dacs.doc electric: In Review... January General Meeting

Cellular Wireless
Development and Status 2005

*By Charles Bovaird, Jr.*
Jason J. Canty of Verizon Wireless, a ten-year veteran in telecommunications, must have hit a chord with our meeting attendees as our January meeting ran over an hour and a half. There were plenty of questions from the floor as Jason explained the evolution of wireless telephony. Three technologies are used in the design of cell phones in the USA. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA. IS-136 TDMA is used by AT&T, and GSM is used by Cingular. Some older technology analog cell phone systems are still active in the USA. Each technology is not compatible with the others. The location of technology hardware on cell towers determines the geographic areas of cell phone coverage and these differ by company. Each technology has its benefits and shortcomings, but the more robust solution is CDMA and its next generation CDMA2000 or CDMA2k. The GSM technology is used in Europe, and is not compatible with systems used in the USA. (See author’s note at end of this article.) Jason offered the following when planning to purchase a new cell phone: Does it provide the geographical coverage you require? This can only be achieved by physically taking the candidate cell phone to the various environs you expect to use it in. Most companies will allow a fifteen-day trial test period for this purpose. Where this is not possible (i.e. you don’t plan to go to Florida during the trial period), you are stuck with the promotional description of cell phone coverage offered by the company where you plan to purchase the cell phone. Does it have the cell phone features you plan to use such as text messaging, picture messaging, etc. Price of Cell phone and service contract taking into consideration all issues affecting your costs over the contract period. You are likely to replace the phone for one reason or another within three years (authors estimate), at which time you will have the opportunity to plan the next cell phone purchase all over again. Jason topped off his presentation with some cell phones he had with him, along with web page displays of cell phones, at www.verizonwireless.com. After the formal presentation Jason stayed around to answer more questions on a one-to-one basis. Author’s note: For a much more lengthy description of the evolution of the cell phone industry, including the technical, development, competitive, financial, and marketing challenges, see: http://bitpim.sourceforge.net/papers/phonespecs/ and click on “this article” by Stephen Den Beste. The evolution of this market continues.

Image: Jason J. Canty of Verizon Wireless demonstrates a PalmOne Treo for DACS members.

Jason J. Canty of Verizon Wireless, a ten-year veteran in telecommunications, must have hit a chord with our meeting attendees as our January meeting ran over an hour and a half. There were plenty of questions from the floor as Jason explained the evolution of wireless telephony. Three technologies are used in the design of cell phones in the USA. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA. IS-136 TDMA is used by AT&T, and GSM is used by Cingular. Some older technology analog cell phone systems are still active in the USA. Each technology is not compatible with the others. The location of technology hardware on cell towers determines the geographic areas of cell phone coverage and these differ by company. Each technology has its benefits and shortcomings, but the more robust solution is CDMA and its next generation CDMA2000 or CDMA2k. The GSM technology is used in Europe, and is not compatible with systems used in the USA. (See author’s note at end of this article.)

Jason offered the following when planning to purchase a new cell phone:

Does it provide the geographical coverage you require? This can only be achieved by physically taking the candidate cell phone to the various environs you expect to use it in. Most companies will allow a fifteen-day trial test period for this purpose. Where this is not possible (i.e. you don’t plan to go to Florida during the trial period), you are stuck with the promotional description of cell phone coverage offered by the company where you plan to purchase the cell phone.
Does it have the cell phone features you plan to use such as text messaging, picture messaging, etc.
Price of Cell phone and service contract taking into consideration all issues affecting your costs over the contract period.
You are likely to replace the phone for one reason or another within three years (authors estimate), at which time you will have the opportunity to plan the next cell phone purchase all over again.

Jason topped off his presentation with some cell phones he had with him, along with web page displays of cell phones, at www.verizonwireless.com. After the formal presentation Jason stayed around to answer more questions on a one-to-one basis.
Author’s note: For a much more lengthy description of the evolution of the cell phone industry, including the technical, development, competitive, financial, and marketing challenges, see: http://bitpim.sourceforge.net/papers/phonespecs/ and click on “this article” by Stephen Den Beste.

The evolution of this market continues.

dacs.doc electric

Cellular Wireless Development and Status 2005

Cellular Wireless
Development and Status 2005