Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
AT&T Wireless begins offering wireless broadband via ‘Project Angel’
After years of anticipation fueled by talk of a new technology still shrouded in secrecy, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. announced last week it is offering commercial digital wireless broadband service to residential customers in Fort Worth, Texas. The new service, long known under the guise of Project Angel and most recently, AT&T National Wireless Local Exchange Carrier, will deliver always-on high-speed Internet access up to 12 times faster than traditional dial-up modems, as well as long-distance service. Customers will be able to choose their own local service provider, AT&T said. Project Angel originally was designed to bypass the local phone carrier, but AT&T reconfigured it to offer high data speeds up to 1 megabit per second. Two to four active customers now can share 1 megabit, and as AT&T signs on more customers, it will increase the amount of bandwidth, said Michael Keith, chief executive officer and president of AT&T’s fixed wireless division. The technology transmits voice and data signals between a base station and a small antenna installed on the exterior of a customer’s home using 10 megahertz of spectrum at the 1900 MHz personal communication services frequency band, which eliminates the need for line-of-sight. The technique is derived from technology used by the U.S. military, and no other company at the moment has it, AT&T said. Trials of the fixed wireless service have been taking place in Dallas during the last 10 to 12 months. Still, there is some surprise over how aggressively AT&T seems to be moving the project along, in part because Project Angel dates back more than six years to McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., before it was bought by AT&T. … Read more
China set to become largest wireless data market
NEW YORK-Despite problems the written Chinese language poses for Internet communications, China may nevertheless become the largest wireless data market in the world. China Telecom Hong Kong, which had 38 million subscribers at the end of 1999, “is closely following and preparing for wireless data,” Li Ping, vice chairman and chief operating officer, said in a recent presentation here. In a populous country with a proportionately low number of wireline phones and personal computers, “wireless data is one of the most promising sectors,” he added. Hurdles remain because of “the difficulties in using Chinese characters in Internet-enabled handsets … but China could become the biggest wireless data market in the world,” Li said. “The future of our company is based on the convergence of wireless voice and data.” China Telecom, the incumbent cellular carrier, already provides short message service in some cities, offering sports scores, stock quotes and weather reports. It is conducting trials of General Packet Radio Service and Wireless Application Protocol and expects test results by mid-year. “With WAP, we are waiting for the vendors, Ericsson and Nokia, because many of the software and applications are not available yet,” Li said. … Read more
China Unicom’s CDMA network delayed
China Unicom’s planned deployment of Code Division Multiple Access technology remains delayed as Unicom works on sorting out the paper work with both the Ministry of Information Industry and the State Development Planning Commission, vendors in China say. Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji recently told reporters that the government did not order a stop to construction of the network. He pointed to the lack of coordination and communications between the MII and SDPC. Both agencies appear to be processing the paper work, but it’s unclear how long the delay will last, say manufacturers. The attempts to deploy CDMA technology on a wide scale were delayed for more than a year for various reasons. Iin early 1999, the Chinese government allowed the technology as a World Trade Organization concession. The most recent delay involved Qualcomm Inc. and the Chinese government, who were negotiating licensing terms over Qualcomm’s intellectual property rights to CDMA technology. In February, China Unicom and Qualcomm announced a deal that gives Chinese manufacturers who enter license agreements with Qualcomm reduced royalty rates if they agree to purchase their CDMA Application Specific Integrated Circuits from Qualcomm as long as the prices are competitive. … Read more
Questioning the mobile e-commerce gold rush
BOSTON-According to a new report by Ovum, potential mobile e-commerce providers should provide unique and compelling services, rather than hype about new technology that is purported to change the world, if they want to reach the buying public. Duncan Brown, co-author of the report, “Mobile E-commerce: Market Strategies,” noted, “It’s debatable whether ordinary consumers are actually demanding mobile e-commerce services right now. It’s more a case of suppliers sensing an opportunity to make money, and pushing an idea at them. “Business users, rather than the mass market, will be the first serious adopters, but even they won’t pay a premium for existing services, which are easier and cheaper to access using the phone or a [personal computer],” Brown continued. The report noted that the current climate has all the frenzy, uncertainty and ill preparedness of a gold rush. Companies need to avoid investing in applications, which sound impressive on paper but do not attract user take-up. “Potential mobile e-commerce players have to realize that at this point in time, good substitutes for their services already exist-it’s only the delivery method that has changed,” Brown noted. … Read more
PCIA seeks a tradeshow turnaround
The Personal Communications Industry Association announced another initiative last week to turn the association around in the midst of dwindling membership and public-relations problems surrounding its annual trade show. PCIA said it is repositioning and renaming its annual conference and trade show PCIA GlobalXChange to reflect the hottest topic in the wireless industry today-the wireless Internet. “We took a look at the show and realized that we really needed to change the direction of the show, the content and the name to reflect the more modern times,” PCIA President Jay Kitchen told RCR. “The change that has taken place is exponential and more and more companies are getting involved. Content is becoming a very powerful part of the mix. We want to emphasize the convergence of the wireless Internet.” The announcement came on the heels of PCIA’s revelation earlier this month that it was streamlining 10 positions and setting a new strategic direction to align with the emerging market trends, namely the wireless Internet. Many industry players see PCIA as an unnecessary duplication of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association as the wireless market matures and consolidates. Many carriers and vendors are leaving the association and its trade show. Sprint PCS, Lucent Technologies Inc., Nokia Mobile Phones and L.M. Ericsson did not renew their memberships this year. Moreover, large vendors Lucent, Nokia, Ericsson, Nortel Networks Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. don’t expect to exhibit at this year’s show slated for Chicago in September. … Read more
Infrastructure players pick sides on tech
Nokia threw its support behind Motorola Inc.’s 1X Plus proposal last week and said it is evaluating making cdmaOne-based infrastructure equipment. Motorola announced earlier this month plans to challenge Qualcomm Inc.’s proprietary High Data Rate technology, introducing its own 1XRTT enhancement for cdmaOne carriers to consider. Virtually all Code Division Multiple Access carriers plan soon to migrate to 1X technology, which offers extra voice capacity and higher data speeds of about 144 kilobits per second. Motorola’s and Nokia’s new proposal, now named 1XTREME, consolidates Nokia’s work on Internet Protocol technology and Motorola’s 1X Plus proposal. Nokia, the only major vendor today that does not make cdmaOne infrastructure, said it is evaluating the opportunity to enter the infrastructure business related to this proposal. “This complements our other proposals for harmonization and our existing plans to drive forward with other initiatives in the field of 3G,” said Arja Suominen, spokeswoman for Nokia in Finland. “Since 1XTREME is based on open interfaces, it can also be connected to the 3G Global Packet Core networks … This enables cdmaOne operators to deploy all-IP networks.” A new standoff in the cdmaOne community is brewing over high-speed data enhancements. CdmaOne heavyweight Lucent Technologies Inc. and Qualcomm support HDR technology and Motorola and Nokia are on the other side. Both HDR and 1XTREME technologies fit into a standard 1.25-megahertz channel. But HDR technology is dedicated solely to high-speed data, with the goal to achieve 2.4-megabit speeds. The 1XTREME proposal allows for voice and data to coexist on the same channel, allowing operators to use base station assets more efficiently and cheaply, said Motorola. Phase 2 of the 1XTREME proposal is designed to reach 5.2-megabit speeds. Qualcomm has been pushing HDR technology for many months signing a few licensees, but carriers-still unsure of how the data market will take off-are leery about dedicating an entire channel to data. Lucent announced its support for the technology earlier this month. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
