WAYNESBORO, Va.-CFW Communications Co. and American Telecasting Inc. will begin testing two-way digital voice and data services over spectrum principally used for wireless cable.
An experimental license for the trial, which will be conducted in Waynesboro, Va., was granted by the Federal Communications Commission. The trial will use multipoint distribution service spectrum operated by CFW.
Beginning by mid-year, the trial will test the application of Code Division Multiple Access technology for delivery of fixed point-to-point two-way digital voice and data signals within the MDS spectrum, the companies said.
CFW also is testing its personal communications services network in the basic trading area of Staunton-Waynesboro, Va. Motorola Inc.’s Cellular Infrastructure Group provided the PCS switch and cell site equipment as well as engineering support for the trial.
The trial will include evaluation of CDMA equipment performance in the wireless cable environment including voice quality, signal propagation, the application of extensive sectorization and expected increases in spectral efficiency, said the companies.
“This trial is part of a series of actions by ATI and others to deploy a full array of multimedia services, including digital video, data and telephony, over the MDS spectrum,” said Robert Hostetler, president and chief executive officer of American Telecasting.
