The federal government recently has been looking at freeing up spectrum in the 1710-1850 MHz band, currently being used by the Department of Defense, and the 2500-2690 MHz band, which is occupied by a variety of tenants including religious, educational and fixed wireless Internet licensees, for next-generation wireless services. Unfortunately, it is finding that process more difficult than expected.
Instead of waiting for the government to clear up its spectrum dilemma, many wireless operators have announced plans to roll out high-speed wireless services using their current spectrum holdings.
Sprint PCS has been the most aggressive among wireless operators with third-generation plans, noting it currently controls enough spectrum, roughly 30 megahertz in each of its markets, for the next 10 years. Sprint said it could make such a claim because it is the only nationwide all-digital carrier using a spectrally efficient technology-CDMA-in a single spectrum band, 1900 MHz.
“We are in good share with our Sprint PCS holdings,” said James Fisher, a spokesman for Sprint Corp. “From a 3G portfolio view, we are in good shape with spectrum and spectrum efficiency.”
Most analysts concur with Sprint’s position, noting the carrier’s ability to operate a strictly digital network encompassing a single band has left Sprint PCS on the most stable path to rolling out next-generation services with its current spectrum holdings.
“We believe Sprint is better positioned to develop a more streamlined and technologically efficient network than operators with licenses in non-contiguous frequency bands,” said Peter Friedland, wireless analysts with W.R. Hambrecht +Co., in a recent report.
Sprint PCS has stated its plans to begin integrating cdma2000 1x capabilities, so-called 2.5G technology, into its network by the end of this year, with third-generation cdma2000 1xEV capabilities to follow by early 2003.
Fisher said Sprint concurred with the government reports that users of the 2500 MHz spectrum band cannot be moved in a financially viable way, noting industry groups have shown that the 1710-1850 MHz military spectrum bands are much easier to move.
“Equipment manufacturers also agree and have shown that the 2.5 band for 3G international roaming is not the best choice,” Fisher said.
Sprint is also interested in protecting the 2500 MHz band because it controls a large portion for its fixed wireless Internet offerings.
Other carriers have announced plans to implement next-generation services with their current spectrum holdings, including Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. The only downside these carriers face is the need to use valuable spectrum to serve a large number of legacy customers who may still be using analog technology for their wireless service.
VoiceStream Wireless Corp., which is in the middle of being acquired by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, said it plans to launch GPRS services on its GSM network during the second quarter. Even though the carrier has its entire spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band, it looks forward to the opportunity to pick up additional spectrum for 3G services regardless of what other carriers needs are.
“We’re huge advocates of the government taking time to find additional spectrum for 3G services,” said Brian O’Connor, vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs for VoiceStream Wireless Corp. “There are many short-sighted companies saying they don’t need additional spectrum, but we are going to need spectrum in five to 10 years when new applications chew up what we have. When the economy wakes up, those who say we don’t need additional spectrum will look short-sighted.”
O’Connor said he did not blame the Department of Defense for not wanting to give up its spectrum holdings, noting they know that if they give up anything now, it was unlikely they would get anything back in the future.
While wireless operators are still interested in picking up additional spectrum for 3G services, they are not letting the government’s spectrum policy woes slow down their next-generation service plans.
Verizon Wireless is following a similar path to fellow CDMA carrier Sprint PCS with plans to roll out cdma2000 1x in select markets by the end of this year.
Unfortunately, the carrier will be limited in the speed in which it rolls out next-generation services into its entire network due to its spectrum holdings in a variety of bands.
“All other factors being equal, Moody’s believes that a single technology digital platform would be preferable from both a network upgrade as well as a roaming point of view,” Moody’s Investors Services said in a report concerning diverse spectrum holdings.
Verizon Wireless has also been a strong proponent of the government finding additional spectrum for 3G services. The carrier’s parent company, Verizon Communications, recently filed a petition seeking a delay of the expansion of existing uses of the 2500 MHz spectrum band it hoped would be set aside for 3G services. The FCC denied the request, noting Verizon Communications did not justify its request for a delay to its satisfaction.
Cingular Wireless recently announced it would move its GSM markets along the West Coast and in the southeast to GPRS by the middle of this year, the first phase of its 3G deployment plans. The carrier has said it will wait and see how the market receives the services before making plans for the rest of its markets, which use TDMA technology.
AT&T Wireless has been the most aggressive in preparing its network for 3G services, having announced plans to overlay its current TDMA network with a GSM network. The move will allow AT&T Wireless to migrate to GPRS on its way to 3G-capable Wideband-CDMA.
“We have one of the richest spectrum portfolios in the country,” said Ritch Blasi, spokesman for AT&T Wireless. “When we announced the GSM overlay, we said we could do it with our current spectrum holdings. For W-CDMA, we currently could cover 80 percent of the country if we launched it in the 1.9 GHz PCS band.”
