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Kenny · 11-26-2002, 4:36 AM

Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has said that eight TDMA operators in Asia and the Americas have migrated to or are deploying CDMA2000 networks. The CDG's executive director, Perry LaForge, commented: "TDMA operators find themselves at a critical juncture. Faced with swapping out their networks for a stronger evolutionary path, these carriers must be sure that the decisions they make today will maximize their return on investment in the future. The CDMA2000 path provides a technically and economically optimal solution, especially for TDMA operators in Latin America, the majority of which use 800 MHz spectrum."

CDMA2000 increases the capacity of TDMA networks by four to six times, and since CDMA2000 uses the same ANSI-41 core network as TDMA, there are substantial cost savings for operators and service transparency for end-users. CDMA2000 800 MHz infrastructure has been deployed around the world for over two years, and currently more than 100 800MHz CDMA devices are supplied by 10 manufacturers.

Today, there are 26 commercial CDMA2000 networks around the world and 20 more will be deployed in coming months. Former TDMA operators who have migrated to CDMA include: Bell Mobility, BellSouth International Ecuador, BellSouth International Panama, Movilnet, Telecom Mobile Ltd., U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico and Western Wireless.

bobolito · 11-26-2002, 1:12 PM

That's bad news for AT&T and Cingular.

ehcruzan · 11-26-2002, 4:24 PM

What will be interesting is if the European carriers are granted rights to implement CDMA2000. Seems like their WCDMA extension requests are being denied.

jmccrane · 11-28-2002, 4:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: bobolito
That's bad news for AT&T and Cingular.

This is why they're trying to get the GSM overlays up. Hindsight is 20/20, and in hindsight, it would have been so much easier if no carrier ever touched TDMA.

Airb330 · 11-28-2002, 4:44 PM

Yep, I never understood why they chose TDMA, makes no sense. GSM is better than it, and was already tested in Europe. Well it seems that CDMA will become the US dominate standard with Alltel, Verizon, Sprint, and US Cell leading the way. There will be so much off network roaming with GSM, Cingular doesn't have a lot of service in the west, ATT is like that in the East. ATT, Cingular, and T-Mobile will become good friends I think just to form a competative nationwide network against CDMA.

bobolito · 11-28-2002, 5:22 PM

Airbus, that is exactly the vision I have. You will see AT&T, and Cingular expanding into areas where they never had towers before to fill gaps left by smaller TDMA carriers moving to CDMA when TDMA goes off the air. They can also use T-Mobile to fill in areas where they won't have any GSM. However, in some limited remote areas where neither of them will have GSM coverage, you will see analog back up which will be possible only with Cingular GAIT phones, at least until someone decides to install some GSM network in those areas. I think AT&T and Cingular should buy those smaller TDMA carriers and convert them to GSM to prevent such gaps. CDMA already has a strong footprint in the US.

emag0rad · 11-29-2002, 7:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Airb330
Yep, I never understood why they chose TDMA, makes no sense. GSM is better than it, and was already tested in Europe. Well it seems that CDMA will become the US dominate standard with Alltel, Verizon, Sprint, and US Cell leading the way. There will be so much off network roaming with GSM, Cingular doesn't have a lot of service in the west, ATT is like that in the East. ATT, Cingular, and T-Mobile will become good friends I think just to form a competative nationwide network against CDMA.

IS-136 (TDMA) was available before CDMA and at the time, it was uncertain whether the concepts related to CDMA would work. Some carriers decided to wait for CDMA others made the business decision to go with what worked (TDMA).

Airb330 · 11-29-2002, 1:10 PM

^^ I realize that CDMA was an untested method at the time, so some people didn't want to choose that. BUT...at that time GSM was a tested method...and was more advanced...so they should have chosen that. I know hindsight is 20/20 but it makes sense to choose GSM over TDMA, even back then.

emag0rad · 11-30-2002, 6:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Airb330
^^ I realize that CDMA was an untested method at the time, so some people didn't want to choose that. BUT...at that time GSM was a tested method...and was more advanced...so they should have chosen that. I know hindsight is 20/20 but it makes sense to choose GSM over TDMA, even back then.

And much more expensive to implement. In business cost is always an issue. IS-54 was the least expensive alternative and was designed for the AMPS channelization. The equipment was relatively inexpensive when compared to the alternatives and used the existing IS-41 network. Time to market is another issue, by choosing GSM, US carriers would have had to wait for and after persuading manufacturers to build GSM equipment for the US market - GSM manufactueres had all the business they could handle at the time and had scarce resources for that endeavor.

Airb330 · 11-30-2002, 10:25 PM

^ Thanks for the information, a bunch of us regulars have always wondered why they chose TDMA over GSM years ago. We figured it had to do with cost, heh look at the cost of the new GSM networks. THe CDMA networks (originals, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel) will be turning profit way before the GSM networks.

Kenny · 12-01-2002, 7:11 AM

Also to add a little more specifics....

Europe was forging ahead with GSM 1800 and 900Mhz -- something we couldn't use here. When you go to the store to buy a cordless phone, guess what you'll see out there? 900Mhz cordless analog and digital phones. And I believe we could not use 1800Mhz here because it was allocated for military use.

bobolito · 12-01-2002, 10:41 AM

The reason was partly because TDMA was an easier transition from analog to digital than GSM. Both CDMA and TDMA run on the same ANSI-41 network like analog and the FCC requirement of supporting analog made TDMA the best choice at the time. Implementing GSM meant they had to run two separate networks which was not a viable alternative back then.

emag0rad · 12-02-2002, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: bobolito
The reason was partly because TDMA was an easier transition from analog to digital than GSM. Both CDMA and TDMA run on the same ANSI-41 network like analog and the FCC requirement of supporting analog made TDMA the best choice at the time. Implementing GSM meant they had to run two separate networks which was not a viable alternative back then.

Whaddaya do? Parrot me?

Quote:

And much more expensive to implement. In business cost is always an issue. IS-54 was the least expensive alternative and was designed for the AMPS channelization. The equipment was relatively inexpensive when compared to the alternatives and used the existing IS-41 network. Time to market is another issue, by choosing GSM, US carriers would have had to wait for and after persuading manufacturers to build GSM equipment for the US market - GSM manufactueres had all the business they could handle at the time and had scarce resources for that endeavor.

bobolito · 12-04-2002, 8:29 AM

I just know someone is always following me around and getting on my nerves.

11-26-2002, 4:36 AM	#1
Kenny Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 585 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has said that eight TDMA operators in Asia and the Americas have migrated to or are deploying CDMA2000 networks. The CDG's executive director, Perry LaForge, commented: "TDMA operators find themselves at a critical juncture. Faced with swapping out their networks for a stronger evolutionary path, these carriers must be sure that the decisions they make today will maximize their return on investment in the future. The CDMA2000 path provides a technically and economically optimal solution, especially for TDMA operators in Latin America, the majority of which use 800 MHz spectrum." CDMA2000 increases the capacity of TDMA networks by four to six times, and since CDMA2000 uses the same ANSI-41 core network as TDMA, there are substantial cost savings for operators and service transparency for end-users. CDMA2000 800 MHz infrastructure has been deployed around the world for over two years, and currently more than 100 800MHz CDMA devices are supplied by 10 manufacturers. Today, there are 26 commercial CDMA2000 networks around the world and 20 more will be deployed in coming months. Former TDMA operators who have migrated to CDMA include: Bell Mobility, BellSouth International Ecuador, BellSouth International Panama, Movilnet, Telecom Mobile Ltd., U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico and Western Wireless.

11-26-2002, 1:12 PM	#2
bobolito iPhone 3G 16GB (White) Join Date: May 2002 Location: in front of my computer Posts: 12,575 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, Sierra 875 3G Aircard Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: WiFi cards/Access points Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts Images: 50 My Auctions	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA That's bad news for AT&T and Cingular. __________________

11-26-2002, 4:24 PM	#3
ehcruzan Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: US Virgin Islands Posts: 754 Phone(s): iPhone 3GS Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: iPod Touch 2G, WiFi gear Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA What will be interesting is if the European carriers are granted rights to implement CDMA2000. Seems like their WCDMA extension requests are being denied.

11-28-2002, 4:44 PM	#5
Airb330 Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 3,526 Phone(s): Palm Pre, 8830 (Work/VZ) Provider(s): Sprint PCS Devices: iPod Nano (Black), XM Radio Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 3	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA Yep, I never understood why they chose TDMA, makes no sense. GSM is better than it, and was already tested in Europe. Well it seems that CDMA will become the US dominate standard with Alltel, Verizon, Sprint, and US Cell leading the way. There will be so much off network roaming with GSM, Cingular doesn't have a lot of service in the west, ATT is like that in the East. ATT, Cingular, and T-Mobile will become good friends I think just to form a competative nationwide network against CDMA.

11-28-2002, 5:22 PM	#6
bobolito iPhone 3G 16GB (White) Join Date: May 2002 Location: in front of my computer Posts: 12,575 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, Sierra 875 3G Aircard Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: WiFi cards/Access points Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts Images: 50 My Auctions	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA Airbus, that is exactly the vision I have. You will see AT&T, and Cingular expanding into areas where they never had towers before to fill gaps left by smaller TDMA carriers moving to CDMA when TDMA goes off the air. They can also use T-Mobile to fill in areas where they won't have any GSM. However, in some limited remote areas where neither of them will have GSM coverage, you will see analog back up which will be possible only with Cingular GAIT phones, at least until someone decides to install some GSM network in those areas. I think AT&T and Cingular should buy those smaller TDMA carriers and convert them to GSM to prevent such gaps. CDMA already has a strong footprint in the US. __________________

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11-29-2002, 1:10 PM	#8
Airb330 Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 3,526 Phone(s): Palm Pre, 8830 (Work/VZ) Provider(s): Sprint PCS Devices: iPod Nano (Black), XM Radio Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 3	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA ^^ I realize that CDMA was an untested method at the time, so some people didn't want to choose that. BUT...at that time GSM was a tested method...and was more advanced...so they should have chosen that. I know hindsight is 20/20 but it makes sense to choose GSM over TDMA, even back then.

11-30-2002, 10:25 PM	#10
Airb330 Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 3,526 Phone(s): Palm Pre, 8830 (Work/VZ) Provider(s): Sprint PCS Devices: iPod Nano (Black), XM Radio Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 3	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA ^ Thanks for the information, a bunch of us regulars have always wondered why they chose TDMA over GSM years ago. We figured it had to do with cost, heh look at the cost of the new GSM networks. THe CDMA networks (originals, Verizon, Sprint, Alltel) will be turning profit way before the GSM networks.

12-01-2002, 7:11 AM	Original Poster #11
Kenny Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 585 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA Also to add a little more specifics.... Europe was forging ahead with GSM 1800 and 900Mhz -- something we couldn't use here. When you go to the store to buy a cordless phone, guess what you'll see out there? 900Mhz cordless analog and digital phones. And I believe we could not use 1800Mhz here because it was allocated for military use.

12-01-2002, 10:41 AM	#12
bobolito iPhone 3G 16GB (White) Join Date: May 2002 Location: in front of my computer Posts: 12,575 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, Sierra 875 3G Aircard Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: WiFi cards/Access points Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts Images: 50 My Auctions	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA The reason was partly because TDMA was an easier transition from analog to digital than GSM. Both CDMA and TDMA run on the same ANSI-41 network like analog and the FCC requirement of supporting analog made TDMA the best choice at the time. Implementing GSM meant they had to run two separate networks which was not a viable alternative back then. __________________

12-04-2002, 8:29 AM	#14
bobolito iPhone 3G 16GB (White) Join Date: May 2002 Location: in front of my computer Posts: 12,575 Phone(s): iPhone 3G, Sierra 875 3G Aircard Provider(s): AT&T Mobility Devices: WiFi cards/Access points Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts Images: 50 My Auctions	Eight TDMA networks switch to CDMA I just know someone is always following me around and getting on my nerves. __________________

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