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From Sprint Jan 2002 http://www.sprintpcs.com/aboutsprintpcs/Cdma_3g/AQ.htmlWhat is Sprint PCS Third Generation Network? 3G (third generation) is an industry term for a collection of international standards and technologies targeted at increasing efficiency and improving the performance of mobile wireless networks. The International Telecommunication Union developed this family of standards, which is referred to as IMT 2000. Leading 3G standards are based on CDMA technology. (However, other standards are based on FDMA/TDMA and TDMA-SC.) Sprint PCS has adopted the CDMA-based 3G standard known as CDMA2000. Another CDMA-based 3G standard is WCDMA, or wideband CDMA. Some GSM and TDMA carriers will be adapting their networks to function using WCDMA for 3G applications. The cost of adopting WCDMA is considerably greater for other carriers than that of CDMA2000 for Sprint PCS. Additionally, CDMA2000 from Sprint PCS will be available much sooner than WCDMA. 3G offers greater data speeds and increased network capacity for both voice and data. 3G operates on a packet switched network to transmit data, as opposed to today’s circuit switched networks. What will we see in the future for consumers? Consumers will see instant access to services tailored to their lifestyles. Consumers will enjoy enhanced applications of messaging (email, PIM and instant messaging) and wireless web browsing (content, e commerce and gaming). Location services will strengthen safety applications and open the door to new ways of using wireless communications devices to make purchases, manage banking, transfer funds and more. Full color text and graphics, plus streaming audio and video will bring the wireless experience closer to the desktop experience. The introduction of these new applications will be in phases as our network achieves higher data speeds. For example, consumers will notice faster speeds when browsing on the Wireless Web in the first phase of 3G starting late 2001 and early 2002. More sophisticated graphics and streaming media will come in a later phase of 3G in the 2003 timeframe. What type of devices will be used for Sprint PCS Third Generation Network? Devices used for 3G will include integrated mobile voice and data terminals and data-only devices. Integrated mobile voice and data devices may be smart phones or PDAs. The devices may act as a stand alone data device for browsing or provide connectivity for external data devices. Data only devices for consumer, business and vertical market subscribers will achieve connectivity using a Wireless Web modem or an embedded RF device. When will we see Sprint PCS Third Generation Network devices on the market? Sprint PCS will begin offering 3G handsets in late 2001. Currently, Sprint PCS offers more than 20 different Internet-ready phones and we offer a Wireless Web Connection Kit with a modem that can be inserted in a laptop. Sprint PCS will also begin offering 3G Wireless Web Modem and other connectivity solutions in late 2001. Will I have to get a new handset when Sprint PCS launches Third Generation Network? It will not be necessary to purchase a new handset when Sprint PCS launches 3G. With CDMA2000, the Sprint PCS network will be backwards compatible. This means that a phone that works today on the 2G Sprint PCS network will continue to work on the 3G network. Customers can purchase a 3G phone if they want to take advantage of the new 3G services. In contrast, carriers that deploy WCDMA will require their customers to purchase completely new wireless phones and devices as their 2G phones will not work once they migrate to 3G. How will data services be priced? Sprint PCS is considering options for data pricing, which include per-minute, per packet and per kilobyte of data transmitted. Sprint PCS always strives to make things clear and simple for customers. Currently we are billing data per minute - and a minute of data is equal to a minute of voice time. We were the first to introduce flat rates for bulk minutes for our voice and data products, and we will explore options as we move towards 3G. QOS (quality of service), in which a certain speed is guaranteed, may be something Sprint PCS offers to business customers with mission critical data transmission needs. When will Sprint PCS Third Generation Network services and applications be available? Sprint PCS will be the first wireless carrier to provide nationwide deployment of 3G1X voice and data services -- with full-scale availability by mid-2002. The first phase of 3G deployment for CDMA2000, also known as 3G1x, will offer:
By mid 2002, the entire Sprint PCS all-digital nationwide network will offer 3G1X services. By 2003, Sprint PCS will be in the second stage of its four-stage migration path with peak speeds of up to 288 kbps. And in 2004, speeds will reach 3 Mbps to 5 Mbps with 3G1xEV-Data and Voice (DV).Will Sprint PCS need to buy additional spectrum to support its launch of Sprint PCS Third Generation Network services? Sprint PCS started in 1995 with clean spectrum and paid a fraction of what others have paid and deployed. Many of Sprint pcs’ competitors are dealing with a combination of analog and digital technologies that do not use spectrum as efficiently as CDMA. Spectrum will become even more of an issue for these competitors as they deploy spectrum-hungry technologies such as GPRS and WCDMA. To meet these future needs carriers are spending billions of dollars to acquire additional spectrum. During the recent auction, a Sprint PCS competitor spent more than four billion dollars for a single 20 MHz license in New York City. In contrast, Sprint PCS has all the spectrum needed for the foreseeable future and has spent a total of $3.4 billion dollars to cover the entire country, including 30 MHz in New York City. What will we see in the future for business customers? Enterprise customers are looking for solutions to wirelessly extend access to their corporate applications to their mobile employees. Sprint PCS is doing this today with the Wireless Web for Business. With 3G, the ability to access real-time, mission critical information and applications will be faster, easier and open the door to endless possibilities. Business applications will continue to emerge as extensions of existing corporate applications. This includes email and PIM, Internet/Intranet/Extranet; enterprise resource planning and sales force automation and customized vertical applications. Some new applications will use GPS and tools that transfer large volumes of data wirelessly. This will enable enterprise customers to enhance productivity, improve customer service and create an overall competitive advantage. What is the difference between CDMA2000 and WCDMA? The differences between CDMA2000 and WCDMA lie in a number of significant areas: Efficiency Sprint PCS, using CDMA2000, will be able to achieve high data rates using less spectrum than WCDMA. For instance, while Sprint PCS will use 2.5 Mhz of spectrum to achieve high speed data transmission, a carrier with WCDMA will require 10 Mhz of spectrum to achieve comparable rates. Cost to develop and deploy Sprint PCS designed its network with 3G in mind. As a result, Sprint PCS will spend a minimal amount to upgrade its network compared to the overlays "forklift upgrades" that must be undertaken by carriers deploying WCDMA. Backward compatibility Sprint PCS will have backward and forward compatibility between current (2G) and new (3G) CDMA technology and wireless phones. Other carriers will be forced to introduce new phones to users, making current models obsolete. Why is Sprint PCS pursuing CDMA2000 when the majority of carriers are going with WCDMA? Sprint PCS has selected CDMA2000 because it offers greater efficiency, lower development costs and backward compatibility with 2G standards. In addition, Sprint PCS will be able to deploy 3G beginning in late 2001, with nationwide deployment in mid 2002. Sprint PCS has the advantage of being able to transition more smoothly to 3G and much more quickly than carriers who plan to implement WCDMA. News stories appearing in the Financial Times (Feb. 23) and New York Times Online (Feb. 27) described the uncertainty over delays in WCDMA, which may not be commercially available until "as late as 2004 or 2005." Qualcomm Chief Executive Irwin Jacobs said the CDMA2000 standard would not be affected by the delays. He noted that mobile phone operators in Korea, Japan and the U.S. are preparing 3G systems on the CDMA2000 standard that should be commercially ready later this year. What is the difference between 2.5G and the first phase of Sprint PCS’ 3G 1XRTT? Both 2.5 G and 3G1x operate on a packet network and offer peak data rates greater than those on circuit-switched networks today. But beyond that, 3G1x delivers significantly greater advantages than 2.5G and 3G1, phase one, with a peak data rate of 144 kbps and is recognized as a 3G standard by the ITU. A comparison: 3G1x Phase 1 is recognized as a 3G standard by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Using 3G1x phase 1, data can be transmitted at speeds of up to 144 kbps. In phase 2, speeds can reach 288 kbps. 2.5G is most commonly associated with European standards. It
transmits data over a packet network system at speeds of up to 115 kbps. GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service) is often described synonymously with 2.5G. What is the difference between circuit switched and packet switched data? Packet switched data, which will be used in 3G, is a more efficient means of transferring data. It is a progression from today’s circuit switched data. Circuit switched data is a network system in which an entire channel or circuit is taken up to deliver a data transmission. During a data session, a circuit is left open through the whole session. With packet switched data, a data message is transmitted in packets (or frames) and no single circuit is left open on a dedicated basis. Each packet is prepared in a specific way for transmission that includes control information (destination, origin length, etc.), the data, as well as error correction and detection bits. |