Cingular to Test Wireless Network, High-Speed Trials Planned, 2006 Major Rollout -WSJ

Cingular to Test Wireless Network

High-Speed Service Trials
Planned, but Major Rollout
Isn't Expected Until 2006
By JESSE DRUCKER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 26, 2004; Page B2

Cingular Wireless is planning to start testing a high-speed wireless Internet network later this year, though the carrier says it doesn't plan to launch a major commercial offering of the service until 2006.

Cingular will use so-called UMTS technology for its initial trial of its "3G," or third-generation, technology. The company will start its initial trial in its hometown of Atlanta sometime during the summer, and will use equipment from Lucent Technologies Inc., according to Stan Sigman, president and chief executive of Cingular, which is a joint venture of SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp.

Already, Verizon Wireless is rolling out a different technology, called EV-DO, and has said it will offer high-speed wireless data services in roughly one-third of the country by year's end. Some analysts have speculated that the increased spending by Verizon Wireless, the country's biggest cellphone carrier, may put pressure on rivals such as Cingular and Sprint Corp. to step up their capital spending on such network upgrades, or risk losing share in the nascent wireless data market. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC.

Mr. Sigman, head of the country's second-biggest cellphone operator based on number of customers, said that Cingular won't start rolling out its service in force until 2006 and 2007 because equipment operating at the desired radio frequency isn't commercially available. "I wish I could get it quicker -- I can't," Mr. Sigman said in an interview.

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is scheduled to offer UMTS services in four U.S. cities by year end, although at a different radio frequency. If Cingular's pending acquisition of AT&T Wireless is approved by regulators, it means Cingular could offer a service in those four markets by the end of 2004. In February, Cingular announced it would acquire AT&T Wireless for $41 billion.

Cingular's current data network offers speeds close to dial-up phone connections. But Mr. Sigman said that this summer the carrier will finish the nationwide rollout of a network upgrade enabling speeds of roughly 100 kilobits per second, or about twice as fast as a dial-up connection. Verizon Wireless advertises speeds of between 300 and 500 kilobits per second, comparable to wired DSL or cable modem connections.

While Verizon Wireless is pulling out ahead of its rivals in offering higher speeds, it remains unclear whether there is a market for such paid services, particularly given the explosion of wireless access to the Internet through the technology known as Wi-Fi. Sprint and Nextel Communications Inc. still haven't publicly committed to a nationwide rollout of a particular technology for high-speed wireless services.

High-speed data networks cover a wide area, providing wireless Internet access wherever you can get cellular coverage. Wi-Fi generally only covers a radius of a few hundred feet.