Citing current spectrum constraints, T-Mobile USA Inc. said it does not expect to launch UMTS-based services for at least two years and will instead rely on its ongoing deployment of EDGE technology on its network, which the carrier plans to begin offering commercially next year.
“I don’t see [the deployment of UMTS] happening in the next two years,” said Robert Dotson, chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA, speaking at Credit Suisse First Boston’s 2004 Media and Telecom Week conference.
Dotson said the carrier would delay the buildout of UMTS technology until it had enough spectrum to support the service. T-Mobile USA currently controls on average less than 30 megahertz of spectrum in most of its markets, with UMTS requiring at least 10 megahertz of clean spectrum to launch service.
The delay in launching UMTS-based services is expected to place T-Mobile USA well behind its larger competitors in providing a high-speed component to its service. Cingular Wireless L.L.C. recently announced that it plans to begin deploying UMTS technology next year with near-network wide availability by the end of 2006. CDMA operators Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS have said they plan to provide EV-DO technology across most of their networks’ by the end of 2005.
Dotson did note that T-Mobile USA has an approximate $1.3 billion budget to purchase additional spectrum, with the upcoming Federal Communications Commission’s Auction 58 scheduled for January as the most likely source of additional spectrum. Analysts have also noted that T-Mobile USA could make strategic acquisitions to bolster its network and spectrum position.
