I have the Nextel Phone for the dispatch feature, its great>
From the December 7, 1998 issue of Wireless Week
Ericsson To Unveil Integrated Unit
By Monica Alleven
Ericsson Inc. is stepping into familiar, albeit uncommon, territory where sleek, glamorous phones meet rugged, durable radios.
The company, which has business units producing cellular handsets and mobile radios, is using both divisions to develop a new
phone with features usually found in dispatch radios. While the technology sounds similar to Motorola Inc.'s integrated digital
enhanced network, Ericsson representatives say it is not meant to compete with Nextel Communications Inc.'s service.
The group calling and push-to-talk capabilities are being developed for wireless voice operators, not dispatch companies. "This
is just more features that we want to offer our customers," said Walter Deal, total solutions manager at Ericsson's Wireless
Division in Richardson, Texas.
Some analysts say cellular and personal communications services operators desperately need something to compete with
Nextel. The Strategis Group estimates at least 60 percent of Nextel's customers come from the cellular world.
"There's a recognized need that some sort of quick-call dispatching capability is needed in PCS, or cellular, or both, networks,"
said Steve Virostek, director of messaging and dispatch projects at Strategis in Washington, D.C.
Ericsson's solution involves a server that resides at the carrier's switch to allow for features such as group and sequential calling.
The product may be used on any switching system for time division multiple access Interim Standard-136 and analog systems
at 800 MHz or 1900 MHz.
Tests are under way in Chicago with an unnamed carrier. Deal estimated the base cost to install infrastructure equipment at less
than half a million dollars.
On the handset end, technicians are still determining what features will make the final cut, but the vision includes a "ruggedized"
exterior that offers push-to-talk and group calling features, according to Gary Bennett, product line director/special projects at
Ericsson in Lynchburg, Va.
Bennett hesitated to compare the product to a Nextel-type service but used it as an example of an offering that's not clearly
cellular and not traditional dispatch. Some consumers, such as those in construction trades, want phones that withstand
dropping and inclement weather--qualities historically found in radios.
"There's this in-between market," he said. "If you look across the industry, I believe that you're seeing a lot of traditional radio
users looking for some telephony-based features," and phone users who are looking for qualities, such as durability, typically
found in two-way radios.
"We're obviously striving to meet the needs of the major operators," Bennett said. Ericsson's European market development is
on a parallel track for global system for mobile communications technology with the GSM Pro server and handsets.
BellSouth Cellular Corp. is looking at the Ericsson technology, but it has not yet made a commitment, according to Jeff
Battcher, spokesman for BellSouth in Atlanta. "There's still a lot of testing that needs to be done on this," he said.
While Ericsson and carriers determine what features end users want in the handsets, observers note that Motorola spent years
perfecting its technology, giving Nextel a head start in the combination dispatch/cellular arena.
Nextel uses 800 MHz frequencies and specialized mobile radio licenses to deliver its service, but its recent success--including
this year's acquisition of 1.5 million customers--followed an early, well publicized technology failure.
Unlike SMR, cellular technology is not built for dispatch, and Ericsson's products pose no direct competition for Nextel,
according to Timothy O'Neil, analyst at SoundView Financial Group in Stamford, Conn.
"I think what they're doing is saying, 'We now believe that what Nextel has is a great feature, and we need to supply a
technology that does the same thing,'" he said.
Ericsson representatives said the demand for such features came from carrier customers.
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