Cingular Wireless L.L.C. said it will begin deploying a UMTS/HSDPA-based network next year with plans to cover most major markets by the end of 2006. The carrier noted the network would provide network speeds of between 400 and 700 kilobits per second, which is more than double the speeds currently available from the carrier’s inherited UMTS network from AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and slightly faster than the 300 to 500 kbps speeds offered by CDMA2000 1x EV-DO networks.
As part of the network plans, Cingular said it has signed agreements with Lucent Technologies Inc., Siemens Communications Inc. and Ericsson Inc. to develop and deliver the infrastructure required for a broad-scale deployment and contracted with Nokia Corp. to enhance its existing GSM/GPRS/EDGE network and possibly support the UMTS deployment. Financial terms of the agreements were not released, though Lucent said its deal is for four years, Siemens said its deal is a multi-year agreement, and Nokia said its agreement is a two-year extension for GSM/EDGE network equipment, software and services.
Cingular noted that all of the infrastructure would be compatible with both the 1.9 GHz and 850 MHz spectrum bands, and its recent acquisition of AWS provided the carrier with sufficient spectrum to begin rolling out more advanced services. The inclusion of support for the 850 MHz spectrum band is expected to provide Cingular’s rural roaming partners with the ability to also launch advanced services.
Cingular also said it has agreements with its strategic handset providers Nokia, Motorola Inc. and LG Electronics Co. Ltd. to deliver UMTS devices in the fourth quarter of next year. The carrier said the devices would include “attractive form factors and feature functionality that takes advantage of the increased data speeds.”
Cingular’s current UMTS operations are available in Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle using the 1.9 GHz spectrum bands and devices provided by Motorola, Nokia and Novatel Wireless. AWS, which launched the network earlier this year, said the network provides average throughput speeds of between 220 and 320 kbps.
