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Handhelds Hardware

AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In U.S. 77

Posted by timothy from the alliances-may-yet-shift dept.
murky.waters writes "The specifics of several amendments to the original deal are spelled out in a news.com article: AT&T gets $6.2 billion from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest telecom, for deploying a third generation wireless network in four of the top fifty cell phone markets by December 31, 2004. The chosen few are San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and San Diego. However, there's a city-swap provision to possibly include either Miami or Detroit for Dallas, Phoenix or Houston for San Diego. Last, AT&T could get out of the deal if they chose an alternate third generation technology."
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AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In U.S. More

AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In U.S.

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  • I just want my cell phone to work as a phone (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @09:08AM (#4993359) Homepage
    As I write this, my cell phone is chirping to inform me that it is switching in and out of roaming mode. The reception at my home is horrible.

    Every time I read an article about "next generation network features", I'm curious as to when they'll make the first generation feature - voice communication work better.

    Maybe it's different in other parts of the country, but here in Lake Mary, FL, Sprint PCS and their suppose-ed "next generation network" is a bunch of features and fluff surrounded by unusable service.

    I think I'm going to make my New Year's resolution to switch cell phone providers.
    • My understanding is that Sprint is bad all over. In the Bay Area, Sprint is considered the worse provider.
    • I used to have SprintPCS, I can't possibly deride their service enough. I travel a bit and my coverage was horrible across most of the country. Even in heavily populated areas like Denver and Ft.Worth I had tons of trouble just getting a connection let alone making a call.

      The worst was in San Fransisco where in front of the tribute to technogeekery that is the Metreon I couldn't even get a signal on the phone. My friend's AT&T phone was working just fine.

      I was glad to switch. So I definitely agree cell phone operators need to work on getting voice communication to work properly.
    • Yes, this is the most important item. If you look a coverage map for many providers you will see that most the US does not have cell coverage. In places many places the coverage is very spotty, and if you do manage to get a signal you still have to hope the cell your on is not overloaded.

      Although my experience with sprint-pcs their coverage is very bad. One sprint phone I had would switch in out roaming mode just sitting on a desk. But, sprints 3g upgrade may improve service, one of my co workers as sprint-pcs vision(3g) phone and it gets usable service in our office, as opposed to numerous other non-3g Sprint phones, which just barely get service.
      • Oh yeah, that sounds good -- pay for a premium service so that the basic service you are already paying for will work.

        Makes sense to me.

        NOT!

      • Most likely the only difference in this case between a 2.5G phone (1xRTT is 2.5G, not 3G) and a 2G phone/service is the PRL (Preferred Roaming List).

        Essentially, this tells the phone which towers it should be connecting to in each individual area.

        Old phones' PRLs can usually be updated automatically (Not sure exactly how old - But any phone less than 2-3 years old, maybe more). On a Verizon network, dialing *228 and then selecting option 2 will update your PRL.

        That said - Sprint's coverage sucks. If you want good coverage, get Verizon. Yes, their plans are more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
    • The main problem with cellular service is that there are so many operators out there trying to steal customers from each other. This causes that at the end each company only make enough money to survive, and there is no cash left to invest to improve their own quality of service. If they invest too much in order to attract more customers they can easily broke because is very difficult to make a user switch to another company. I see this happening in several countries, not only in USA....by the way, contrary to what most people may think, USA's phone cellular companies are currently a few steps behind in technology than companies in Europe, Asia or even SOuth America.
    • Wireless companies rely on the same marketing machine as everyone else. When they can't produce a product that works as well as it should, they start adding features and draw the focus away from the quality of service. They need to maintain some degree of hype to keep the subscriptions climbing (we're obviously very easily distracted).

      I'd be ecstatic if a wireless company created a network and sold phones that just focused on two big features: high speed digital connections (read: better voice AND data service), and PAN connectivity (such as bluetooth or 802.11b) for mobile devices. Other features like color screens, cameras and arcade games are pretty add-ons that should be implemented AFTER they get the basics right.
    • The issue for the cell companies is this:
      people don't care.

      Seriously. AT&T Wireless, for instance, won JD Power awards for best wireless service in (I think) 18 or 19 of the 21 markets they were in last year. PacBell did really well in SF, Verizon won a couple.

      The problem is that for each person, their usage is going to be different than every other person, so cell companies (or at least AT&T Wireless) has to play a game of triage, where they use trouble tickets to figure out where their network's dropping calls and then send engineers out to work on the switches/towers/etc. When people don't call, they have to rely on system diagnostics and no matter what they're going to tell you, that's not as good as having someone call up and say "my calls drop at the intersection of 124th and North Pine".

      People are inclined to write dropped calls off (I have a friend in Texas, his Sprint calls drop every time he goes into Duncanville, and he's given up complaining) and not call in. They're also seemingly unwilling to reward providers who have better local coverage, probably because knowing that AT&T Wireless is the best carrier in your market doesn't guarantee you'll have signal in your apartment.

      And the other problem is that since people don't seem to respond to the "our coverage is best" ads, providers are competing on gee-whiz gadgets like cameras that (really) no one's asking for, in an attempt to differentiate themselves.

      It's a knotty problem. If everyone who was frustrated with their service canceled and found a better provider, Sprint PCS would be driven from the market in a month, AT&T Wireless, Verizon, and Cingular would buy out their towers to fill network gaps and the world would be a better place. Heh.

  • Docomo is spreading (Score:3, Funny)

    by thogard ( 43403 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @09:46AM (#4993425) Homepage
    One problem with the nice docomo phone in Japan is there are towers everywhere. The things have no power because they don't need much.

    I met a guy in Perth who had just come from Japan. I showed him how to rechrge the phone using the shaver plug (the 240V ac would have fried the recharger) and when it was fully charged he tried to make a call. He got a voice in Japanese saying there was a problem with his account. I wonder if they are doing trials in Perth.

  • So what use is it? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Captain Kirk ( 148843 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @10:00AM (#4993447) Homepage Journal
    I worked for a wireless Interent start-up. The problem was not the technology itself. Its that there are no real uses. I mean, who cares that you can stream video on your mobile phone? Who is dumb enough to pay for it?

    IMO, Wi-fi has removed all the need for umts. The mobile phone operators should concentrate on making voice work better, especially in the US where coverage and incompatible networks are a joke.

    • Re:So what use is it? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Yokaze ( 70883 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @10:24AM (#4993495)
      > IMO, Wi-fi has removed all the need for umts

      Really?
      How do you do location based services with WiFi?
      How do you realise payment, how identification?
      How does roaming between different WiFi providers work?
      How do you connect to the mobile partner, considering that IPv6 is still not widely deployed?
      WiFi doesn't work when you move a little bit faster than walking.
      How do you achieve a good WiFi coverage, especially in more rural areas. (Without prohibitive costs)
      How many people are taking a notebook/laptop/pda with them and how many carry a mobile?

      Once more, I'd say 3G and WiFi are orthogonal. They serve different needs.
      • You hit all the nails right on the head!

        Right now, cellular-based data has a bad rep because of terribly bad speeds and round-trip response times. Hopefully these will change after 1xEV-DO starts getting deployed.

        Magnus.

        • Re:So what use is it? (Score:3, Interesting)

          by TheSync ( 5291 )
          My wife uses Sprint PCS Vision to upload images for her webcam [carlazone.com] site. The "killer app" part of this is the form factor of a webcam in a cellphone, which you would carry anyway, and actually has a lot of battery time. Check out the images in her gallery [carlazone.com] to imagine how this might be used, especially by teenagers at parties!

          She used to carry around a stylus-based computer [thesync.com] in a purse-like fashion using CDPD, which was easier to use (just turn on and it snapped pictures every few minutes), but suffered from low battery time (a few hours) and was just too heavy and bulky.

          Of course, using Web browsers on Sprint PCS Vision phones sucks. I haven't checked out a Treo on the network yet, but I know that my Palm V with AT&T CDPD (Omnisky) had much better web browsers that could handle frames and such.

          We went Sprint PCS Vision because we needed a cellphone anyway, and paying for unlimited Verizon 1xRTT $100/month was just too much. With Sprint we pay the same we would just for voice service, and possibly $10/month more once the introductory period is over.
      • Actually, location based services with WiFi are entirely possible. There are a few [newburynetworks.com] companies [ekahau.com] that provide just that.
        • Almost all these things are feasible with WiFi.
          (Except the moving part, and probably roaming, with a soft-handover)

          The point is, all these things require an infrastructure, which most telcos already have.
          Billing, identification, certification, trust relationships, locationing (sp?), micropayment and the like.

          Actually, in some countries, people have already adapted the mobile as a method of billing, for exactly those reasons.

          For WiFi, companies have to agree upon several standards for those things. And I don't see this happen anytime soon. Especially, when they'll have to compete with a widely accepted system already in place.
      • How do you do location based services with WiFi?

        Duh

        How do you realise payment, how identification?

        Digital certificates?

        How does roaming between different WiFi providers work?

        Well, it's not to hard when most of them are free :P. That said, it's possible some new standards might emerge to help with that.

  • While I see the need to begin a rollout of WCDMA service by AT&T in the future, shouldn't they work on getting their GSM service widely available first? They've still got issues with their TDMA network not having enough towers in some cities to be worrying about moving up in the world.

    I took my AT&T phone all over the country and had some pretty good digital reception. Then when I get home (my house is pretty far from AT&T's nearest tower) I get crappy reception and dropped calls all the time. Cingular has a tower down the street from my house. It isn't like I live out in the boonies, I do have a Cingular tower down the street, yet AT&T doesn't feel the need to cover this area better.

  • What it really means... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Zigurd ( 3528 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @12:10PM (#4993734) Homepage
    The article is all about scaling back the requirement to deploy WCDMA UMTS to, basically, trial deployment.

    It also, very significantly, allows AT&T to choose a technology other than WCDMA. For example, they could choose TD-SCDMA.
    • More likely, CDMA2000.

      Unfortunately for the WCDMA camp, their vendors have not delivered on the technology so far. Handhelds are only available in limited quantities and are prohibitively expensive. Interop between different vendors is non-existent. In the meantime, CDMA2000 1x is charging ahead, and the economies of scale are driving down the costs.

      In the US, Verizon is kicking the ass of GSM/TDMA -based providers; they can support much more users on the same spectrum and thus are more competitive. AT&T is on the run since their operating costs are higher and they cannot afford to wait till WCDMA is widely available.

      Magnus.
      • How about some facts.

        Lucent and Qualcomm are CDMA2000 hardware vendors.
        Nortel, Ericsson, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia are GSM/TDMA hardware vendors. Most European countries use GSM vendors, further driving down the costs. And GSM is field upgradable to EDGE and W-CDMA.

        So while Verizon/Sprint have 144kbit CDMA20001x, ATTWS/Cingular/Tmobile has 177kbit GPRS, and software upgradable to EDGE at 470kbit. (Depending on how many channels are used for data)

        Major problem for CDMA2000 telcos, they need to upgrade their hardware after CDMA2000 1x. Different type of hardware migration path, but they will pay billions of dollars now. Just as all GPRS telcos did initially.

        • Nortel and Ericcson also make CDMA2000 equipment. Cisco makes no base stations, but I am sure that they make networking gear for CDMA2000. Nokia is the only hardcore WCDMA vendor, AFAIK.

          The fact that WCDMA has been so late to market has given a tremendous boost to CDMA2000. Lots of Asian/ Latin American countries, originally planning to go the WCDMA route, are now jumping on CDMA2000.

          Of course, the real killer of WCDMA is that it can operate only over 5Mhz of CONTINUOUS spectrum. CDMA2000 operates over 1.25Mhz spectrum, so to get the same capacity, an operator can deploy 3 discontinuous 1.25 carriers. I believe that few carriers posses free 5Mhz chunks of spectrum in major markets. So, to deploy WCDMA, they need to either turn off existing services, or to acquire new spectrum. It is precisely such acquisitions that have nearly bankrupted the European carriers.

          Magnus.
        • Um, UMTS and GSM cannot interoperate with each other. Unless you mean "field-upgradable" as meaning "Drive out to tower, remove old equipment, and install new equipment, shutting down old service", there is NO upgrade path whatsoever from GSM to UMTS. GSM uses a TDMA scheme at 1.9 GHz (or 1.8, depending on country), or around 800-900 MHz. UMTS uses a CDMA scheme at 2.1 GHz. There is no technical relationship whatsoever between the two technologies. As a result, if a carrier wants to roll out UMTS, they have to roll out an entire new network essentially from scratch, because the new phones won't work with the old towers.

          Also, all of the GSM equipment providers, while well-established, have no experience with CDMA. As a result, UMTS handsets are having the same problems (heat, battery life, etc) that Qualcomm and the other "classic" CDMA companies solved years ago.

          Last but not lease, CDMA2000 (both 1xRTT which gives 140-300ish kilobit speeds and 1xEV-DO which gives megabit speeds) IS backwards-compatible with cdmaOne. A CDMA2000 handset will work with a cdmaOne tower and vice versa. (See Verizon Wireless - They have a partial CDMA2000 rollout, but people with old handsets have no problem on the new network, and people who get CDMA2000-capable handsets won't have the handset become useless where Verizon hasn't upgraded yet.)

          CDMA2000 lets network providers upgrade as demand dictates, UMTS requires them to upgrade everything at once.
          • CDMA2000 lets network providers upgrade as demand dictates, UMTS requires them to upgrade everything at once.

            Not at all - early WCDMA handsets will support GSM as well, in the same way that many 2G handsets sold in the US still support AMPS.

      • Is there a TDMA->GSM->CDMA2000 migration path? I just don't see that happening. Maybe - a very big maybe - there is a case for an EVDO overlay. But even in CDMA carriers EVDO has to compete with CDMA+802.11 as a "3G-lite" future.
        • No, but there is also no TDMA->GSM->UMTS upgrade path.

          Heh, you can't even call that an upgrade path - They're three completely different technologies, the only relation between GSM and UMTS being political (i.e. UMTS is the "official" 3G version of GSM), not technical.

          Essentially, GSM is a dead end. There is no upgrade path from GSM to either of the competing 3G standards.

          BTW, yes there IS a cdmaOne->CDMA2000 1xRTT->CDMA2000 1xEV-DO upgrade path. It's quite seamless - Portions of Verizon's network are now 1xRTT capable and my cdmaOne phone has no problem with it. When I upgrade to a CDMA2000-capable phone, it will have no problem in the boonies where Verizon has no reason whatsoever to upgrade their towers to 1xRTT capability.
  • This thread was listed as the top Sci/Tech [google.com] story this morning on google :-) ...

    AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In US [slashdot.org]
    Slashdot - 3 hours ago
    murky.waters writes "The specifics of several amendments to the original deal are spelled out in a news.com article: AT&T gets $6.2 billion from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest telecom, for deploying a third generation wireless network in four of ...
    NTT DoCoMo's $6 billion AT&T guarantee [businessweek.com] BusinessWeek
    AT&T Wireless could owe $6B if W-CDMA rollout is late [computerworld.com] ComputerWorld

  • no commintment for 3G (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @01:19PM (#4993963) Homepage Journal
    What this seems to mean is that there is no commitment for true 3G service. ATT is scaling back the agreement, from 4 to 13 cities. They apparently haven't completed the market research because they have not chosen all four of those cities. They leave a large loophole so that when they do get around to doing the market research, and find that there is no market, they can cite economic factors and pull out of the deal.

    I have tried to do wireless data off and on for several years. In each case there were ill defined equipment costs, ill defined areas of operation, and convoluted 'data' plans. It shouldn't have been that hard. Hook the cell phone to the computer, dial the ISP, and be on the internet. Sure it would be slower, but it should have worked.

    We now have these pseudo 3G services that claim internet connectivity. Of course to use such a service, you must subscribe to their content. I believe that even mail must be routed through their portal, at additional cost to the subscriber. It reminds me of the original bell attempt to make so much profit off modems that it threatened the BBS.

  • Inevitable (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    AT&T is already in the process of converting their current network (TDMA) to a GSM/GPRS network. I any of you would read the standards, you would find that the upgrade path for GSM/GPRS networks to 3G is WCDMA. WCDMA networks will be backwards compatible with GSM, even though it resides on different frequencies, WCDMA phones also contain a SIM card, which you could easily switch out from your GSM/GPRS phone. Since AT&T has already chosen GSM/GPRS their choice to go with WCDMA was just a matter of time.

  • AT&T... always on top of the game (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rcs1000 ( 462363 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <0001scr>> on Wednesday January 01, 2003 @03:22PM (#4994432)
    When AT&T Wireless first rolled out digital cellular they went with TDMA, the logical 3Gish extension to which is Rx1TT (as used in Korea).

    Then, about two years ago they announced they were migrating their network (building an overlay) to GSM, the logical 3G extension to which is WCDMA (European version).

    Now they look like they are going down the Japanese WCDMA route, which is based on an earlier standard tham European WCDMA (although it does actually work, which is a plus!)

    It seems to me that they really need to sit down and decide exactly what system they want to use. There are numerous issues with cell planning, roaming, etc. affected by their choices. If they continue to mess around like this, who knows when a decent 3G service will be available to Americans.

    • Re:AT&T... always on top of the game (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      They actually do have a plan. I work for AT&T and here is part of the corporate "newsletter" that gets sent to us every couple of days (notice the second section about aligning strategy):

      AT&T Wireless and NTT DoCoMo outline plans for targeted rollout of W-CDMA services
      [Source: AT&T Wireless company press release, December 26, 2002] -- AT&T Wireless today announced the four major U.S. markets in which they will first deploy and launch W-CDMA (wideband code division multiple band access), the most widely adopted global standard for next generation wireless technology. The company said this will be the first deployment of true wideband third generation (3G) wireless data services in the Western Hemisphere. By the end of December 2004 the company plans a commercial launch in sections of four U.S. cities that have a high concentration of mobile professionals.

      As part of a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, AT&T Wireless and DoCoMo said they plan to launch the communications cores of San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and Dallas as the first four U.S. markets for W-CDMA deployment. The announced 3G build and launch will follow a planned deployment of high data speed EDGE technology (enhanced data rates evolution) by AT&T Wireless later next year. This is the next step in AT&T Wireless' planned global-standard technology evolution, which will enable it to offer customers the most advanced voice, data, messages, music, information, and video services as it progresses from GSM and GPRS technology to EDGE and then to W-CDMA. [Editor's Note: To review the full press release, click on http://www.attwireless.com/press/.]

      Aligning our next generation strategy
      [Contributors: Rod Nelson, Product & Technology Development, and Greg Slemons, Wireless Network Services] -- You may have read stories in newspapers or heard reports on the radio concerning AT&T Wireless' plans to delay offering true 3G services using W-CDMA, also known as UMTS, and that we will limit the availability of service to four markets (see press release above). While both those statements are true, this is not a drastic change from the plans we laid out in October 2000. At that time, we announced that we'd deploy a national GSM/GPRS network by the end of 2002, upgrade to EDGE by 2003, and offer W-CDMA service in 13 cities by mid-2004.

      Thanks to your hard work, our report card shows that we completed the GSM/GPRS network on budget and ahead of schedule. We're also on target for completing the TeleCorp markets by mid-2003. And, we're well on our way to have EDGE deployed in all these markets by the second half of next year. We believe the faster speeds, devices, and applications both GPRS and EDGE deliver can meet our customers wireless data needs for the next few years. This is one of the reasons we decided to roll out W-CDMA in a more targeted way.

      Additionally, as you have heard John Zeglis say, one of our major goals in 2003 is to become cash flow positive. This means investing capital and operational dollars in a way that maximizes the profitability of our business. Our decision to carefully target the introduction of W-CDMA and tie it closely to customer demand will help us meet those financial goals.

      Finally, we are committed to our technology path and believe our agreement with DoCoMo will help us deliver shareholder value while continuing to satisfy our customers needs for faster data speeds. Most of all, it keeps us on course toward a successful future.
    • Sort of, but not really.

      AT&T Wireless has a 2G network that's TDMA. They built an interim solution, essentially, to do data during the transition to 3G. This is the "2.5G" network that has limited features and low data transfer speeds. That's the GSM/GPRS network.

      Their plan is to deploy the advanced 2.5G stuff nationwide, getting up to ~384kbits, and then expand the spanking new 3G W-CDMA network which is GSM(ish) to do 2megabits.

      The plan, eventually, is that AT&T Wireless is going to be the only US provider of 3G data over GSM systems, which means they'll be able to use the same amazingly cool phones and features the rest of the world uses, and be a good citizen of the world to sell phones that can do global roaming etc.

      Something I don't think's been mentioned is that DoCoMo owns 15% of AT&T Wireless, and bought in at the IPO price of 29.5 (Wireless is at ~7 now), so they've got a huge investment and sway in driving the company to be able to use the features that DoCoMo uses to mint money in Japan.

      -- q
      • The plan, eventually, is that AT&T Wireless is going to be the only US provider of 3G data over GSM systems, which means they'll be able to use the same amazingly cool phones and features the rest of the world uses, and be a good citizen of the world to sell phones that can do global roaming etc.

        I have AT&T GSM service, aside from it sucking my left nut outside of any metro area, I get global roaming. I'm pretty sure I'd get better service in Hong Kong than I do here.
    • Official 2.5G/3G extensions to TDMA, or more specifically D-AMPS (which AT&T and Cingular used to use) -> Null. (i.e. there are none)

      Official 2.5G extension to GSM (Also a TDMA-based system) = GPRS
      Official 3G extension to GSM = UMTS (CDMA-based, ZERO technical relation to 2G GSM. i.e. no seamless upgrade path that doesn't involve buying new spectrum and replacing all phones)

      Official 2.5G extension to cdmaOne (Known most often as simply CDMA) = CDMA2000 1xRTT
      Official 3G extension to cdmaOne = CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
      All three are both officially and technically related (cdmaOne was designed with future expandability in mind), and as such CDMA2000 rollouts do not need additional spectrum, and do not require customers to immediately purchase new phones even if they just want to stay with basic voice service. Conversely, CDMA2000 phones work on CDMA networks that haven't yet been upgraded from cdmaOne.

      1xEV-DO is what's being rolled out in Korea, 1xRTT is old hat there. 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO is also what KDDI, DoCoMo's main competitor in Japan is doing. KDDI's CDMA2000 rollout has gone much more smoothly than Japan's - Thanks to handsets with horrible battery life and numerous technical problems, UMTS has dragged DoCoMo's name through the mud in Japan. 1xRTT is also the 2.5G service being rolled out by Sprint and Verizon Wireless (Vision and Express Network respectively)
  • What happened to the day when you could travel accross the nation and almost all the cell towers would work with your phone? Sure you would pay alot to roam, but you were at least able to make a call. Now Joe's GSM phone won't work in Steve's TDMA area. Can't we all just get along? :) db
    • Yes, we should have one provider. A "monopoly." After we finish on the phones and let Verizon Wireless, since they are biggest, dictate pricing nationwide and quash competition, we will let Microsoft dictate all software for the US.

      I don't see any problems with this, do you?

      Get TDMA+AMPS if you want to make a call anywhere.
      Get CDMA+AMPS for the same reason.

      How fucking hard is that? Don't get some shitty free phone that's GSM or CDMA only.
  • Many people wonder what "DoCoMo" stands for-- well, in case you wondered....

    "Do Communications over the Mobile network"

    Useless bit of information? Yes. Offtopic? Slightly.
    Trivia for the masses never hurt anyone....

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Couldn't at&t try finishing their GSM upgrade first? I just switched and it has a long way to go...

  • Amazing fact about NTT Docomo Name (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Did you realize that NTT Docomo is really an anagram of "Not DotCom" ???

  • .. that's the one single question that comes to mind.. why are we doing W-CDMA. why not go GSM/GPRS/etc all the way and be done with it.

    AT&T Wireless is largely TDMA (so is Cingular). Verizon/Alltel etc are CDMA. All proprietary technology.

    None of which allows consumer choice.

    Vote with your cell phone technology for choice.

    • They ARE going GSM/GPRS. But that's 2G/2.5G. The upgrade path for GSM/GPRS is UMTS, better known as Wideband CDMA. CDMA as Verizon, Sprint, and Alltell use it will go the CDMA2000 path. CDMA 1xRTT is 3G, i believe.
      • CDMA2000 1xRTT = 2.5G (144 kilobits with a 300ish kilobit extension available) Rev 0 and Rev A are the two subdivisions of RTT I believe, Rev 0 being the 144 kilobit version and A being the 320ish kilobit upgrade)
        CDMA2000 1xEV-DO = 3G (Megabit speeds)
  • No news source is telling us who the supplier is. I've worked for Ericsson for a while (yeah, I don't need any more grief about it) and the infrastructure supplier will help tell is what kind of bandwidth it'll support. Here in San Diego, Qualcomm has had test systems out for a while. It was real nice to get cable modem speeds from a laptop. I could sit on the beach and do Deathmatch. Many have complained about reception and the way to go is, IMHO, is cellular. I know that means lining Verizon's pockets, but it is a well deployed system. The problem with many PCS solutions is that they just don't have enough antenas!
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