NEW YORK-Working with Ericsson Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc., Powertel Inc. has just completed a successful “beam firing antenna” trial.
The beam firing antenna array, tested in Auburn, Ala., increases efficiency by more than 20 percent and maximizes the linear distance that transmissions can travel, said Powertel President Allen E. Smith at a telecommunications conference sponsored by The Robinson-Humphrey Co. L.L.C., Atlanta.
Optimizing transmission distance capabilities, without wide area coverage, is important for the personal communications services carrier because of the nature of its footprint.
Powertel’s PCS licenses cover a population of about 24.3 million people and approximately 246,000 contiguous square miles. However, there are few large cities within its service territory, except for Memphis, Tenn., and Atlanta, the latter planned for commercial launch early next month, Smith said.
Powertel customers, of which there were 45,000 at the end of June, drive a good deal between the many smaller cities in the Southeast, where the West Point, Ga., carrier has its PCS licenses. This situation presents a challenge given the large land area involved.
“Our customers expect mobility, and our goal is to be a leading provider of high quality service,” Smith said.
That means coverage, which can get costly over long stretches of highway where few customers or potential customers live or work.
The beam firing antenna array is expected to reduce the capital expenditures required per population equivalent while also keeping mobile PCS users in touch as they travel.
“[Ericsson and Texas Instruments] put the electronics on top of the antenna because there is a lot of line loss from the base station to the top of the antenna,” Smith said. “And they’ve satisfied our concerns about lightning protection.”
At the other end of the user spectrum are the customers who might seriously consider PCS as a stationary telecommunications service alternative. After investing “more than $20 million in billing behind the switch,” Smith said Powertel expects early next year “to target selected audiences with a package with toll and value added services to entice people into PCS as a landline replacement.
“Right now, we are testing home zones, except that your home zone is 600 square miles, not 600 square feet.”
