Areas (MTAs) with a population of 190 million, making it potentially the largest wireless communications company in the U.S.
Sprint PCS plans to launch service in 15-20 of its markets by year-end with the remainder launching in the first half of 1997. The Sprint PCS network will be 100 percent digital and offer dramatically improved call quality and reliability over today's cellular systems. Sprint
PCS will operate at a higher radio frequency and use a technology called Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) which provides clearer calls free from the static and cross-talk common with cellular phones.
Designed for universal portable telecommunications, PCS systems are feature-rich compared to conventional cellular systems. Sprint PCS service incorporates a portable telephone, voice mail, caller ID and other enhanced services in the basic PCS package. Sprint PCS phones also will have wireless data transmission capabilities in the future.
In addition, digital PCS transmission is more secure than conventional
cellular, which suffers from eavesdropping on conversations and theft of electronic ID numbers. PCS digital signals are scrambled to minimize eavesdropping and cloning.
Sprint PCS, through its affiliate Sprint Spectrum/APC, launched the
country's first PCS service in November 1995 in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area. Through July 1996, the company had more than 100,000 customers.
(SM)Sprint PCS and Sprint Personal Communication Services are service
Marks of Sprint Communications Company L.P., used under license.
CONTACT: Tom Murphy, Director of Media Relations for Sprint PCS, 816-559-6703, e-mail: tmurph01@sprintspectrum.com |
