Telecom going W-CDMA

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BrentR

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#30728 14-Mar-2006 22:02

freitasm:
sbiddle: There are 9 ratified UMTS bands however the most common are at 2100Mhz (what we use in NZ and Europe) and at 850Mhz which is used in the USA and shortly in Australia by Telstra.

I think USA/Canada uses 1700MHz, while everyone else uses 2100MHz. 850MHz will be deployed in Australia, but it's not in use anywhere else yet.

Cingular in the US is building an 850Mhz network with Nortel and Lucent (hence Lucents calls for TCNZ to build a WCDMA network)

motorwayne

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#31017 18-Mar-2006 21:58

Global roaming is definately an advantage for some. Will the UMTS/w-cdma 800 setup telecom is heading towards offer improved roaming overseas to other than Austalia? Is anyone in Europe intending to use UMTS/w-sdma 800? and how much of the USA is installing this setup?

sbiddle

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#31020 19-Mar-2006 10:34

Jaffa: Remember if telecom went wcdma then customers would need to buy a new phone when going over there. It defeats the point as telecom already have gsm loan phones, but with cdma going over there they dont really have to many options. You guys will just have to wait and see :)

Why would they need to buy a new phone? Multiband UMTS phones will hit the market very shortly and I suspect over time we'll see most UMTS phones will be multiband in much the same way all that virtually all GSM phones these days are quad or tri band. The frequency is hardly an issue - if you build the network then companies will make phones, it's not like the old days when the radio gear and components were so big that building a tri band phone was a big deal.

alasta

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#31022 19-Mar-2006 11:50

sbiddle:Why would they need to buy a new phone? Multiband UMTS phones will hit the market very shortly and I suspect over time we'll see most UMTS phones will be multiband in much the same way all that virtually all GSM phones these days are quad or tri band.

I agree entirely, but I think that Jaffa's comment was intended to refer to the fact that Telecom customers will need to replace their existing CDMA handsets in order to roam on Telstra's UMTS network in Australia, regardless of whether Telecom goes ahead and builds their own UMTS network here.

For Telecom to build UMTS infrastructure in New Zealand is only half of the investment - the other half being the replacement of the national fleet of CDMA handsets. For this to happen so soon after the TDMA/CDMA transition may not go down too well with the public.

Jama

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#31031 19-Mar-2006 17:48

Think about the shareholders. After spending a few hundred million in the last few years on CDMA I don't see shareholders being too happy about investing this again and more for UMTS. Also, don't forget that there is a big investment coming this year in EVDO RevA

bbman

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#31181 21-Mar-2006 17:43

See this media release from TNZ

Seems the board & shareholders are making the money wasters at the head of Telecom afraid of making good future decisions.

They are suggesting purchasing Telstras CDMA & EVDO network so we still have roaming in Aussie. Smaller cost than rolling out WCDMA 800/850MHZ in NZ nationwide @ $500 mil for network and plenty more for handset upgrades, only gives us a good solution for Aussie.

However they don't seem interested in a 3g 800/850 mhz WCDMA network nationwide that will give them a huge advantage over Voda who need to spend 2 - 3 times the money for the similar result on the current 2100 network and 900 mhz is still some time off. Coverage wise Telecom will have the edge in 3g plus if they continue down the EVDO rev a path they can offer a nation wide 3g data network in parallel with awesome speeds plus having their voice clients migrate to WCDMA gives huge capacity advantages allowing rural & customers the benefits of high speed broadband with true mobility.

Will wait to see what happens in July (TNZ new financial year) they may be holding off to then to release details of whats going on. Hopefully then they will continue to expand the current network, stopped recently due to 3g expansion, possibly spent all the budget.

TELECOM 027 NETWORK OUT-PERFORMING EXPECTATIONS

Telecom’s CDMA-based mobile network will continue to ensure the company’s customers have the country’s best Mobile Broadband services for a long time to come, Telecom told analysts yesterday.

Last year’s successful rollout of the high speed Mobile Broadband network to main towns and cities throughout New Zealand, and the forthcoming upgrade to the faster Revision A EV-DO network put Telecom on a strong path for the future, analysts heard at a Telecom briefing day in Sydney.

"Worldwide, CDMA has outstripped expectations as a platform to deliver Mobile Broadband with a fast-developing evolution path for the future,"

Chief Operating Officer Simon Moutter said.

"As a result we have no plans for an alternative UMTS network for the foreseeable future.

"Our commitment is to ensure that Telecom Mobile customers continue to have access to world class technology and services, and our technology path is committed to delivering that.

"We are confident we will deliver an Australian roaming solution to our customers if and when Telstra goes ahead with its signalled shut-down of its CDMA network. We have a number of options on that front," Mr Moutter said.

Telecom executives said the company’s commitment to the CDMA technology path reflected its global scale, the growing range of handsets in the market and the future evolution path of the technology.

Telecom confirmed it was on track to shut down its TDMA-based 025 network in 2007.

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bradstewart

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#31187 21-Mar-2006 18:08

I think its a smart move to keep going down the CDMA road. Buying telstras might not be a great idea, but maybe invest in one of the CDMA companies over there so they can buy it.

If telecom went down the W-CDMA road its a lot of added expense just for compatibility to roam. What percentage of customers actually roam anyway?
Also there would be no difference between them and Vodafone. At the moment the have a rather good data speed advantage and with upgrades down the track they will be able to match any VF features.

Just my thoughts on the subject

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sbiddle

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#31189 21-Mar-2006 18:12

Telstra have already said their network is not for sale and besides, Telecom are trying to bail out of Australia, not pump more money into the country. I can hardly see AAPT being able to afford to buy the network!

In the short term Telecom's solution could really only be dual mode CDMA/GSM phones.

bbman

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#31203 21-Mar-2006 19:56

yeah I have seen the stats and heard of some of the testing on Rev A Jama, it will certainly be a huge boost to the best mobile broadband offering currently avail already.

Even when Voda roll out HSPDA it still has a bunch of limitations (noticably not included on their media statements) that reduce capacity and speed when numbers start using it. Atleast with EVDO and Rev A a large number can still get excellent download and wih Rev A 20 + time faster upload.

What i find interesting is Vodas determination to become a Broadband offering in the market, they chose the wrong horse for that !! HSPDA has a peak of downlink of 14mb but when you start getting numbers on it the downlink is reduced dramatically and the upload only slightly better than the current 64kbps they can get. EVDO is the superior choice and Telecom are right to continue this.

The GSM / CDMA dual phones will be a good idea but when WCDMA/CDMA 2000 handsets become available that will be the turning point re roaming.

Just remember it's not just for roaming that we should look ay WCDMA, it's also the huge handset model and make advantage and SIM advantage.

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bbman

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#31205 21-Mar-2006 20:05

opps Sorry thats Jaffa not Jama??

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