Sprint PCS and CDMA2000 Implementation and Evolution
Articles and commentary from 2001, and 2002 ....
>> Sprint's 1X View
Barb Lee
Wireless Review
Jan 15, 2001
Sprint PCS is confident of both its network and technology as it gets ready to offer 1X services.
As Sprint PCS moves toward offering next-generation services, it cites its CDMA all-PCS network as a major advantage in the race to 3G.
"If history provides any insight into the future, Sprint PCS and its single-band, all-digital network will be as adaptable to 3G migration as it has been in offering first services to its nationwide market," said Oliver Valente, Sprint PCS CTO. "Sprint PCS will be able to deploy the technology ubiquitously by simply plugging in new 3G channel cards to its existing base stations and adding some new software. We anticipate our roll-out to be accomplished with relative ease and with less expense than any other of the competing and less-3G-friendly technologies used by competing national carriers."
Unlike some consolidated or merged networks that operate at multiple frequency bands and on multiple technology platforms, the Sprint PCS network doesn't need to rely on multiple back-office support systems. In fact, some carriers require more than a dozen different billing systems because of disparate overlay networks and mergers between operators with different back-office systems.
Another advantage Sprint PCS is touting: Except in a few select markets, it has enough available spectrum to meet expected 3G demands.
Sprint PCS will begin offering what it has dubbed "3G 1X" later this year. Sprint's 3G 1X - more commonly known as cdma2000 1XRTT, or cdma2000 1X for short - is part of the IS-2000 family of standards that has been accepted by ITU, the worldwide standards body dictating and legitimizing the specifications of 3G. Sprint's 3G 1X offering will begin commercial deployment in the second half of 2001, with complete wide-scale deployment slated for the end of June 2002.
The 1X-capable handsets that will operate on existing 2G networks will be available at the earliest in 3Q01. Several carriers already have committed to make handsets using 3G chipsets. Sprint PCS anticipates more vendors joining before the handsets are available for widespread distribution. Many experts believe that the sooner the vendors begin seeding the market with the 1X handsets, the better for wireless carriers in terms of capacity once 3G 1X infrastructure is deployed.
Sprint PCS currently is testing 3G 1X technology with major network carriers such as Lucent, Motorola, Nortel and Samsung. In March 2000, it made its first successful call in North America, with Samsung and Qualcomm, in the Sprint PCS Technology Integration Center. Following another year of field trials, Sprint's 3G 1X technology is expected to be implemented in about 4,000 cities on the nationwide network.
Costs Readily Recovered The total cost for Sprint PCS' national 3G roll-out is estimated at a comparatively low $700 million to $800 million, an investment that should be regained readily in terms of greater consumer usage and extended business applications, Valente said. Through the added voice capacity - up to double the 2G capacity - as well as the higher-data-speed services, the 3G network is one that "we know we can sell and make a return on our investment," he said.
"Over the next two to three years, the 3G speeds will rapidly accelerate into multimegabit-per-second speeds that will accelerate all types of applications and services in the mobile wireless environment," Valente continued. "Consumers will have more of a desktop experience in the handset. Once the high speeds are available, the playing field really opens up."
Not only will consumers be able to browse the Web at far faster rates, but Valente projects that by the first half of 2002, handsets will evolve that will include more color screens, video transfers, photographs, music downloads and a whole new set of service capabilities.
"All in all, the 3G handset will be a very cool end-user device," he said.
Who Will Use It? But is there realistically a market for this latest innovation in data technology? Warren Wilson, Summit Strategies senior analyst, said that high-speed data and data enhancements alone may not win the U.S. consumer. According to Wilson, people in the U.S. telecommunications industry tend to look to Europe and Asia for indications on how the U.S. market might develop.
In those markets, wireless data has been - to a large extent - a consumer-driven service. Therefore, early speculation in the United States was that individual consumers here also would drive the wireless-data market. This may not hold true, however, because of major differences in what Eastern markets are able to offer the end user compared to what is available in the United States, Wilson said.
"In Europe and Asia, where PC ownership and Internet access are less common than in the United States, wireless handsets have given many people their first taste of e-mail and the Internet," he said. "They're probably more accepting of the phones' tiny screens and keypads than U.S. consumers, who are used to doing e-mail and Web surfing with large PC monitors and full keyboards. So consumer-focused wireless-data services probably won't see the same adoption rates in the United States as they have elsewhere."
"On the other hand, many U.S. businesses have already Web-enabled key applications; for them, wireless is a logical next step - though it's not necessarily easy or inexpensive," Wilson said. "So we expect that in the United States, wireless data will be more business-driven than consumer-driven."
Technology Advantage Sprint does seem confident that its technology offers an advantage in the 3G race over the TDMA and GSM carriers that are moving toward a WCDMA 3G solution reached via GPRS and EDGE.
"In terms of competitive advantages, the Sprint PCS 3G technology will be more robust, faster, and more seamlessly deployed on our network," Valente said. "We are not particularly concerned about GPRS solutions. Although they do increase data throughput, they don't enhance voice capacity, and the battery performance is greatly depleted by the data drain. On the contrary, the three major benefits of the Sprint PCS 3G migration are: up to double the voice capacity of the network; increased data speeds 10-fold; and increased battery-performance life in standby mode up to 50%."
Looking ahead, Sprint PCS expects to roll out 1XEV DO to its network in early 2003.
One thing is sure: Sprint PCS and other carriers are betting that the market will be ready for 3G services and the speeds it will offer.
"Wireless is the newest frontier and American businesses, particularly, are looking to make a leap from wired Internet to wireless Internet," Wilson said. "The stage is set for that leap." <<
>> Sprint's 3G Odyssey Set for 2001 Launch
Jay Wrolstad
Wireless NewsFactor
March 16, 2001
Sprint president Charles E. Levine said Sprint's CDMA-based PCS network will give it an advantage over competitors in 3G network migration.
In an effort to get a jump on 3G wireless in the United States, Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS) Thursday said it plans to start rolling out next-generation technology to its customers later this year. The announcement follows a report published Thursday by the Washington Post that BellSouth is pursuing the acquisition of Sprint.
First in Line
Sprint president Charles E. Levine will unveil the company's strategy for introducing 3G technology into the Sprint PCS network on March 20th at the CTIA Wireless 2001 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company said. Demonstrations of applications running on the 3G1x platform, Sprint's first phase of 3G, also will take place at the Lucent booth at the CTIA exhibit hall.
Sprint PCS, the United States' largest all-digital, all-PCS wireless network, said it will work with network infrastructure providers Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), Motorola Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG), Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT) and Qualcomm Inc (Nasdaq: QCOM) to offer the first 3G wireless service in the United States.
The company serves more than 23 million customers in 4,000 U.S. cities and communities, and reported US$23 billion in annual revenues.
Banking on CDMA
Sprint is banking on the development and deployment of its PCS network, which is based on CDMA (code division multiple access) technology, to give it an advantage over competitors in 3G network migration, Levine said.
Sprint's 3G1x technology will offer three major benefits to customers, according to the company -- up to twice as much voice capacity, a tenfold increase in data speeds from 14.4 kilobits per second (kbps) to 144 kbps, and a 50 percent increase in handset standby mode battery performance.
3G technology promises to deliver advanced services such as audio and video streaming and a variety of e-commerce applications when it is introduced.
"While the rollout to the next generation of wireless services will be a gradual evolution, Sprint PCS has a network that was built with 3G in mind and an aggressive migration path," said Oliver Valente, chief technology officer for Sprint PCS.
"And, based on recent announcements regarding delays and costs associated with transitions to W-CDMA, we expect to have a significant timing advantage, entering the market far earlier than most competitors," Valente added. <<
>> Sprint and Lucent Technologies Conduct Fastest 3G Data Call
Sprint and Lucent Technologies conduct fastest 3G data call in the U.S. on Sprint PCS wireless network
Lucent, Murray Hill, NJ
Sprint PCS, Lenexa, KS
April 10, 2001
lucent.com
Super speeds to deliver streaming video and audio on mobile phone applications
Sprint (NYSE: FON/PCS) and Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) have completed the fastest-ever third-generation (3G) over-the-air data call for a U.S. mobile wireless carrier, at speeds of up to 2.4 megabits per second (mbps). Within the next two years, these high-speed data rates promise to alter the way people traditionally use wireless services and will enable Sprint PCS customers to take advantage of 3G advanced mobile phone applications such as streaming video and audio.
The successful call was conducted on April 5, 2001, at Sprint's test site in Lenexa, Kan., using a new technology protocol called CDMA2000™ 1xEV-DO (1x Evolution-Data Only). This 3G Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology makes it possible to transmit data up to 165 times faster than what now is available on wireless voice and data networks. With these speeds available on Sprint's network, consumers will be able to download music to their phones directly from the Internet or send pictures from remote locations such as the beach or the mountains. Business customers will be able to open complex e-mail attachments using wireless modems in their laptops without seeking a payphone or using expensive hotel connections.
Sprint, which is testing the 1xEV-DO technology through June, will test increased data throughput and capacity available with 1xEV-DO technology and also various applications such as web browsing, file transfer and streaming video and audio.
Lucent's commercial Flexent™ CDMA base stations and QUALCOMM's 1xEV-DO test equipment is being used in the trial. Commercial availability of Lucent's CDMA2000 1xEV-DO base stations is expected in 2002. The technology is expected to be deployed into the Sprint PCS wireless network by 2003.
"Our successful data call using 1xEV-DO demonstrates that Sprint PCS is on time and on target in delivering on the first steps to bring high speed mobile Internet access to our customers, allowing them to experience new and richer applications," said Oliver Valente, chief technology officer for Sprint PCS.
"This milestone data call further demonstrates Sprint's industry-leading position in 3G. From a wireless spectrum perspective, Sprint is equipped with enough spectrum nationwide for the next 10 years and will introduce high-speed packet data (3G1x) nationwide in 2002. Using our existing infrastructure to upgrade the Sprint PCS network to 3G by simply changing out channel cards in our base stations will ensure a timely, smooth and cost effective migration. Plus, it gives us the ability to be first to market with many new sophisticated mobile services," Valente said.
The Lucent equipment that achieved the higher data transmission rates with 1xEV-DO promises to provide a cost-effective means to meet the demand for high-speed mobile Internet access. This is accomplished through an evolution to an all-Internet Protocol (IP) core network with Lucent's Flexent Mobility Server and a simple circuit card and software upgrade to existing Lucent base stations.
"Our solution will help mobile operators efficiently deliver high-speed mobile Internet services to their customers," said Mary Chan, vice president of development for Lucent's Wireless Networks Group. "We're committed to delivering this technology to meet the needs of our customers as they evolve to higher-speed 3G technologies."
Sprint's aggressive 3G deployment for CDMA2000, also known as 3G1x, will result in the eventual doubling of the voice capacity of the Sprint PCS network; up to a tenfold increase in data speeds from 14.4 kbps to speeds of up to 144 kbps; and increased battery life for handsets in standby mode by approximately 50 percent. By early 2003, Sprint will move to the second of its four-stage migration path with speeds of up to 307 kbps. Later in 2003, peak speeds will reach those replicated in the Sprint-Lucent data call -- up to 2.4 mbps -- with 3G1xEV-Data Only (DO). In 2004, speeds will reach 3 mbps to 5 mbps with 3G1xEV-Data and Voice (DV).
Based on High Data Rate technology initially pioneered by QUALCOMM, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO complements the existing CDMA2000 3G1x. Last year, Lucent Technologies and Sprint PCS conducted field trials of 3G1x demonstrating peak data transmission rates of 144 kbps. Sprint will deploy CDMA2000 3G1x technology later this year. <<
>> Sprint Launches PCS Vision, A 3G High-Speed Wireless Service
David Hayes
Suzanne King
The Kansas City Star
kansascity.com
After years of planning and $1.4 billion in development, Sprint Corp. on Thursday launched its next-generation high-speed wireless phone service across the country.
Sprint is hoping the new service, called PCS Vision, will spark new sales and reverse a slump that led to the company last month losing its leadership position in wireless industry growth.
"This re-establishes our competitive advantage in the marketplace," said Charles E. Levine, president of Sprint's PCS division. "Sprint is once again leading the industry."
Sprint, which has its headquarters in Overland Park, had been the fastest-growing wireless company for almost four years, but it lost that title to Verizon Wireless in July.
The high-speed service, sometimes referred to as 3G, allows wireless customers to use their phones to connect to the Internet at speeds comparable to -- and often faster than -- connection speeds offered by traditional dial-up Internet services.
Levine called PCS Vision the most significant launch for Sprint since the company began offering wireless phone service in 1997. The company was careful not to draw any comparisons with its high-speed, landline-based ION bundled services project, which was scrapped last year as the company wrote off a $2 billion-plus investment.
Sprint's FON tracking stock closed Thursday at $9.90, up 33 cents. The company's PCS tracking stock closed the day at $4.11, up 27 cents.
The company will begin advertising and selling PCS Vision on Sunday, aiming at business customers and consumers.
Sprint, the nation's fourth-largest wireless service, with 17 million customers, is planning to leverage its longstanding "clarity" message by describing PCS Vision as "clarity our customers will see as well as hear," Levine said.
The first company to unveil plans for third-generation wireless service, Sprint is the last of the large wireless carriers to offer advanced services in the Kansas City area.
Verizon Wireless, which analysts believe will be Sprint's strongest challenger in the data market, launched its version of 3G in Kansas City in May. The service was available in some markets as early as January.
Verizon, which has 30.3 million customers, expects to offer the service throughout its network by the middle of next year, said Cheryl Bini, a company spokeswoman.
Sprint is rolling out nationally, something executives have consistently promoted as a major advantage. Business customers, in particular, want to know that service is available wherever they go, Levine said.
While Sprint did much of its conversion to 3G by simply swapping out software at network base stations, the project still was a huge undertaking.
"I don't want to understate the challenge of pulling something like this off," said Paul Reddick, vice president for business development. "It's really a lot of choreography."
The network infrastructure, back-office billing functions, applications to run on the network, and the devices themselves all had to be pulled together.
While some analysts expected the service to be launched earlier in the summer, company officials maintained that the deadline always was the end of the summer.
Launching 3G now gets the new devices in stores in plenty of time for the industry's biggest selling period, the fourth quarter. Levine said the company expects to see improved customer growth in the last three months of the year as a result of the launch.
Sprint has provided data service, branded the Wireless Web, since September 1999. But that service, with 2.5 million users, is sluggish compared with PCS Vision.
The new 3G service, as well as services planned by all the wireless companies, relies on packet switching technology, which breaks voice and data calls into digital packets before they are sent. Currently, most wireless services rely on traditional circuit switching, which is not as efficient.
Packet switching requires less bandwidth, allowing the companies to add customers to existing networks without causing congestion. In addition, 3G allows the companies to add a variety of other services.
However, technology aside, Sprint thinks consumers will be lured by snazzy phones with color screens that include gadgets like digital cameras. The company also is promoting instant messaging, downloadable games, screen savers and ring tones.
"These are becoming mini-PCs in a sense," Reddick said.
Levine, who was in New York on Thursday promoting the service to national media outlets, said business customers will buy the service for fast mobile access to corporate e-mail, calendars and contact lists.
And in the process, Levine said, Sprint will see increased profits and more customers. He thinks the new service will help Sprint maintain or even increase the $60-plus that average customers spend for PCS service each month, even while the cost of voice service drops because of competition.
Current Sprint PCS customers won't see much of a change unless they decide to upgrade to the new service.
Sprint will launch the service with a wireless card for laptop computers and four phones, including a new Samsung phone that can be linked to a small digital camera to send photos by e-mail. PCS Vision customers will pay for traditional phone calls by the minute, but the company will charge customers for data by the megabyte, based on how much information is sent across the network.
Sprint PCS customers who have used the Wireless Web pay for data service by the minute.
Levine said customers might not understand the new "per megabyte" pricing plan, so Sprint is quantifying it based on the number of e-mails, instant messages or pictures it will hold.
For example, with two megabytes, a customer could send 150 e-mails, 100 instant messages and four pictures; view 100 Web pages; and store four ringer tones, four screen savers and four games.
In general, pricing plans range from about $50 a month for 4,000 minutes of talk time and two megabytes of downloads, to $120 for 10,000 minutes and eight megabytes of downloads. A straight Internet access plan geared for businesses ranges from $40 for 20 megabytes to $80 for 70 megabytes.
Suzzana Ellyn, a wireless data analyst for research firm ARS Inc., said Sprint's pricing plan undercuts the plans offered by other carriers.
Sprint's pricing strategy also is designed to help customers gain an understanding of wireless data. For example, the company is giving away three months of PCS Vision to lure customers to the service.
"People don't know what a kilobyte looks, feels or tastes like," said Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. If they get the chance to try the data services, they may be more comfortable paying for them in the future, he said.
It remains to be seen whether customers will want to buy. Outside of a few select groups -- gadget lovers, business travelers and, perhaps, gamers -- many analysts wonder whether people will be willing to plunk down lots more for data.
"This is not for people on a budget," said Alan Reiter, an analyst with Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing outside Washington. "...This is not a low-cost option, nor is this a substitute for any landline Internet connection."
Most analysts agree that getting customers to buy 3G will require a good bit of education.
So far, Sprint's competitors don't seem to be doing that very well, said Andrew Seybold, a wireless analyst. He was disappointed with what he saw after visiting Verizon Wireless and Cingular retail stores recently.
"Nobody in those stores knows how to sell data," he said. "The challenge for Sprint is educating people in their stores. That's the first place people have to be exposed to data services, and if they don't get it right there, it's going to hurt them."
And Sprint may have to play down its own hype to succeed. Consumers who have been hearing about 3G for years may be underwhelmed when they finally see what Sprint is offering.
"The whole wireless industry has whipped up a frenzy about 3G," said Jeff Kagan, an industry analyst. "Most customers are expecting a lot."
But while Sprint's new service does open a new chapter in wireless, Kagan said, it won't be the futuristic service some people are hoping for. And that could backfire, he said.
"You don't want to overpromise and underdeliver, because then you have to explain why," Kagan said.
But Sprint is coming to market with a wider array of phones and services than its competitors, Reiter said.
"I think in some ways Sprint is going to give Verizon and AT&T a very good run for their money," Reiter said. "Right out of the box, Sprint is introducing a nice selection of phones and two modems for business users."
The product choices may be an advantage winning some customers, especially gadget lovers and young customers who care about the aesthetics of a phone. But Sprint's coverage isn't as strong as its competitors, Reiter said.
"If you want cool phones, you go to Sprint," he said. "If you want the best nationwide voice coverage, you look at Verizon and AT&T." <<
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- Eric - |
