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AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In U.S.

Posted by timothy on from the alliances-may-yet-shift dept.

murky.waters writes "The specifics of several amendments to the original deal are spelled out in a news.com article: AT&T gets $6.2 billion from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest telecom, for deploying a third generation wireless network in four of the top fifty cell phone markets by December 31, 2004. The chosen few are San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas and San Diego. However, there's a city-swap provision to possibly include either Miami or Detroit for Dallas, Phoenix or Houston for San Diego. Last, AT&T could get out of the deal if they chose an alternate third generation technology."

77 comments

  1. I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by Powercntrl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As I write this, my cell phone is chirping to inform me that it is switching in and out of roaming mode. The reception at my home is horrible.

    Every time I read an article about "next generation network features", I'm curious as to when they'll make the first generation feature - voice communication work better.

    Maybe it's different in other parts of the country, but here in Lake Mary, FL, Sprint PCS and their suppose-ed "next generation network" is a bunch of features and fluff surrounded by unusable service.

    I think I'm going to make my New Year's resolution to switch cell phone providers.

    --

    ---
    DRM is like antifreeze, to the MPAA/RIAA it's sweet, to the consumers it's poison.
    1. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by Dionysus · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that Sprint is bad all over. In the Bay Area, Sprint is considered the worse provider.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
    2. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

      I used to have SprintPCS, I can't possibly deride their service enough. I travel a bit and my coverage was horrible across most of the country. Even in heavily populated areas like Denver and Ft.Worth I had tons of trouble just getting a connection let alone making a call.

      The worst was in San Fransisco where in front of the tribute to technogeekery that is the Metreon I couldn't even get a signal on the phone. My friend's AT&T phone was working just fine.

      I was glad to switch. So I definitely agree cell phone operators need to work on getting voice communication to work properly.

      --
      I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
    3. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by c.derby · · Score: 1

      funny, in Los Angeles, SprintPCS seems to be the "lesser of Evils".

      I never have problems unless i go into the mountains where AT&T evidently has better coverage in the Sierras.

      --
      -- derby
    4. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by John+Murray · · Score: 1

      Yes, this is the most important item. If you look a coverage map for many providers you will see that most the US does not have cell coverage. In places many places the coverage is very spotty, and if you do manage to get a signal you still have to hope the cell your on is not overloaded.

      Although my experience with sprint-pcs their coverage is very bad. One sprint phone I had would switch in out roaming mode just sitting on a desk. But, sprints 3g upgrade may improve service, one of my co workers as sprint-pcs vision(3g) phone and it gets usable service in our office, as opposed to numerous other non-3g Sprint phones, which just barely get service.

    5. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by Surak · · Score: 2

      Oh yeah, that sounds good -- pay for a premium service so that the basic service you are already paying for will work.

      Makes sense to me.

      NOT!

      --
      My journal has hot /. gossip.
    6. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by mgarsal · · Score: 1

      The main problem with cellular service is that there are so many operators out there trying to steal customers from each other. This causes that at the end each company only make enough money to survive, and there is no cash left to invest to improve their own quality of service. If they invest too much in order to attract more customers they can easily broke because is very difficult to make a user switch to another company. I see this happening in several countries, not only in USA....by the way, contrary to what most people may think, USA's phone cellular companies are currently a few steps behind in technology than companies in Europe, Asia or even SOuth America.

    7. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by chundo · · Score: 1

      Wireless companies rely on the same marketing machine as everyone else. When they can't produce a product that works as well as it should, they start adding features and draw the focus away from the quality of service. They need to maintain some degree of hype to keep the subscriptions climbing (we're obviously very easily distracted).

      I'd be ecstatic if a wireless company created a network and sold phones that just focused on two big features: high speed digital connections (read: better voice AND data service), and PAN connectivity (such as bluetooth or 802.11b) for mobile devices. Other features like color screens, cameras and arcade games are pretty add-ons that should be implemented AFTER they get the basics right.

    8. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by smaug195 · · Score: 1

      I hate to say it but sprints 3G network is dirt cheap, you can use it for the same rates as the non 3g, and if you want data, its 10$ flat a month.

    9. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by quistas · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The issue for the cell companies is this:
      people don't care.

      Seriously. AT&T Wireless, for instance, won JD Power awards for best wireless service in (I think) 18 or 19 of the 21 markets they were in last year. PacBell did really well in SF, Verizon won a couple.

      The problem is that for each person, their usage is going to be different than every other person, so cell companies (or at least AT&T Wireless) has to play a game of triage, where they use trouble tickets to figure out where their network's dropping calls and then send engineers out to work on the switches/towers/etc. When people don't call, they have to rely on system diagnostics and no matter what they're going to tell you, that's not as good as having someone call up and say "my calls drop at the intersection of 124th and North Pine".

      People are inclined to write dropped calls off (I have a friend in Texas, his Sprint calls drop every time he goes into Duncanville, and he's given up complaining) and not call in. They're also seemingly unwilling to reward providers who have better local coverage, probably because knowing that AT&T Wireless is the best carrier in your market doesn't guarantee you'll have signal in your apartment.

      And the other problem is that since people don't seem to respond to the "our coverage is best" ads, providers are competing on gee-whiz gadgets like cameras that (really) no one's asking for, in an attempt to differentiate themselves.

      It's a knotty problem. If everyone who was frustrated with their service canceled and found a better provider, Sprint PCS would be driven from the market in a month, AT&T Wireless, Verizon, and Cingular would buy out their towers to fill network gaps and the world would be a better place. Heh.

    10. Re:I just want my cell phone to work as a phone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What he meant was opting for "3G" service from Sprint won't affect voice communication at all; it still operates on its standard 1900 mhz CDMA. Mabye the phone itself is better, but there is no explanation otherwise.

      Sprint, though, does have easily the most impressive data coverage of any provider right now. I'm just wondering how well it would actually work considering how many people are complaining.

  2. DoCoMo??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that how the Japanese say dot-com ?

    1. Re:DoCoMo??? by tada_mac · · Score: 1

      no it is Japanese for actually raking in trillions of yen. everyone has a phone, docomo has thousands of web services accessible, cameras are old, the latest thing is movies. text mesaging, rampant. games. sending a 5 second movie costs 30yen, people will be sending lots of movies. Go to a concert, thousands of people are sending sound pictures and movies to thier friends.

  3. Docomo is spreading by thogard · · Score: 3, Funny

    One problem with the nice docomo phone in Japan is there are towers everywhere. The things have no power because they don't need much.

    I met a guy in Perth who had just come from Japan. I showed him how to rechrge the phone using the shaver plug (the 240V ac would have fried the recharger) and when it was fully charged he tried to make a call. He got a voice in Japanese saying there was a problem with his account. I wonder if they are doing trials in Perth.

  4. So what use is it? by Captain+Kirk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I worked for a wireless Interent start-up. The problem was not the technology itself. Its that there are no real uses. I mean, who cares that you can stream video on your mobile phone? Who is dumb enough to pay for it?

    IMO, Wi-fi has removed all the need for umts. The mobile phone operators should concentrate on making voice work better, especially in the US where coverage and incompatible networks are a joke.

    --
    1000s Warcraft Gold while you sleep
    1. Re:So what use is it? by Yokaze · · Score: 4, Insightful

      > IMO, Wi-fi has removed all the need for umts

      Really?
      How do you do location based services with WiFi?
      How do you realise payment, how identification?
      How does roaming between different WiFi providers work?
      How do you connect to the mobile partner, considering that IPv6 is still not widely deployed?
      WiFi doesn't work when you move a little bit faster than walking.
      How do you achieve a good WiFi coverage, especially in more rural areas. (Without prohibitive costs)
      How many people are taking a notebook/laptop/pda with them and how many carry a mobile?

      Once more, I'd say 3G and WiFi are orthogonal. They serve different needs.

      --
      "Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
    2. Re:So what use is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      orthogonal!? give me a break I am up after being out late last night. I'm not a geek.
      I remembered how to click my mouse and found these:
      Merriam-Webster
      Main Entry: orthogonal
      Pronunciation: or-'thä-g&-n&l
      Function: adjective
      Etymology: Middle French, from Latin orthogonius, from Greek orthogOnios, from orth- + gOnia angle -- more at -GON
      Date: 1612
      1 a : intersecting or lying at right angles b : having perpendicular slopes or tangents at the point of intersection
      2 : having a sum of products or an integral that is zero or sometimes one under specified conditions: as a of real-valued functions : having the integral of the product of each pair of functions over a specific interval equal to zero b of vectors : having the scalar product equal to zero c of a square matrix : having the sum of products of corresponding elements in any two rows or any two columns equal to one if the rows or columns are the same and equal to zero otherwise : having a transpose with which the product equals the identity matrix
      3 of a linear transformation : having a matrix that is orthogonal : preserving length and distance
      4 : composed of mutually orthogonal elements
      5 : statistically independent

    3. Re:So what use is it? by Magnus+Pym · · Score: 2

      You hit all the nails right on the head!

      Right now, cellular-based data has a bad rep because of terribly bad speeds and round-trip response times. Hopefully these will change after 1xEV-DO starts getting deployed.

      Magnus.

    4. Re:So what use is it? by TheSync · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My wife uses Sprint PCS Vision to upload images for her webcam site. The "killer app" part of this is the form factor of a webcam in a cellphone, which you would carry anyway, and actually has a lot of battery time. Check out the images in her gallery to imagine how this might be used, especially by teenagers at parties!

      She used to carry around a stylus-based computer in a purse-like fashion using CDPD, which was easier to use (just turn on and it snapped pictures every few minutes), but suffered from low battery time (a few hours) and was just too heavy and bulky.

      Of course, using Web browsers on Sprint PCS Vision phones sucks. I haven't checked out a Treo on the network yet, but I know that my Palm V with AT&T CDPD (Omnisky) had much better web browsers that could handle frames and such.

      We went Sprint PCS Vision because we needed a cellphone anyway, and paying for unlimited Verizon 1xRTT $100/month was just too much. With Sprint we pay the same we would just for voice service, and possibly $10/month more once the introductory period is over.

    5. Re:So what use is it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1xEV-DO is deployed - in S. Korea. The US has
      trials going on in several places - Idaho, California, Washington ...

      Didn't Monet announce a deployment recently?

    6. Re:So what use is it? by Splunge · · Score: 1

      Actually, location based services with WiFi are entirely possible. There are a few companies that provide just that.

      --
      "Brown University? We have one of those in Providence!" -- Outside Providence
    7. Re:So what use is it? by autopr0n · · Score: 2

      How do you do location based services with WiFi?

      Duh

      How do you realise payment, how identification?

      Digital certificates?

      How does roaming between different WiFi providers work?

      Well, it's not to hard when most of them are free :P. That said, it's possible some new standards might emerge to help with that.

      --
      autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
    8. Re:So what use is it? by Yokaze · · Score: 2

      Almost all these things are feasible with WiFi.
      (Except the moving part, and probably roaming, with a soft-handover)

      The point is, all these things require an infrastructure, which most telcos already have.
      Billing, identification, certification, trust relationships, locationing (sp?), micropayment and the like.

      Actually, in some countries, people have already adapted the mobile as a method of billing, for exactly those reasons.

      For WiFi, companies have to agree upon several standards for those things. And I don't see this happen anytime soon. Especially, when they'll have to compete with a widely accepted system already in place.

      --
      "Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
  5. CDMA2000 Baby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    W-CDMA will not live through 2003. By years end DoCoMo will be in it deeper than ever before and CDMA2000 will be crowned champion.

  6. Tallywhacker by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

    While I see the need to begin a rollout of WCDMA service by AT&T in the future, shouldn't they work on getting their GSM service widely available first? They've still got issues with their TDMA network not having enough towers in some cities to be worrying about moving up in the world.

    I took my AT&T phone all over the country and had some pretty good digital reception. Then when I get home (my house is pretty far from AT&T's nearest tower) I get crappy reception and dropped calls all the time. Cingular has a tower down the street from my house. It isn't like I live out in the boonies, I do have a Cingular tower down the street, yet AT&T doesn't feel the need to cover this area better.

    --
    I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
    1. Re:Tallywhacker by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

      Spectrum.

      Telcos have only a limited amount of spectrum for their networks, both 2g and 3g. 3G is an overlay network, on top of the 2G network. So the telco has 2 networks using their allotted spectrum. This is why 3G phones are listed as 850/1900, 800/1800/1900 (trimode) capable.

      I love reading about how everyone bitches about coverage, look at a coverage map before you ever buy wireless phone service.

      Coverage Maps.

      ATT Wirelesss CDPD http://www.attws.com/personal/buy/pop_coverage_map .jhtml?national=pn
      ATT Wireless GPRS http://www.attws.com/general/coverage_maps/coverag emaps.jsp
      and http://www.attws.com/press/GSMCoverage.jhtml
      tmobile/voicestream - http://www.goamerica.net/coverage/tmobile.html
      Verizon - http://verizonwireless.com/mobile_ip/coverage.html
      Sprint - http://www.sprintyp.com/coveragemap.html
      Qwest - http://www.qwestwireless.com/service/coverage.html

      Heres a site with some coverage maps http://www.cellular-news.com/coverage/usa.shtml

    2. Re:Tallywhacker by andrews · · Score: 2

      When coverage maps are accurate... I have yet to see an honest coverage map released to the public from any cell carrier. I know several cell phone RF engineers and they say the so called coverage maps released to the public by the marketing departments bear only a loose relationship to reality. So you cant really go by the coverage map.

    3. Re:Tallywhacker by Profane+Motherfucker · · Score: 1

      It's a shitty company that is essentially a purely roaming network, but despite being shitty this firm has the BEST fucking coverage maps EVER.

    4. Re:Tallywhacker by Graymalkin · · Score: 2

      What in the hell sort of response is that? My house is well within AT&T's coverage area. I said I don't live out in the boonies where coverage might be iffy. Cell carriers generate their coverage maps based on the maximum theoretical range of their towers, not on the actual amount of coverage you REALLY get in any particular area. Everywhere in town but my house I get pretty good receptions. It is just having a tower down the street without my carrier on it causes me a bit of trouble. That's why AT&T needs to focus on their TDMA/GSM network in the here and now rather than throw up an entriely new infrastructure just to keep up with DoCoMo.

      I'd jump on their 3G service if I had super coverage on my current phone. Right now I'm still holding out to get a GSM phone because of AT&T's tower issues. I won't pay for a service I can't use anywhere.

      --
      I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
  7. What it really means... by Zigurd · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The article is all about scaling back the requirement to deploy WCDMA UMTS to, basically, trial deployment.

    It also, very significantly, allows AT&T to choose a technology other than WCDMA. For example, they could choose TD-SCDMA.

    --
    I wrote parts of this stuff
    1. Re:What it really means... by Magnus+Pym · · Score: 3, Interesting

      More likely, CDMA2000.

      Unfortunately for the WCDMA camp, their vendors have not delivered on the technology so far. Handhelds are only available in limited quantities and are prohibitively expensive. Interop between different vendors is non-existent. In the meantime, CDMA2000 1x is charging ahead, and the economies of scale are driving down the costs.

      In the US, Verizon is kicking the ass of GSM/TDMA -based providers; they can support much more users on the same spectrum and thus are more competitive. AT&T is on the run since their operating costs are higher and they cannot afford to wait till WCDMA is widely available.

      Magnus.

    2. Re:What it really means... by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

      How about some facts.

      Lucent and Qualcomm are CDMA2000 hardware vendors.
      Nortel, Ericsson, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia are GSM/TDMA hardware vendors. Most European countries use GSM vendors, further driving down the costs. And GSM is field upgradable to EDGE and W-CDMA.

      So while Verizon/Sprint have 144kbit CDMA20001x, ATTWS/Cingular/Tmobile has 177kbit GPRS, and software upgradable to EDGE at 470kbit. (Depending on how many channels are used for data)

      Major problem for CDMA2000 telcos, they need to upgrade their hardware after CDMA2000 1x. Different type of hardware migration path, but they will pay billions of dollars now. Just as all GPRS telcos did initially.

    3. Re:What it really means... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not true at all. real-world usage indicates that CDMA2000 1x is faster than any of the GPRS networks here in the U.S.. Furthermore, the big cost of WCDMA is spectrum, and CDMA2000 providors will not need to spend billions more buying additional spectrum to support their technology. IIRC, amongst the GSM providers in the U.S., only AT&T have the spectrum right now to upgrade to WCDMA.

    4. Re:What it really means... by Magnus+Pym · · Score: 2

      Nortel and Ericcson also make CDMA2000 equipment. Cisco makes no base stations, but I am sure that they make networking gear for CDMA2000. Nokia is the only hardcore WCDMA vendor, AFAIK.

      The fact that WCDMA has been so late to market has given a tremendous boost to CDMA2000. Lots of Asian/ Latin American countries, originally planning to go the WCDMA route, are now jumping on CDMA2000.

      Of course, the real killer of WCDMA is that it can operate only over 5Mhz of CONTINUOUS spectrum. CDMA2000 operates over 1.25Mhz spectrum, so to get the same capacity, an operator can deploy 3 discontinuous 1.25 carriers. I believe that few carriers posses free 5Mhz chunks of spectrum in major markets. So, to deploy WCDMA, they need to either turn off existing services, or to acquire new spectrum. It is precisely such acquisitions that have nearly bankrupted the European carriers.

      Magnus.

    5. Re:What it really means... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ROFL! GPRS doesn't even come close 177 kbps. Its average rate is around 20-40 kbps. CDMA 1x's average rate is around 80 kbps.

    6. Re:What it really means... by Zigurd · · Score: 2

      Is there a TDMA->GSM->CDMA2000 migration path? I just don't see that happening. Maybe - a very big maybe - there is a case for an EVDO overlay. But even in CDMA carriers EVDO has to compete with CDMA+802.11 as a "3G-lite" future.

      --
      I wrote parts of this stuff
    7. Re:What it really means... by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

      No, but there is also no TDMA->GSM->UMTS upgrade path.

      Heh, you can't even call that an upgrade path - They're three completely different technologies, the only relation between GSM and UMTS being political (i.e. UMTS is the "official" 3G version of GSM), not technical.

      Essentially, GSM is a dead end. There is no upgrade path from GSM to either of the competing 3G standards.

      BTW, yes there IS a cdmaOne->CDMA2000 1xRTT->CDMA2000 1xEV-DO upgrade path. It's quite seamless - Portions of Verizon's network are now 1xRTT capable and my cdmaOne phone has no problem with it. When I upgrade to a CDMA2000-capable phone, it will have no problem in the boonies where Verizon has no reason whatsoever to upgrade their towers to 1xRTT capability.

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  8. Google loves us by Anonymous+Custard · · Score: 2

    This thread was listed as the top Sci/Tech story this morning on google :-) ...

    AT&T/DoCoMo Deal For W-CDMA Deployment In US
    Slashdot - 3 hours ago
    murky.waters writes "The specifics of several amendments to the original deal are spelled out in a news.com article: AT&T gets $6.2 billion from NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest telecom, for deploying a third generation wireless network in four of ...
    NTT DoCoMo's $6 billion AT&T guarantee BusinessWeek
    AT&T Wireless could owe $6B if W-CDMA rollout is late ComputerWorld

    --
    $8.95/mo web hosting
    1. Re:Google loves us by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ..and I see it's not the only Slashdot article referenced there. Yay us! Yay Google!

  9. See the Annoying Ads near you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've been to both mainland Japan and Okinawa, and I can tell you that you can't even walk a block without seeing a DoCoMo ad with CDMA on it (the side of a building, the back window of the millions of taxis, etc).

    This is a HUGE service over there.. If it works as well as it seems to there, then I welcome it.

    After all, GSM has problems.. The only thing I wonder about is: Have any government agencies stepped in insiting on making CDMA as easy to eavesdrop on as GSM is? (the encryption used in GSM is very weak). And what does the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (http://www.etsi.fr) think about this? After all, they developed the GSM standard, so won't that mean the competing standard will cause them to loose out?

    Just my 2 cents. :)

    1. Re:See the Annoying Ads near you by soramimicake · · Score: 1

      Hmm... I don't think you are seeing the same ads. DoCoMo advertises their 3G W-CDMA service using their service mark FOMA. CDMA (2G) ads are by au/KDDI, their competitor.

  10. no commintment for 3G by fermion · · Score: 3, Interesting
    What this seems to mean is that there is no commitment for true 3G service. ATT is scaling back the agreement, from 4 to 13 cities. They apparently haven't completed the market research because they have not chosen all four of those cities. They leave a large loophole so that when they do get around to doing the market research, and find that there is no market, they can cite economic factors and pull out of the deal.

    I have tried to do wireless data off and on for several years. In each case there were ill defined equipment costs, ill defined areas of operation, and convoluted 'data' plans. It shouldn't have been that hard. Hook the cell phone to the computer, dial the ISP, and be on the internet. Sure it would be slower, but it should have worked.

    We now have these pseudo 3G services that claim internet connectivity. Of course to use such a service, you must subscribe to their content. I believe that even mail must be routed through their portal, at additional cost to the subscriber. It reminds me of the original bell attempt to make so much profit off modems that it threatened the BBS.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  11. Inevitable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    AT&T is already in the process of converting their current network (TDMA) to a GSM/GPRS network. I any of you would read the standards, you would find that the upgrade path for GSM/GPRS networks to 3G is WCDMA. WCDMA networks will be backwards compatible with GSM, even though it resides on different frequencies, WCDMA phones also contain a SIM card, which you could easily switch out from your GSM/GPRS phone. Since AT&T has already chosen GSM/GPRS their choice to go with WCDMA was just a matter of time.

  12. AT&T... always on top of the game by rcs1000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When AT&T Wireless first rolled out digital cellular they went with TDMA, the logical 3Gish extension to which is Rx1TT (as used in Korea).

    Then, about two years ago they announced they were migrating their network (building an overlay) to GSM, the logical 3G extension to which is WCDMA (European version).

    Now they look like they are going down the Japanese WCDMA route, which is based on an earlier standard tham European WCDMA (although it does actually work, which is a plus!)

    It seems to me that they really need to sit down and decide exactly what system they want to use. There are numerous issues with cell planning, roaming, etc. affected by their choices. If they continue to mess around like this, who knows when a decent 3G service will be available to Americans.

    --
    --- My dad's political betting
    1. Re:AT&T... always on top of the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      They actually do have a plan. I work for AT&T and here is part of the corporate "newsletter" that gets sent to us every couple of days (notice the second section about aligning strategy):

      AT&T Wireless and NTT DoCoMo outline plans for targeted rollout of W-CDMA services
      [Source: AT&T Wireless company press release, December 26, 2002] -- AT&T Wireless today announced the four major U.S. markets in which they will first deploy and launch W-CDMA (wideband code division multiple band access), the most widely adopted global standard for next generation wireless technology. The company said this will be the first deployment of true wideband third generation (3G) wireless data services in the Western Hemisphere. By the end of December 2004 the company plans a commercial launch in sections of four U.S. cities that have a high concentration of mobile professionals.

      As part of a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today, AT&T Wireless and DoCoMo said they plan to launch the communications cores of San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and Dallas as the first four U.S. markets for W-CDMA deployment. The announced 3G build and launch will follow a planned deployment of high data speed EDGE technology (enhanced data rates evolution) by AT&T Wireless later next year. This is the next step in AT&T Wireless' planned global-standard technology evolution, which will enable it to offer customers the most advanced voice, data, messages, music, information, and video services as it progresses from GSM and GPRS technology to EDGE and then to W-CDMA. [Editor's Note: To review the full press release, click on http://www.attwireless.com/press/.]

      Aligning our next generation strategy
      [Contributors: Rod Nelson, Product & Technology Development, and Greg Slemons, Wireless Network Services] -- You may have read stories in newspapers or heard reports on the radio concerning AT&T Wireless' plans to delay offering true 3G services using W-CDMA, also known as UMTS, and that we will limit the availability of service to four markets (see press release above). While both those statements are true, this is not a drastic change from the plans we laid out in October 2000. At that time, we announced that we'd deploy a national GSM/GPRS network by the end of 2002, upgrade to EDGE by 2003, and offer W-CDMA service in 13 cities by mid-2004.

      Thanks to your hard work, our report card shows that we completed the GSM/GPRS network on budget and ahead of schedule. We're also on target for completing the TeleCorp markets by mid-2003. And, we're well on our way to have EDGE deployed in all these markets by the second half of next year. We believe the faster speeds, devices, and applications both GPRS and EDGE deliver can meet our customers wireless data needs for the next few years. This is one of the reasons we decided to roll out W-CDMA in a more targeted way.

      Additionally, as you have heard John Zeglis say, one of our major goals in 2003 is to become cash flow positive. This means investing capital and operational dollars in a way that maximizes the profitability of our business. Our decision to carefully target the introduction of W-CDMA and tie it closely to customer demand will help us meet those financial goals.

      Finally, we are committed to our technology path and believe our agreement with DoCoMo will help us deliver shareholder value while continuing to satisfy our customers needs for faster data speeds. Most of all, it keeps us on course toward a successful future.

    2. Re:AT&T... always on top of the game by quistas · · Score: 2

      Sort of, but not really.

      AT&T Wireless has a 2G network that's TDMA. They built an interim solution, essentially, to do data during the transition to 3G. This is the "2.5G" network that has limited features and low data transfer speeds. That's the GSM/GPRS network.

      Their plan is to deploy the advanced 2.5G stuff nationwide, getting up to ~384kbits, and then expand the spanking new 3G W-CDMA network which is GSM(ish) to do 2megabits.

      The plan, eventually, is that AT&T Wireless is going to be the only US provider of 3G data over GSM systems, which means they'll be able to use the same amazingly cool phones and features the rest of the world uses, and be a good citizen of the world to sell phones that can do global roaming etc.

      Something I don't think's been mentioned is that DoCoMo owns 15% of AT&T Wireless, and bought in at the IPO price of 29.5 (Wireless is at ~7 now), so they've got a huge investment and sway in driving the company to be able to use the features that DoCoMo uses to mint money in Japan.

      -- q

    3. Re:AT&T... always on top of the game by Xerithane · · Score: 2

      The plan, eventually, is that AT&T Wireless is going to be the only US provider of 3G data over GSM systems, which means they'll be able to use the same amazingly cool phones and features the rest of the world uses, and be a good citizen of the world to sell phones that can do global roaming etc.

      I have AT&T GSM service, aside from it sucking my left nut outside of any metro area, I get global roaming. I'm pretty sure I'd get better service in Hong Kong than I do here.

      --
      Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
  13. Too Many Providers Too many standards by DBordello · · Score: 1

    What happened to the day when you could travel accross the nation and almost all the cell towers would work with your phone? Sure you would pay alot to roam, but you were at least able to make a call. Now Joe's GSM phone won't work in Steve's TDMA area. Can't we all just get along? :) db

    1. Re:Too Many Providers Too many standards by Profane+Motherfucker · · Score: 1

      Yes, we should have one provider. A "monopoly." After we finish on the phones and let Verizon Wireless, since they are biggest, dictate pricing nationwide and quash competition, we will let Microsoft dictate all software for the US.

      I don't see any problems with this, do you?

      Get TDMA+AMPS if you want to make a call anywhere.
      Get CDMA+AMPS for the same reason.

      How fucking hard is that? Don't get some shitty free phone that's GSM or CDMA only.

  14. Fun (yet useless) fact.... by Uninformed+Jester · · Score: 1
    Many people wonder what "DoCoMo" stands for-- well, in case you wondered....

    "Do Communications over the Mobile network"

    Useless bit of information? Yes. Offtopic? Slightly.
    Trivia for the masses never hurt anyone....

    1. Re:Fun (yet useless) fact.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Docomo is japanese for everywhere, if I'm not mistaken.

    2. Re:Fun (yet useless) fact.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Docomo is Japanese for everywhere, but it's also on billboards in Japan posted as an acronym as well. So, both of you are right.

    3. Re:Fun (yet useless) fact.... by Oroborus · · Score: 1


      Ahem...

      From Japanese dokomo literally translates to "everywhere".

  15. why only 4 cities by austad · · Score: 2

    This is stupid. Right now, it sucks enough going to a city where there is no GSM service that ATTWS has roaming agreements with. This is just going to make things worse. Right now, we have TDMA, GSM 2G, CDMA, and now W-CDMA. Why can't cellular providers just agree on one standard like in Europe and go with it? So is ATT going to continue to build their GSM 2G network which is still half-assed at best? It will be a happy day when number portability is enforced by the FCC.

    --
    Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
    1. Re:why only 4 cities by BrookHarty · · Score: 2

      So is ATT going to continue to build their GSM 2G network which is still half-assed at best?

      JD Powers reports ATTWS is the best wireless telco on RF coverage in the USA (Overall).

      Check out who is rated best in your market. http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/jdpa_ratings/FindWi reless.jsp

    2. Re:why only 4 cities by Vegeta99 · · Score: 2

      That's for TDMA, not their Next Generation Services (GSM/GPRS).

  16. arrgh by protohiro1 · · Score: 2

    Couldn't at&t try finishing their GSM upgrade first? I just switched and it has a long way to go...

    --
    Sig removed because it was obnoxious
  17. Because GSM sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From a high-end perspective, GSM has major limitations with it's architecture - in terms of bandwidth and scalability. CDMA is much more capable. Europe may have better connectivity now, but when it comes to upgrade the network to something more capable in a few year's time - ouch! They may regret the GSM architecture.

  18. 3G is here now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Provided you don't mind Sprint PCS (I don't).

    You have to pay the cost of a service plan, but Sprint is offering such plans that include unlimited after-hours voice and unlimited data for $40 a month.

    Yes, by default mail must be routed through their equipment. But likely for mass-market easy use. You're quite free to install your own software that can do anything you want.

    You can install your own stuff onto the regular phones if you do a bit of hackery - but if you get a phone that is sufficiently advanced - a Palm (Handspring Treo) or PocketPC phone (Toshiba 2032), then you can load your own software easily. With the right software (eg Qualcom's Eudora) you can access whatever email you want - you can even SSH into remote computers from your phone (with Top Gun SSH).

    Hell, Microsoft even has a *full* copy of Visual C++ for embedded devices (Pocket PC, Smartphone) available for download from their website - for free! Same is possible with Palm (although I've not done it). How's that for making your own wireless crap you to run on your phone!

  19. Amazing fact about NTT Docomo Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Did you realize that NTT Docomo is really an anagram of "Not DotCom" ???

  20. It is an anagram by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NTT Docomo is the term Not dotcom scrambled. I guess they do not want to be known as one of those dotcom companies!

  21. why? just why W-CDMA? by ckuhtz · · Score: 1

    .. that's the one single question that comes to mind.. why are we doing W-CDMA. why not go GSM/GPRS/etc all the way and be done with it.

    AT&T Wireless is largely TDMA (so is Cingular). Verizon/Alltel etc are CDMA. All proprietary technology.

    None of which allows consumer choice.

    Vote with your cell phone technology for choice.

    --

    Poof.
    1. Re:why? just why W-CDMA? by Nex · · Score: 0

      You don't get it. The upgrade path for GSM is GSM/GPRS and eventually W-CDMA.

      The other upgrade path is CDMA 2000 CDMA 2000 1X Ev-Do etc.

      Essentially two different 3G systems competing. W-CMA and CDMA 2000. They both have CDMA in the name which makes it confusing.

      Sprint and others are going for the CDMA 2000 path, while Europe (and the US GSM providers like DeutscheT's T-Mobile and Cingular) are going towards W-CDMA.

      CDMA 2000 3G is way ahead of W-CDMA in Japan, and Korea 9in terms of popularity, number of users) for many reasons I won't go in to.

      Here in the US we'll have 3G way before Europe will. The CDMA type of 3G. Here we'll have vastly superior speeds up to the point where 3G will be commonplace. Remember, GPRS is an average of perhaps 40bps. Whoopeee not. But whoopeee right now is reasonable:

      I'm doing the Sidekick GPRS thing now because the CDMA higher speed system's undergoing massive teething problems in this country. In a few months when that's all history this country will emerge way ahead of anything the Euros have, except that coverage may still be slightly better over there. But how many people live in Bohunk Iowa anyway?

      (BTW I LOVE my Danger Sidekick!)

      It's too soon to predict which will be the winner in all this come 5 years from now. But what's apparent already is that Euro Telcoms paid enormous sums to license technology that may fall by the competitive wayside. Most of them aren't even allowed to go the CDMA 2000 route to 3G by their governmental commissions.

      Always the difference between top-down and bottom-up evolution. It's the same reason the French language has a minuscule vocabulary compared to English, which never had a top-down Academie Francaise ruling body to stifle innovation.

      We'll see. Nex

    2. Re:why? just why W-CDMA? by Vegeta99 · · Score: 2

      They ARE going GSM/GPRS. But that's 2G/2.5G. The upgrade path for GSM/GPRS is UMTS, better known as Wideband CDMA. CDMA as Verizon, Sprint, and Alltell use it will go the CDMA2000 path. CDMA 1xRTT is 3G, i believe.

  22. PRL updates by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

    Most likely the only difference in this case between a 2.5G phone (1xRTT is 2.5G, not 3G) and a 2G phone/service is the PRL (Preferred Roaming List).

    Essentially, this tells the phone which towers it should be connecting to in each individual area.

    Old phones' PRLs can usually be updated automatically (Not sure exactly how old - But any phone less than 2-3 years old, maybe more). On a Verizon network, dialing *228 and then selecting option 2 will update your PRL.

    That said - Sprint's coverage sucks. If you want good coverage, get Verizon. Yes, their plans are more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  23. Field-upgradable? by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

    Um, UMTS and GSM cannot interoperate with each other. Unless you mean "field-upgradable" as meaning "Drive out to tower, remove old equipment, and install new equipment, shutting down old service", there is NO upgrade path whatsoever from GSM to UMTS. GSM uses a TDMA scheme at 1.9 GHz (or 1.8, depending on country), or around 800-900 MHz. UMTS uses a CDMA scheme at 2.1 GHz. There is no technical relationship whatsoever between the two technologies. As a result, if a carrier wants to roll out UMTS, they have to roll out an entire new network essentially from scratch, because the new phones won't work with the old towers.

    Also, all of the GSM equipment providers, while well-established, have no experience with CDMA. As a result, UMTS handsets are having the same problems (heat, battery life, etc) that Qualcomm and the other "classic" CDMA companies solved years ago.

    Last but not lease, CDMA2000 (both 1xRTT which gives 140-300ish kilobit speeds and 1xEV-DO which gives megabit speeds) IS backwards-compatible with cdmaOne. A CDMA2000 handset will work with a cdmaOne tower and vice versa. (See Verizon Wireless - They have a partial CDMA2000 rollout, but people with old handsets have no problem on the new network, and people who get CDMA2000-capable handsets won't have the handset become useless where Verizon hasn't upgraded yet.)

    CDMA2000 lets network providers upgrade as demand dictates, UMTS requires them to upgrade everything at once.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    1. Re:Field-upgradable? by Ben+Hutchings · · Score: 2
      CDMA2000 lets network providers upgrade as demand dictates, UMTS requires them to upgrade everything at once.

      Not at all - early WCDMA handsets will support GSM as well, in the same way that many 2G handsets sold in the US still support AMPS.

  24. -1 Wrong... by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

    Official 2.5G/3G extensions to TDMA, or more specifically D-AMPS (which AT&T and Cingular used to use) -> Null. (i.e. there are none)

    Official 2.5G extension to GSM (Also a TDMA-based system) = GPRS
    Official 3G extension to GSM = UMTS (CDMA-based, ZERO technical relation to 2G GSM. i.e. no seamless upgrade path that doesn't involve buying new spectrum and replacing all phones)

    Official 2.5G extension to cdmaOne (Known most often as simply CDMA) = CDMA2000 1xRTT
    Official 3G extension to cdmaOne = CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
    All three are both officially and technically related (cdmaOne was designed with future expandability in mind), and as such CDMA2000 rollouts do not need additional spectrum, and do not require customers to immediately purchase new phones even if they just want to stay with basic voice service. Conversely, CDMA2000 phones work on CDMA networks that haven't yet been upgraded from cdmaOne.

    1xEV-DO is what's being rolled out in Korea, 1xRTT is old hat there. 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO is also what KDDI, DoCoMo's main competitor in Japan is doing. KDDI's CDMA2000 rollout has gone much more smoothly than Japan's - Thanks to handsets with horrible battery life and numerous technical problems, UMTS has dragged DoCoMo's name through the mud in Japan. 1xRTT is also the 2.5G service being rolled out by Sprint and Verizon Wireless (Vision and Express Network respectively)

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  25. Slight correction by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2

    CDMA2000 1xRTT = 2.5G (144 kilobits with a 300ish kilobit extension available) Rev 0 and Rev A are the two subdivisions of RTT I believe, Rev 0 being the 144 kilobit version and A being the 320ish kilobit upgrade)
    CDMA2000 1xEV-DO = 3G (Megabit speeds)

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  26. What's the basis? by nag11nag · · Score: 1

    No news source is telling us who the supplier is. I've worked for Ericsson for a while (yeah, I don't need any more grief about it) and the infrastructure supplier will help tell is what kind of bandwidth it'll support. Here in San Diego, Qualcomm has had test systems out for a while. It was real nice to get cable modem speeds from a laptop. I could sit on the beach and do Deathmatch. Many have complained about reception and the way to go is, IMHO, is cellular. I know that means lining Verizon's pockets, but it is a well deployed system. The problem with many PCS solutions is that they just don't have enough antenas!

  27. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

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