Canada
Ericsson announced trials for Wireless Application Protocol technology over a TDMA network with Rogers Cantel, a Canadian wireless provider. The announcement is the first WAP 1.1 system on a TDMA network, said Ericsson. The system being delivered is based on a scalable, fault-tolerant Jambala platform. The Jambala WAP Gateway is targeted at TDMA and cdmaOne operators. Ericsson said the system has been tested with terminals from major vendors.
Nortel said it plans trials in Canada beginning this quarter of third-generation (3G) digital radio technology. The company initially will deploy a cdmaOne 1XRTT trial with Bell Mobility in Ottawa, Ontario.
Microcell Connexions announced it is beginning 3G trials with Ericsson Canada. The trials will test W-CDMA technology’s ability to operate in the 1900 MHz spectrum used by North American GSM operators. The trials will be performed in an urban area of Montreal.
United States
Motorola said it will supply iDEN technology, Motorola’s proprietary system for digital trunked radio, to Pacific WIreless Technologies for a network in California’s Central Valley area. Pacific Wireless is the third U.S. carrier to adopt iDEN technology.
Sprint PCS and Motorola signed an agreement to begin a 3G trial of CDMA technology in the third quarter. The trials will meet the 1XRTT standards and offer 144 kilobits per second data transmission rates, increased voice capacity and other capabilities such as audio streaming and picture phones, said the companies. Sprint PCS also signed a seven-year master service agreement for CDMA equipment with Ericsson, although the nationwide carrier did not commit to buying any infrastructure from the vendor.
BellSouth International Wireless announced the availability of automatic Latin American roaming to its North American cellular users.
U S West delayed its rollout of a commercial Web-browsing service until this year. But the carrier introduced open-network technology to its Salt Lake City, Utah, users to enable quicker delivery of Internet-based wireless services.
