Cingular Upgrades to HSDPA

[jones]

http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6275440.html


Cingular Upgrades to HSDPA


By Susan Rush
October 18, 2005


Ericsson and Lucent Technologies are keeping Cingular Wireless on schedule for its planned high-speed wireless service rollout this year. Three markets are high-speed downlink packet access (HDSPA)-ready, thanks to completed upgrades by the two equipment vendors.

Through Lucent's network upgrade efforts, Cingular Wireless now has the ability to offer HSDPA services in Seattle and Phoenix, which enables the carrier to deliver simultaneous wireless voice and high-speed data services to UMTS customers over a commercial HSDPA network.

Lucent says it is working with Cingular on HSDPA upgrades in key U.S. markets. In addition to equipment, Lucent also is providing program management, network integration, site location and construction, engineering and installation and optimization services to Cingular.

Separately, Ericsson upgraded Cingular's UMTS infrastructure to HSDPA in the Dallas/Forth Worth market. As part of the upgrade, Ericsson provided radio access equipment as well as civil site construction services and integrated the UMTS network Cingular acquired from AT&T Wireless.

Cingular the HSDPA services will be offered as soon as devices to support the service are ready. The carrier says it is on track to have 15 to 20 high-speed wireless markets up and running, with devices, by the end of this year.

[ShoresGuy]

Cool, interesting to see how the former AT&T empire still has their hands in the entire US telecommunications setup even if it's the Baby Bells and other former AT&T tech divisions working together nowadays.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by ShoresGuy Cool, interesting to see how the former AT&T empire still has their hands in the entire US telecommunications setup even if it's the Baby Bells and other former AT&T tech divisions working together nowadays.

Yeah, Lucent is what is left of the old Bell Labs & Western Electric, Cingular is SBC (Baby Bell, a product of divesture), and AT&T Wireless (Spinoff from AT&T - old "Ma Bell"). 25 years ago it was all the same company.

Ericsson has been a major player in the european telcom market, making phones & switching equipment since the early days of the telephone.

[ShoresGuy]

Yep and before Cingular, they were PacBell or Pacific Bell Wireless (for those wondering where the rest of the name is). Pacific Bell has also disappeared even though the name was maintained on the pay phones the last time I returned home to California in 2003. I don't think Nevada Bell is still being marketed either since SBC is intent on keeping their brand name on top of the classical company names.

[hillbilly44]

Cingular is also Bell South another of the "Baby Bells"

[bobolito]

Here are more details:

Cingular HSDPA Goes Live
10.18.05

Vendors providing radio access equipment to Cingular Wireless LLC have today announced that America’s largest mobile operator has switched on its High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network in selected markets across the country.

The move confirms Cingular as having one of the most aggressive HSDPA rollout schedules in the world and underlines the importance of this technology to the evolution of 3G services.

In separate releases, Lucent Technologies Inc. said the 3G networks it had provided Phoenix and Seattle had been upgraded to support HSDPA, while Ericsson AB said the network it had deployed in Fartworth/Dallas had also gone live.

Siemens AG, Cingular’s third provider of 3G radio access systems, has yet to announce that any of the network it has deployed has gone live. This is likely because the Ericsson and Lucent announcements relate to upgrades of existing 3G systems originally deployed by AT&T Wireless prior to its acquisition by Cingular, whereas Siemens is expected to deliver “straight to HSDPA” equipment from the start, as the operator builds out its nationwide 3G footprint.

HSDPA works by increasing the amount of capacity and throughput 3G systems can deliver in a 5MHz radio channel to an anticipated average 400 to 700 kbit/s per user, with potential to burst to megabit speeds as networks mature. This is expected to drive down the cost-per-bit of 3G systems and have a dramatic impact on mobile data economics.

With plans to launch services over HSDPA in 15 to 20 markets by the end of 2005, Cingular’s 3G rollout was pegged in the most recent Unstrung Insider report -- Turbo 3G: High-Speed Packet Access Arrives -- as a flagship deployment that will be watched closely by operators worldwide.

“Several sources at suppliers close to the project say that this [15-20 markets schedule] is more of positioning statement and that they believe Cingular can launch a service to friendly users in this time frame, but it will not be able to launch true commercial services until some point in the first half of 2006,” says the report.

The report also notes Cingular itself does not expect handsets -- from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and LG Electronics Inc. until the first half of 2006. Cingular spokesperson Ritch Blasi today confirmed, however, that a commercial launch would occur in 2005 using laptop data cards from Novatel Wireless Inc. and Sierra Wireless Inc. “We’re poised to offer devices in the next six weeks,” he says.

“Cingular’s decision to go directly to HSDPA on such an aggressive schedule is, in part, related to a desire to fight back against the success Verizon Wireless has had with its EV-DO services, which offer downlink performance in the region of 500 kbit/s in many U.S. markets and has helped Verizon to emerge as the preferred brand for enterprise and wireless data services,” notes the Insider.

The rollout of HSDPA also goes hand-in-hand with the firm's implementation of convergence services using IMS, the first stage of which the operator announced yesterday.

— The Staff, Unstrung

http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp...WT.svl=news2_1

[ShoresGuy]

Originally Posted by hillbilly44 Cingular is also Bell South another of the "Baby Bells"

Yep I know, I didn't remember mention that in my post but I was thinking more of Cingular's previous West Coast structure.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Well we can't forget about Bell Atlantic Mobile then, can we? For that matter, Verizon is technically an evolution of the baby bells too. Verizon was formed by a merger of Contel (an independent) and Bell Atlantic (Which used to be C&P {Baby Bell}) They thought Bell had a Monopoly in the 1980's, imagine what would exist today if it wasn't broken up? Almost all of these companies competing to provide wireless service are derived from the original Ma Bell.

[bobolito]

Contel? I've never heard of that company before. I thought Verizon was formed through the merger of GTE, Bell Atlantic and Airtouch.

[ShoresGuy]

It was, according to the link below, Contel was bought by GTE between 1990-1994 and then later absorbed into Verizon when they bought GTE.

http://www.inf-wiss.uni-konstanz.de/...usa/2_3_3.html

[Bugwart]

Bobolito,

Has Cingular actually switched on commercial HSDPA service in Phoenix and Seattle? (Commercial as opposed to testing)

[bobolito]

They should be live now, but they have not gone commercial yet. That will happen on Nov. 1st. But still, the Nov. 1st launch won't be any noisemaker as Cingular is not ready for mass adoption of UMTS yet. In other words, they will start to accept new customers slowly in the beginning. However, a more aggressive campaign will start happening next year.

[Bugwart]

Thanks

Cingular certainly has a massive amount of integration to complete: TDMA/AMPS -> GSM; GSM -> UMTS/HSDPA. As with any company, the CAPEX budget has limits.

[jones]

Originally Posted by Bugwart Thanks Cingular certainly has a massive amount of integration to complete: TDMA/AMPS -> GSM; GSM -> UMTS/HSDPA. As with any company, the CAPEX budget has limits.

TDMA/AMPS will simply be Shut Down.
Umts sits on top of GSM.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by bobolito Contel? I've never heard of that company before. I thought Verizon was formed through the merger of GTE, Bell Atlantic and Airtouch.

Well, I guess I forgot a step there. CONTEL, or CONtinental TELephone was an independent phone co in Virginia that merged w/ GTE, but the Contel phone books here still said GTE CONTEL after that merger I thought. It was 20 years ago, maybe I'm not remembering right?

[jones]

TDMA/AMPS will simply be Shut Down. Umts sits on top of GSM.

Cingular currently has 10 MHz designated for each of its planned 3G markets--5 MHz for the uplink and another 5 MHz for the reverse. By pushing capacity upwards through the different permutations of HSDPA, Cingular hopes to minimize any need to designate new PCS spectrum for UMTS for several years.

“We see those 10 MHz carrying us until the 2008/2009 timeframe”
The year TDMA/AMPS is shut Down.

[hillbilly44]

Originally Posted by jones Cingular currently has 10 MHz designated for each of its planned 3G markets--5 MHz for the uplink and another 5 MHz for the reverse. By pushing capacity upwards through the different permutations of HSDPA, Cingular hopes to minimize any need to designate new PCS spectrum for UMTS for several years. “We see those 10 MHz carrying us until the 2008/2009 timeframe” The year TDMA/AMPS is shut Down.

Actually I think 2007 is the drop dead date for TDMA/AMPS. That's when the FCC will allow the carriers to officially shut it down. So look for Jan 1 2008 for TDMA/AMPS to die.

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by hillbilly44 Actually I think 2007 is the drop dead date for TDMA/AMPS. That's when the FCC will allow the carriers to officially shut it down. So look for Jan 1 2008 for TDMA/AMPS to die.

There are 2 different dates allowed by the FCC for both.
If I remember correctly TDMA is allowed to be shut down by the beginning of 07 and AMPS the carriers have to wait till 08. This doesn't mean they will shut it down, but they would be allowed to.
I can see Cingular going for shutting down TDMA by the date, but alot of carriers are still thinking about keeping them going, it all depends on how bad they need the bandwidth.

[jones]

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