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To: AlexGK who wrote (9402)	9/27/1999 4:37:00 PM
From: Rono	Respond to of 10227

Good post from the Yahoo thread: Prudential's take on wireless data If this year's PCIA wireless trade show - PCS'99 - held in New Orleans this past week, had a theme, it was wireless data. Almost every new phone coming on the market will have wireless application protocol (WAP), allowing it to surf the ‘Net. These phones are only slightly ahead of the networks, as most U.S. carriers are preparing to deploy some form of data capability by 2000. However, w/ the exception of one carrier, all the data networks are going to initially be circuit switched, not packet. Packet vs. Switched. While the raw data speeds of packet and data are fairly similar, for the web browsing applications that were demonstrated at the show, packet is faster, and better. The raw data speeds - roughly 14-20 kbps - are similar for most of the networks deploying data: CDMA, GSM, and iDEN. So while the circuit switched offerings are similar in transmission speed, the speed of retrieving data is much slower. The reason is simple: each time a new web page is called up, on a switched network, a new connection to the Internet must be made. With a call set up of 3-5 seconds, even small amounts of text off the ‘Net is cumbersome to retrieve. In fact, circuit switched may find only slightly more users than the CDPD networks that were deployed over analog cellular. By contrast, the packet switched network that we demo'd, while having the same raw data rate, was significantly faster. This is because the connection is "always on." Pulling down new web pages occurred nearly seamlessly, as there was no call set up. While the circuit switched network may suffice for early adopters clamoring for some type of wireless ‘Net capability, only the packet switched in our opinion will satiate the business users needs. Nextel- the only packet network. Only Nextel (NXTL-$64.94, Strong Buy), with its iDEN network, is deploying a nationwide packet switched network, integrated into all of its phones. For this reason, we believe Nextel will secure a disproportionate share of business users looking for wireless data and Internet connectivity. While other carriers are planning second generation networks with packet switching capability, we believe Nextel may have a full year as the only commercial packet switched network, available nationwide.