Motorola Inc. will offer integrated Dispatch Enhanced Network equipment for use in the 900 MHz frequency band late next year.
iDEN now is available only for 800 MHz and 1.5 GHz networks.
Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission auctioned off more than 1,000 900 MHz licenses for specialized mobile radio service. Sixty small SMR businesses and several large SMR players won spectrum to expand existing service or establish new service.
At 900 MHz, iDEN will combine pairs of 12.5 KHz channels to create a 25 KHz channel. Using the Time Division Multiple Access technology in which iDEN has its roots, the paired channels will be split into six time slots, effectively tripling the RF capacity of each 900 MHz channel.
Motorola developed the iDEN technology. It offers group or private dispatch and cellular-like service through one handset. The product is aimed at commercial mobile radio service operators serving industrial dispatch customers.
Companies that have selected iDEN include:
Southern Communications Services Inc. has about 300 sites and uses iDEN for internal work groups and external business users in three states. Southern is a subsidiary of The Southern Co., an electrical utility in the southeastern United States.
Nextel Communications Inc. has more than 1,500 sites and has launched iDEN in Chicago, Denver, Boston, Atlanta and Detroit. Nextel uses iDEN at 800 MHz.
Clearnet Communications Inc. in Canada also has deployed iDEN. The company has about 146 sites, according to Motorola.
In Japan, iDEN has been deployed at 1.5 GHz by Nippon-Motorola Ltd., as part of the JAMTA Consortium. The coverage area is small, about 25 sites, and the service is being used for dispatch only.
Motorola introduced iDEN service in Israel in 1994. There are about 24 sites up and running there.
Zuhai New Galaxy in China is installing iDEN in 30 sites in Fujian for telephone interconnect service only. The service also will be rolled out in Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing.
ST Advanced Radio (STAR) is expected to launch an iDEN dispatch system by the end of the year, with about 30 sites island-wide, Motorola said.
Movicom of Argentina launched iDEN service in May in Buenos Aires.
