 | Issue: | Latin America II 1998 |
| Article no.: | 8 | |
| Topic: | Latin America Leaps Aheadwith COMA Wireless Technology | |
| Author: | Jim Edson | |
| Title: | Regional Vice President | |
| Organisation: | QUALCOMM Wireless Infrastructure Operations for Latin America, USA | |
| PDF size: | 36KB |
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Article abstract
Latin America is one of the fastest growing. wireless markets in the world today, with great demand for both basic and advanced telephone services. The steadily increasing need for new PCS, additional WLL and expanded cellular systems will continue to challenge telecommunications carriers throughout the continent, while a vibrant economic environment will ensure that investments will continue to be made in this vital sector.
Full Article
From the silver mines of Mexico to the copper mines of Chile, Latin America commands some of the world’s richest natural resources. But for all its precious metals and minerals, the region’s most valuable asset may be its airwaves. As the ‘raw material’ of wireless communications networks, Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum has become a prized possession for operators seeking to expand their cellular systems or build new networks. In fact, when the Brazilian government granted a new license for cellular spectrum in Sao Paulo last year, the winning bid totalled US$2.5 billion – the highest ‘price-per-pop’ (population) ever paid for a cellular spectrum license in the Americas. Why such an astronomical price? Consider the market potential. With millions of people on waiting lists for cellular service throughout Latin America, it will take years to satisfy the pent-up demand. Meanwhile, the number of new and would-be wireless subscribers is expected to continue its rapid climb throughout the region, with an annual growth rate of 16%, and spending on wireless telephones and usage expected to reach US$13.5 billion per year by 2000. Latin American consumers are anxious to jump on the wireless bandwagon. After all, the only alternative is to wait (even longer) for a wire line connection, or to have no telephone service whatsoever. With about 20 phone lines for every 100 people, Brazil has a much higher teledensity than many of its neighbours, but still lags well behind the US average of over 60 lines per 100 people. To increase access to telecommunications, countries throughout the region have launched aggressive programmes to privatise government-owned monopolies, deregulate their markets, and allow increased competition. Licensing new spectrum for wireless communications is a critical part of the plan. Why Wireless? Although wireless is not the only way to deliver telephone service, it is the fastest and most cost-effective way to offer service to many parts of Latin America. Take Chile, for example (where copper is in plentiful supply). Why are operators there not laying more copper or, better yet, fibre optic cable to expand their wireline networks? The answer can be seen on a map. Geographic obstacles such as the Andes make it difficult, costly and often impossible to dig trenches and lay cable in the ground. The same is true in urban settings, where operators have to obtain rights of way, dig up streets and disrupt other services to expand their wireline networks. By contrast, a wireless network can be deployed very quickly – in a matter of weeks or months – to provide coverage to both urban and rural populations. And although spectrum is costly (and in limited supply), there is an innovative wireless technology that allows operators to serve 10 to 20 times more subscribers than the airwaves could previously support – Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). By utilising the airwaves more efficiently, CDMA digital wireless technology provides much greater system capacity than older analogue and digital wireless technologies, such as AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service) and D-AMPS (Digital AMPS). In addition, CDMA provides enhanced voice quality, privacy and battery life, along with a wide range of new services such as short messaging, email and Internet access. Perhaps most importantly, CDMA provides a migration path to serve the next generation of wireless users. CDMA technology will likely serve as the air interface technology for third generation wireless services, as the technology proposals currently under consideration all utilise CDMA as a core technology. cdma2000 is a third generation wireless standard that is supported by the CDMA Development Group and many of its members, and offers the unique benefit of providing advanced third generation services within the framework of a proven technology. This is because cdma2000 is an evolution of the IS-95 CDMA standard, providing operators with confidence that the infrastructure equipment, planning tools, test tools and the overall knowledge of implementation engineers will contribute to bringing third generation (3G) systems on line as soon as possible. The cdma2000 proposal has three key design characteristics that are beneficial to wireless operators – increased performance and capacity over second generation systems, data rates greater than 2 Mbps, and support of several RF channel bandwidths ranging from 1.25 MHz to 15 MHz to accommodate different spectrum allocations and requirements throughout the world. The cdma2000 proposal is currently being evaluated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and is a strong contender to meet the ITU’s requirements for a worldwide standard for IMT-2000. The cdma2000 proposal prioritises the convergence of 3G standards so that wireless operators who have systems based on a variety of second generation standards, including Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and CDMA, as well as IS-41 for networking, can migrate to a mutually agreeable format. A common worldwide air interface is the easiest, most cost-effective way to achieve global roaming, and would also provide efficiencies in equipment manufacturing costs. Finally, cdma2000 respects existing second-generation investments made by wireless operators around the world by striving for backwards compatibility with those systems – which are being deployed increasingly throughout Latin America and the world. From San Diego to Santiago CDMA technology was commercially developed by QUALCOMM Incorporated, a global wireless communications company based in San Diego, California. Building on its CDMA expertise, QUALCOMM has become the leading manufacturer of CDMA integrated circuits, digital phones and infrastructure equipment. With this powerful combination of technology, manufacturing and deployment capabilities, the company has recently won contracts to provide large-scale CDMA networks on five different continents. In Chile, QUALCOMM is building a CDMA Personal Communications Service (PCS) network for Chilesat Telefonia Personal, which will launch its commercial service in the third quarter of 1998. The system will provide landline-quality mobile voice communications to Chileans nationwide, along with voice mail and prepaid service, with an initial capacity to support 100,000 subscribers. In 1995, QUALCOMM joined forces with NEC in Brazil to champion CDMA deployments in that country’s A and B cellular bands. The A band of the frequency spectrum serves existing cellular networks, while the B band will be used to support new, competitive cellular services. In addition to expanding its mobile systems, Brazil plans to use wireless networks to provide basic, fixed telephone service to Brazilians who are unable to access conventional wire line service. In March 1997, Telebras invited private organisations to participate in Wireless Local Loop (WLL) trials, and subsequently chose 16 organisations to participate in future bids, based on their qualifications. QUALCOMM was the first company to successfully complete the WLL trial in December 1997. The trial system, located in Salvador, Bahia, passed all necessary tests, placing QUALCOMM in a leading position to provide WLL systems to Brazil for residential use, commercial use, or as public pay phones. In the mobile arena, QUALCOMM will soon begin selling its QCP-820TM and QTM phones in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, and plans to begin manufacturing handsets in Brazil along with a local manufacturer. In Mexico, QUALCOMM’s move into wireless telecommunications is a natural expansion of the company’s existing satellite business there. In 1991, QUALCOMM’s OmniTRACS business unit formed a joint venture with Corporacion Nacional de Radiodeterminacion to provide two-way satellite communications to the transportation industry. In 1997, QUALCOMM and Grupo Pegaso, a Mexican company, joined forces to bid in Mexico’s PCS frequency auctions, which ended in May of this year. The consortium, Pegaso Comunicaciones y Sistemas, was awarded nine 1900 MHz licenses to provide nationwide mobile PCS and WLL services. The consortium is currently preparing to deploy CDMA networks nationwide, with commercial service in major cities expected by the first quarter of 1999. QUALCOMM will supply the CDMA systems in Mexico, including infrastructure equipment, deployment services, wireless local loop telephones and mobile phones. However, QUALCOMM is not the only manufacturer deploying CDMA networks. The company has also licensed its technology to other wireless network suppliers, who have built commercial CDMA systems in Puerto Rico and Peru, as well as trial systems in Argentina and Venezuela. QUALCOMM’s complete line of CPMA portable and fixed wireless phones includes cellular, PCS and WLL models designed to work with all of these new systems. Moving into the Future Latin America is one of the fastest growing wireless markets in the world today, with great demand for both basic and advanced telephone services. The steadily increasing need for new PCSs, additional WLLs and expanded cellular systems will continue to challenge telecommunications carriers throughout the continent, while a vibrant economic environment will ensure that investments will continue to be made in this vital sector. Conclusion QUALCOMM is committed to providing Latin American markets with optimal CDMA wireless systems for PCS, WLL and cellular and third generation applications, in order to meet the growing and evolving needs of the region’s dynamic population.
