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3G arrives: Telecom first off the mark
Francis Till

3G from Telecom

http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=10659&cid=3&cname=Technology


Telecom has launched its superfast next-generation mobile phone network ahead of schedule -- and ahead of the competition.

Vodafone is expected to launch its own 3G network by the middle of next year. By getting first out of the gate, Telecom will have a commanding lead in the consumer space by then -- and will have been able to make its case to the business community in an uncluttered, competition-free pitch environment.

Telecom, which is basing its network -- dubbed T3G -- on the EV-DO (evolution, data optimised) platform, said day one users will be able to send and receive email, download business information, organise appointments and access the internet via laptops and handheld devices at speeds of up to 15 times what's available on its 027 network.

That first service will be marketed as Mobile Broadband and will see other services added quickly.

"Mobile Broadband allows you to connect remotely to your email and the internet as fast as a fixed line broadband connection," said Telecom GM for mobile, Kevin Kenrick.

T3G is immediately available in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch regions, and Telecom said it will be available in key holiday and business destinations including Taupo, Coromandel, Queenstown and Wanaka, before Christmas.

Beyond these areas customers will seamlessly switch to the company's 027 network.

EV-DO technology does not carry voice, but only data -- all T3G connections will use the underlying CDMA voice network for ordinary calling and the 027 platform also allows users to access the internet and email, but at slower speeds.

The new network continues and extends Telecom's agreement with Lucent Technologies for design, software and management.

Vodafone New Zealand is working with Nokia to deploy a 3G network based on the UMTS (WCDMA) standard. Telecom says its T3G network -- which required a $40 million evolutionary upgrade to its exisiting network -- will provide users with speeds up to six times those that will be on offer from Vodafone.

Vodafone has disputed that claim.

Vodafone business director Russell Stanners dismissed the relevance of Telecom's optimal speed. "You don't run a network at peak," he said.

Vodafone was not focused on speed at the network end, but the end result for the customer.

"The raw speed is one context ­ but you've got to bring that together with handset capability, service capability, the number of customers and what area they're in."

The optimal speed for EV-DO is 2.4 Mbps and 2.0 Mbps for the UMTS/WCDMA platform. EV-DV, the theoretical upgrade path for EV-DO networks, operates optimally at 3 Mbps.

There have been conflicting reports about whether Vodafone will offer EV-DV technology at some point but in May, when the company announced Nokia as a partner, it said it would use WCDMA.

While the technologies all have different strengths, actual speeds realised by users will depend on a wide range of factors. Still, Mr Kenrick said in July that users could expect connections of "500kb per second – easily fast enough to deliver video services."

Telecom said it will price the new service to encourage takeup and all subscribers will also gain access to Telecom's network of wireless hotspots.

The company said it has currently deployed 70 wireless hot spots at hotels, airports and business convention centres across the country and this will expand to 200 by the end of 2004.

A range of additional services will be introduced over the next 100 days, Telecom said in announcing the launch of T3G, beginning with video messaging.

Video Messaging customers will be able "to record, view, store and send short duration video clips to other T3G video capable phones and to email addresses anywhere around the world," Telecom said.

Both Telecom and Vodafone have said that video messaging will be possible only between devices on the same network -- so Telecom users will not be able to exchange video messages with Vodafone customers when the Vodafone network rolls out.

Push 2 Talk customer trials will also begin this side of Christmas, Telecom said.

Video Streaming will be close behind, Telecom said. Video streaming will enable users to download video clips from films, music, sports or information services and are typically seen as a potential revenue spinner.

"T3G next generation mobile services start becoming available today with the launch of Telecom’s Mobile Broadband. This side of Christmas it will be followed by Video Messaging and Push 2 Talk services. The ability to video conference via mobile and deliver live TV to mobile devices is just around the corner," Mr Kenrick said.

CDMA EV-DO networks have been increasingly used around the world as a platform for data-intensive broadband computing, bypassing other forms of wireless and even wired networks.

In July, there were 9 EV-DO commercial networks across Asia, the Americas and Europe and 7 (including Telecom's) scheduled for launch this year, making it an exclusive -- but rapidly growing -- club.

More than 500 EV-DO enabled devices are available on the market with color displays, cameras and GPS capabilities, according to the CDMA Development Group, including so-called "smart phones" and other convergence devices.

The technology is coming into its own, but commercial networks are still stuggling to find profitability from data, especially given the high capex associated with large networks.

At least one major player in the first-off-the-rank category, Seattle (Kirkland)-based MonetMobile, was forced into receivership in March after a heady two year run that saw it open networks in underserved areas that included Midwestern cities Sioux Falls, Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Eau Claire, Duluth and Moorhead.

MonetWireless was North America's first commercial EV-DO network, commencing commercial operations in 2002.

The company positioned itself in direct competition with traditional internet access providers, running a flat fee subscription regime that depended for its sales points on speed and ubiquity of coverage within service areas.

Other players, like VerizonWireless in the US, are following similar marketing models. Verizon, for example, sells connections to its San Diego and Washington, DC, EV-DO networks under a campaign called "BroadbandAccess" and provides unlimited use (no data caps or charges for data transfer) for $US79 per month. Subscribers to the BroadbandAccess networks also have access to the national Verizon CDMA 1x wireless data network.

Voice calling -- except for that using independently installed special voice over internet protocol software -- is charged separately under these plans. In the unlimited data network access plan, for example, voice charges are 25 US cents per minute for local and 69 US cents per minute for roaming calls.

Telecom's data plans are likewise charged on top of voice calling plans.

Telecom shares gained 6c in late trading, nearly overcoming out an 8c decline on Friday.
8-Nov-2004