Sprint Nextel network/tower merger

From what I hear, Sprint will add CDMA to NEXTEL sites in the very near future in areas where the CDMA networks is either weak or not yet available. larry will probably have the best information.

 

If possible, a handset capable of both CDMA and iDen would be by far the best solution and offer the most immediate advantage to Sprint/Nextel.

Nextel owns very few structures, so if Sprint wants to add CDMA coverage at the Nextel cell sites, they will have to start from scratch with the engineering and pay full rent for each new cell site to whomever actually owns the tower, and then also pay to build and maintain a new cell site.

This merger is going to do surprisingly little in terms of helping Sprint build CDMA sites at exisitng iDen locations.

A handset capable of using both systems would be a major coup though .

 

Sprint plans to add CDMA to about 10K iDen cellsites by 2008. Sprint CDMA currently covers 255m+ population. With the expansion, they'll cover 268m+ population.

There are CDMA/iDen phones coming in Oct or so. They will also have EVDO Rev A and can do voice/data at same time (voice over iDen, data over CDMA).

http://www.evdoforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=2504

 

It will do voice either over CDMA or iDen.. BUT, if you want to do voice/data at same time, it will use iDen for voice. CDMA can't do voice/data at same time on its own yet.

Actually, it's a pretty cool trick that Sprint will be able to do and Verizon cannot.

By the time CDMA completely replaces iDen, there will be other ways to do voice/data at same time. Either by VoIP or dual ESN chipsets or possibly the 4G network on 2500mhz.

 

"Adding CDMA" to 10,000 iDen sites is not going to happen. Nextel doesn't own very many structures, and even if they did they would have to be in the right locations. The idea that Sprint can add new sites where Nextel lease-hold sites exist is extremely overly optimistic.

 

Sprint has the intention of adding CDMA to at least 10K of those Nextel sites. These are sites that have been hand picked by Sprint where no current co-location between the two already exists and where Sprint could use some additional coverage or capacity. It doesn't really make any difference who owns the site because most lease agreements allow for future equipment additions with very little red tape to go through. Nextel's equipment sheds are oversized and have enough room to accomodate new CDMA equipment (which is very small). This whole thing really depends on if Sprint really wants to fork out the money to do this or not and if they they do how quickly.

 

As far as I know the plans are still on to do this however the timeframe has been delayed by about 6 months or so. Originally we had hoped to start seeing CDMA/Iden projects beginning in February of this year but that didn't happen. So hopefully around August it will start.

 

Larry,
What will happen in my hometown in Iowa
SMR is Nextel Partners {now Sprint }
PCS is iPCS and not Sprint

No CDMA until iPCS is boughtout or will Sprint let iPCS get to put CDMA equipment on the current towers that Nextel Partners built?

 

This just isn't going to happen.

It was hype for the buy-out.

 

As long as IPCS is still around you won't see anything happen. Once Sprint buys them out they will eventually get around to doing something.

 

I'm starting to believe you. LOL

 

The question I have how do you make calls with that in my hometown.
Nextel iDEN network ready
iPCS network very much dead

 

Sprint has already started adding CDMA to iDen sites.

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/print.php/3448181

That has recently been reduced to 10,000 sites.

 

That number will continue to drop precipitously becaue it was hype to begin with. you can't just go and "add CDMA" to existing iDen sites. I hate to sound like a broken record, but I keep reading this rumor and I know it is an exaggeration at best.

I'd like someone to explain to me how they are doing this rather than just quoting press releases. Nextel owns very few towers. Sprint will have to go out and pay rent, get approvals, etc to build CDMA base stations at these towers. The merger will make this cheaper and easier in the few cases where Nextel owns a tructure where a CDMA site is needed.

Sprint-Nextel might build CDMA at towers where iDen exists - they already have a bunch of them like that - but they are paying rent for two equipment areas, two radiation centers, two sets of frequencies.

Even if they found a way to cram the CDMA equipment into existing Nextel shelters and use the same radiation centers, cables and antennas, the tower owners would hit them up for a bunch of extra money and a lease amendment would be required to get the rights to do it. It would require antenna swaps, additional amperage and T-1(s). In short, even in this far fetched situation, it wouldn't be much easier than building an entirely new base station for CDMA.

 

Exactly, and the technology for a dual technology (CDMA/iDen) RAN is not coming in the near future. Their are collocation technologies out there, but it would only provide for a limited site, not a full macro cell of both.

 

True. The Cingular integration still isn't complete.

Those networks were very similar, but integration is over-budget and behind schedule.

Sprint/Nextel has the opportunity to do something much cheaper and more profitable...

 

I never really thought that it would be 10,000 sites. But I was finally able to find a bunch of new applications while digging through the Riverside County planning dept. records. Sprint has applied to add new panels and equipment to a bunch of Nextel sites in mostly rural areas of Riverside County. These are the first applications I've seen where Sprint is going to add CDMA to nextel sites post-merger.

 

Yeah, "10,000" was a wish list. Some will work, but not many.

Also, don't count applications as approvals. There may be rebukes.

 

Actually they were all listed as "approved".