Several paging carriers planning to launch narrowband personal communications services report delays in receiving network equipment from Motorola Inc., significantly pushing back beta testing schedules and service launch dates.
PageMart Inc. of Dallas was “expecting infrastructure equipment from Motorola easily by the second quarter (1996), so they have slipped with us about six months if not longer; that would be very conservative,” said company spokeswoman Catarina Wylie. “We’re just this month getting our first InFLEXion and ReFLEX base station receivers.”
InFLEXion is Motorola’s voice paging protocol and ReFLEX is its two-way advanced messaging protocol. PageMart initally plans to launch VoiceMart, using InFLEXion technology. The carrier has one nationwide and five regional licenses for a second nationwide network.
Motorola’s designated press contact was not available to comment.
While operators are frustrated with the delays, most indicated the delays are to be expected when rolling out a new technology and it is worth the wait to get the technology working correctly.
Wylie said PageMart is building an extensive beta test site in Dallas/Fort Worth, which will include 75 base stations, and as such has communicated to Motorola the need for high quality standards. Motorola has indicated it cannot yet meet those standards because its Wireless Concert-all the software and hardware components “to make two-way play”-still requires fine tuning and debugging, said Wylie.
Delivery of subscriber units “has been a little sluggish, as well,” Wylie noted.
Nonetheless, Wylie said PageMart is confident Motorola will get it right. She noted the company hasn’t received equipment from Glenayre Technologies Inc. either, but that only Motorola equipment is being used in beta tests.
Through a six-month exclusivity agreement with Motorola, Paging Network Inc. is in line to commercially launch InFLEXion-based service first. PageNet spokesman Scott Baradell said the company has not experienced equipment delays and is on schedule to introduce service late this year or early in 1997. PageNet won two nationwide licenses and one regional license in each of five regions.
AirTouch Communications Inc. had planned to begin beta tests months ago, but has postponed testing until the fourth quarter because of equipment delays, said spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg. She did not specify how long ago AirTouch expected to receive Motorola equipment, but said “definitely by now.”
AirTouch won three regional narrowband PCS licenses.
Suresh Gajwani, who heads Insta-Check Systems Inc. of Miami, confirmed the company has experienced equipment delays from Motorola, adding that “the impression we get is that everybody is delayed.” Insta-Check won one regional narrowband PCS license.
MobileMedia Corp., which won two nationwide licenses, plans to begin technical network tests in the fourth quarter, with Motorola in Dallas and in San Francisco with Glenayre. Glenayre has begun shipments, but not Motorola. “We’re under the impression they would have” by now, said spokeswoman Anne-Marie Drozd.
