Techs & Trends
T Mobile and 3G /UMTS in US?
Basically, don't hold your breath.
T-Mobile won't have EDGE until 4th quarter, and even then it will only be in about 30 markets. They won't have nationwide EDGE until late 2005. That's because they have a lot of old GSM equipment that isn't as easily upgradeable as the brand-new equipment Cingular and AT&T have.
I imagine UMTS won't come until after that, so that would mean 2006 at the earliest. I'm not even sure they have spectrum for it - they may need to wait until the government auctions off the new 1700/2100 3G spectrum in a couple years, which means we might not see T-Mobile launching UMTS until 2008 or so. By then, they may just skip it and go straight to 3.5G (HSDPA) or some kind of 4G technology.
T-Mobile won't have EDGE until 4th quarter, and even then it will only be in about 30 markets. They won't have nationwide EDGE until late 2005. That's because they have a lot of old GSM equipment that isn't as easily upgradeable as the brand-new equipment Cingular and AT&T have.
I imagine UMTS won't come until after that, so that would mean 2006 at the earliest. I'm not even sure they have spectrum for it - they may need to wait until the government auctions off the new 1700/2100 3G spectrum in a couple years, which means we might not see T-Mobile launching UMTS until 2008 or so. By then, they may just skip it and go straight to 3.5G (HSDPA) or some kind of 4G technology.
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In fact, AT&T Wireless is only pressing for UMTS so quickly because of its contractual obligation to DoCoMo Japan. Of course they won't make it seem like that. Theres a big question if Cingular will remain as focused once the merger is complete, since DoCoMo's contract with AWS would be mooted.
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I don't think there's any question at all. The new Cingular will be in the unique position of owning a huge amount of spectrum, including enough for almost nationwide UMTS. No one has really been in that position before.
They're also going to be feeling serious heat from Verizon with EV-DO. They can't just sit back and let Verizon take the data crown.
That's why they wasted no time in declaring their intent. When they announced the merger, the CEO of Cingular said "...we expect to accelerate the availability of advanced wireless services for consumers." Cingular's press release also said:
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They're also going to be feeling serious heat from Verizon with EV-DO. They can't just sit back and let Verizon take the data crown.
That's why they wasted no time in declaring their intent. When they announced the merger, the CEO of Cingular said "...we expect to accelerate the availability of advanced wireless services for consumers." Cingular's press release also said:
Because of improved spectrum holdings, the new company should be able to accelerate its offering of advanced wireless data services an...
(continues)
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The FCC is going to make Cingular give up some of there spectrum when the deal is done. They will own more than the maximum allowed in some markets.
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😕 You mean the spectrum caps? Those don't exist anymore:
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/20 ... »
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/20 ... »
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I figured as much, the info I got on that is sorta kinda out-dated before the gavel landed on the merger with Cingular anyway.
Got a question, is there any other upgrades to GSM that could be done to beef it up? Like CDMA's 1xEV-Whatever technologies?
Thanks Rich. 😁
Got a question, is there any other upgrades to GSM that could be done to beef it up? Like CDMA's 1xEV-Whatever technologies?
Thanks Rich. 😁
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So far, EDGE is the "end of the line" for GSM. It triples GPRS data speeds. I haven't heard of anything after EDGE, although somebody's probably working on it.
After that, it's on to WCDMA/UMTS, but that's not really an "upgrade" so much as a whole new system. After that, HSDPA is the first upgrade for WCDMA.
The CDMA guys really are in a good position, because all of their 3G upgrades so far are truly upgrades. Well, EV-DO is kind of an offshoot, but EV-DV is a true upgrade for 1xRTT, which in turn was an upgrade for IS-95. Their upgrade path really is much smoother.
After that, it's on to WCDMA/UMTS, but that's not really an "upgrade" so much as a whole new system. After that, HSDPA is the first upgrade for WCDMA.
The CDMA guys really are in a good position, because all of their 3G upgrades so far are truly upgrades. Well, EV-DO is kind of an offshoot, but EV-DV is a true upgrade for 1xRTT, which in turn was an upgrade for IS-95. Their upgrade path really is much smoother.
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