Ken and Arnie,
Arnie, do you have the reference on the 20 million user capacity for Nextel? I remember numbers like that being thrown around, too. However, I don't know the basis or assumptions behind it.
Considerations which may or may not be in the 20 million are: 1) peak loading (ala NYC), 2) % D.C. usage (presently about 50%), 3) tower density, 4) switching equipment to handle the traffic, and 5) coming data transmission density. To make efficient use of spectrum, Nextel will need to increase tower density in cities (CapEx), and tune the equipment to facilitate the more frequently required hand-offs.
If you don't have ready reference for the 20 million, I'll dig it out. I know it's buried somewhere on my hard drive.
Ken, Capacity and Debt. There is always the possibility of finding more money. Bandwidth is limited. As Arnie points out, technology will doubtless find a way to squeeze more into a given bandwidth. Question is, how much? (how much more and how much will it cost).
Rob |
