Cingular Wireless L.L.C. inched ahead with its planned launch of third-generation services, upgrading its UMTS networks in Seattle, Phoenix and Dallas to higher-speed HSDPA capabilities. Cingular noted it is the first carrier in the world to commercially launch a HSDPA network.
The upgrades were accomplished with help from infrastructure partners Lucent Technologies Inc. and L.M. Ericsson. Lucent said it installed the upgrades on Cingular’s UMTS network in Seattle and Phoenix, while Ericsson said it performed the enhancements on the UMTS network in Dallas. Cingular inherited the three networks when it acquired AT&T Wireless Services Inc. last year.
Both infrastructure providers said the upgrades will provide average data speeds of between 400 kilobits per second and 700 kilobits per second, which are same speeds quoted for CDMA2000 1x EV-DO networks from Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Alltel Corp. Cingular’s current UMTS network, which is up and running in six markets, provides average network speeds of between 220 kbps and 320 kbps.
Cingular added that while the network is HSDPA-enabled, customers will not have access to the higher speeds until HSDPA-compatible devices are available, which is expected to follow the service’s commercial launch next month. The carrier noted that it is on track to launch between 15 and 20 HSDPA markets by the end of the year, and previously said it planned to cover most major markets by the end of next year.
Cingular released information earlier this month on an internal Web site highlighting its planned HSDPA network launches for 18 markets. Markets covered in the initial launch plans are Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas; Chicago; Detroit; Baltimore; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.
To support the launch, Cingular showed details on the Sierra Wireless Inc. AirCard 860 PC card. The AirCard 860 includes UMTS/ HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS/GSM capabilities using the 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz North American spectrum bands, as well as the 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz bands used by European operators.
AWS launched its UMTS services early last year prior to being acquired by Cingular. In support of the UMTS service, AWS offered a Novatel Wireless PC Card and a pair of handsets from Motorola Inc. and Nokia Corp. Cingular quietly dropped support for those devices following its acquisition of AWS and does not offer a commercial UMTS/HSDPA device.
