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To: Caxton Rhodes who wrote (5066)5/29/2000 3:09:00 PM
From: Ruffian  Respond to of 34857
 
date: 5/29/00 11:36:46 AM

We should do a chart at some point, but the differences reduce to the "direct sequence"
form of the WCDMA coherent five megahertz band and the CDMA2000 three "direct
sequences" of 1.25 megahertz bonded together. CMDA2000 comprises a 3.75
megahertz band to preserve compatibility with IS95 and HDR. Contrary to WCDMA
claims, the Qualcomm 1.25 megahertz is nearly optimal and the wider spread of
WCDMA still yields inferior performance to the bonded system. Unfortunately for the
anti-Qualcomm forces, broadband wireless is still an "undershoot" technology (the
market demands leading edge performance, not political claims).
If I could give some advice after eight years of immersion in these debates, I would urge
a deaf ear to the endless detailed claims of superiority which the anti-Qualcomm forces
will propagate. CDMA is hard, and Qualcomm engineers know how to do it. HDR
shows they can even do TDM better than the GSM people can. (At Linkabit, the
Qualcomm people invented TDMA also). Though HDR is code division between
sectors, it is an adaptable dynamic TDM system for each connection. The reason for the
TDM choice is the spreading code for a 2 megabit per second channel would be some
200 megahertz, which is not today technically feasible at reasonable cost.
In response to an earlier post holding that I lack a grasp of Gorilla theory and its stress
on barriers to entry,
I admit I don't believe in legal barriers and consensual standards. Execution is absolutely
vital; standards, like history texts, are written by the winners. 3Com, Intel, Microsoft,
Applied Materials et al won not because of some legal monopoly but because they
moved first and sustained their learning curve ahead of all followers. 3Com failed not
because the Ethernet standard failed but because Synoptics outperformed them with the
innovation of 10BaseT (Ethernet over twisted pair). Qualcomm will win because they
are masters of the technology that all agree will be the foundation of the wireless internet.
WCDMA is not a significant innovation; it is a political play. In the end, as I said, politics
will give way to the exacting practicalities of creating broadband CDMA systems that
can handle voice and data robustly at once.
--GG


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