Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (37849)	7/29/2002 8:09:20 PM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 67754

AT&T Wireless owns up: We drop calls By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com July 29, 2002, 3:55 PM PT AT&T Wireless executives made a rare admission Monday: A portion of the carrier's wireless telephone network not only drops calls, but drops them at a rate below the quality standards the company sets for itself. AT&T Wireless Vice President Greg Slemons said the dropped-call rates during peak hours--right after 5 p.m., for example--were below acceptable levels in New York and in one other market, which the company declined to name. He said AT&T Wireless missed its goal of completing 99 percent of calls in the two cities by less than one percentage point. "New York continues to be a challenge," Slemons told analysts during a conference call Monday. Carriers don't often talk about dropped calls, a big issue for customers and usually the top complaint made to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to the FCC. Consumer groups generally say that at least two percent of all callers can expect to lose their connection at any given time of day. "A lot of carriers aren't being as frank as we are," said AT&T Wireless spokesman Ritch Blasi. The portion of AT&T's wireless network that doesn't meet the company's quality standards uses a technology known as TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), which is among the oldest of the cell phone standards. It also is part of more than half of AT&T Wireless' current telephone network. Slemons said the carrier has no plans to remove TDMA from its network despite its under-achieving dropped-call rates. Other carriers, like Cingular Wireless, plan to replace TDMA portions of their networks, saying the time has come for it to be replaced by better technology. "There is no plan afoot to move away from TDMA; (we) have a high degree of confidence in it," Slemons said. "The TDMA network is still strong and will be in the future." [Harry: This is an interesting point. RFMD reported that TDMA sales were strong than they expected. I had thought most of this was due to foreign end market sales, but as wireless carriers are under a capital crunch more of them may be trying to extend the life of their older TDMA networks. NOK no longer has a TDMA phone in its product line, so one might guess they are getting their phones from longer cost Asian manufacturers. This would cut the phone subsidy per new user the carrier must absorb.]