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To: Puck who wrote (12)	11/12/2000 12:09:47 PM
From: EJhonsa	Respond to of 9255

If I remember correctly, for data transport within the core network, UMTS networks make use of the same signaling technologies/protocols as GPRS. In this sense, for GSM operators, GPRS can be looked at as a prelude to W-CDMA not only in terms of the offering of packet-switched data services to subscribers, but also in terms of core network development/planning. Thus a supplier that provides an end-to-end GPRS solution to a carrier can make use of a great deal of the experienced it gained in setting up the network when its customer decides that the time's come to set up a W-CDMA network. Still, judging by how a couple of operators have so far gone for a completely different W-CDMA vendor when compared to the supplier they used for GPRS, winning a GPRS contract from a carrier definitely doesn't act as a guarantee that a W-CDMA contract will also be awarded by that carrier to the given supplier. Eric

To: Puck who wrote (12)	11/13/2000 2:56:47 PM
From: Eric L	Respond to of 9255

Re: GPRS / TDMA-EDGE Even as a premature burial is being rumored (by some) Cingular is crawling forward on the same plan they have publicly stated that they are embarked on. >> CINGULAR’S 3G BLUEPRINT: The New Joint Venture Lays Out Next-gen Plans November 13, 2000 issue Wireless Week wirelessweek.com Excerpts: Cingular’s GPRS technology will be in place across the former Pacific Bell Wireless GSM properties in California and Nevada by the end of the year, with a commercial launch in March, according to the carrier’s vice president of strategic planning, Dave Williams. The technology then will be turned up in the GSM network in the Carolinas, Seattle and Spokane, Wash. <snip> Cingular’s implementation of GPRS, which initially provides data rates of about 28 kilobits per second ... <snip> Williams says Cingular will bring its TDMA and GSM networks together technologically once the standard called enhanced data rates for global evolution is implemented in its TDMA properties. The EDGE transition, also a 2.5G technology, will take place beginning in late 2001 with a full commercial introduction in 2002. Because EDGE uses GPRS in its backbone, it will provide the TDMA/GSM convergence carriers need. The nation’s largest TDMA-only carrier, AT&T Wireless Services, plans to migrate to EDGE. Of course, migrating to new technologies isn’t the only hurdle that carriers face. Handset availability is an essential part of the rollout of both GPRS and EDGE. Williams says Cingular will use GPRS handsets such as the Ericsson R520, and is studying models from Mitsubishi, Motorola and Nokia. The R520 supports GSM networks at 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz as well as Bluetooth, which means it can be used in 120 countries. The handset is expected to be available in commercial quantities by March 2001. Cingular and AT&T Wireless also are working with handset manufacturers on models that will provide voice interoperability for TDMA and GSM. The first handsets would provide GSM and TDMA digital interoperability, plus AMPS, and are expected to be available in about a year. The blueprints have been spread out on the table - now it’s a matter of implementing them. << - Eric -