The new AT&T Wireless

I need someone to explain this to me. AT&T inked a 5 year deal with
Sprint PCS to use the Sprint Wireless PCS network for new service it
will be starting up soon. Sort of like Virgin Mobile does. Could be a
win-win deal.


Then I read this is a "nonexclusive deal" and AT&T is also negotiating
with Nextel and T-Mobile. I'm not aware of any phones that could do
CDMA, GSM and IDEN. The only phone planned that does CDMA and GSM is
designed to roam in Europe on their GSM frequencies, not stateside.

So what might AT&T have up it's sleeve?

---

› See More: The new AT&T Wireless

"Robert M" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I need someone to explain this to me. AT&T inked a 5 year deal with
> Sprint PCS to use the Sprint Wireless PCS network for new service it
> will be starting up soon. Sort of like Virgin Mobile does. Could be a
> win-win deal.
>
>
> Then I read this is a "nonexclusive deal" and AT&T is also negotiating
> with Nextel and T-Mobile. I'm not aware of any phones that could do
> CDMA, GSM and IDEN. The only phone planned that does CDMA and GSM is
> designed to roam in Europe on their GSM frequencies, not stateside.
>
> So what might AT&T have up it's sleeve?

I don't believe the 800, 900, 1800 or 1900 freqs will matter with ATT's deal
here. It sounds like it's all going to be VoIP, to where all they need to do
is have handsets built to interact with SPCS's Vision and the other
provider's wireless internet interface. http://att.com/voip/

Bob

Here's what I think will be entertaining to watch: how ATT's marketing
people will relabel the Sprint coverage areas and technologies, and how
they'll spin CDMA into being the 'next big thing', after saying they've
had something better for years.

Until very recently, when ATTWS began to use the phrase "GSM" in
advertising, their literature has always avoided specific terms and
instead used marketing generalities, or referred you to your own plan's
fine print. GSM was always "Next Generation". TDMA was "Digital."
GAIT was "multi-band." Coverage maps had as many as 7 different colors,
described in opaque terms such as "local service area" "additional
service area", "additional roaming area", "expanded calling local
service area", "expanded calling roaming area", and "expanded calling
home service area" (I'm copying these right off of their brochure!).

--
Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A620

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In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Frank Harris <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Until very recently, when ATTWS began to use the phrase "GSM" in
> advertising, their literature has always avoided specific terms and
> instead used marketing generalities, or referred you to your own plan's
> fine print. GSM was always "Next Generation". TDMA was "Digital."
> GAIT was "multi-band." Coverage maps had as many as 7 different colors,
> described in opaque terms such as "local service area" "additional
> service area", "additional roaming area", "expanded calling local
> service area", "expanded calling roaming area", and "expanded calling
> home service area" (I'm copying these right off of their brochure!).
>

The only thing AT&T Wireless markets now is how many "bars" they have.
Funny thing is that I think that advertising approach may work in
markets where they indeed to have good coverage. It will certainly get
people in the door.

- --

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

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Bob Smith wrote:
> "Robert M" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>I need someone to explain this to me. AT&T inked a 5 year deal with
>>Sprint PCS to use the Sprint Wireless PCS network for new service it
>>will be starting up soon. Sort of like Virgin Mobile does. Could be a
>>win-win deal.
>>
>>
>>Then I read this is a "nonexclusive deal" and AT&T is also negotiating
>>with Nextel and T-Mobile. I'm not aware of any phones that could do
>>CDMA, GSM and IDEN. The only phone planned that does CDMA and GSM is
>>designed to roam in Europe on their GSM frequencies, not stateside.
>>
>>So what might AT&T have up it's sleeve?
>
>
> I don't believe the 800, 900, 1800 or 1900 freqs will matter with ATT's deal
> here. It sounds like it's all going to be VoIP, to where all they need to do
> is have handsets built to interact with SPCS's Vision and the other
> provider's wireless internet interface. http://att.com/voip/
>
> Bob
>
>

Does Nextel have the network to support VoIP? WiDEN should support it,
but that would be a valuable deal where? Charlotte, NC? Nextel has to
have some big plans for network upgrades...
Besides, wouldn't a VoIP phone using a CDMA or GSM provider's internet
interface still need to support the underlying standard, at least to a
degree? I don't think that you can do Vision without doing CDMA. CDMA
isn't voice. CDMA is a data transmission method used by phones to handle
digital data that happens to be, usually, voice. I know that you can't
do it without supporting the underlying frequencies. 900/1800 don't
matter in the US, so we're probably talking 800/1900. Either way, the
frequencies will matter.
-mike

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Frank Harris <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > Until very recently, when ATTWS began to use the phrase "GSM" in
> > advertising, their literature has always avoided specific terms and
> > instead used marketing generalities, or referred you to your own plan's
> > fine print. GSM was always "Next Generation". TDMA was "Digital."
> > GAIT was "multi-band." Coverage maps had as many as 7 different colors,
> > described in opaque terms such as "local service area" "additional
> > service area", "additional roaming area", "expanded calling local
> > service area", "expanded calling roaming area", and "expanded calling
> > home service area" (I'm copying these right off of their brochure!).
> >
>
> The only thing AT&T Wireless markets now is how many "bars" they have.
> Funny thing is that I think that advertising approach may work in
> markets where they indeed to have good coverage. It will certainly get
> people in the door.

I'd imagine, for the lay-person, "bars" mean everything when it comes
to looking for a good phone/carrier.

Larry

gsm and tdma are both digital. gsm and tdma are both the same
generation, second.

Frank Harris wrote:

> Here's what I think will be entertaining to watch: how ATT's marketing
> people will relabel the Sprint coverage areas and technologies, and how
> they'll spin CDMA into being the 'next big thing', after saying they've
> had something better for years.
>
> Until very recently, when ATTWS began to use the phrase "GSM" in
> advertising, their literature has always avoided specific terms and
> instead used marketing generalities, or referred you to your own plan's
> fine print. GSM was always "Next Generation". TDMA was "Digital." GAIT
> was "multi-band." Coverage maps had as many as 7 different colors,
> described in opaque terms such as "local service area" "additional
> service area", "additional roaming area", "expanded calling local
> service area", "expanded calling roaming area", and "expanded calling
> home service area" (I'm copying these right off of their brochure!).
>

In article <[email protected]>,
Jerome Zelinske <[email protected]> wrote:

> gsm and tdma are both digital. gsm and tdma are both the same
> generation, second.

Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and GSM "New Technology".

In article <[email protected]>,
Lawrence Glasser <[email protected]> wrote:

> I'd imagine, for the lay-person, "bars" mean everything when it comes
> to looking for a good phone/carrier.

Kinda like MHz on a home computer.

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Phillip <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Jerome Zelinske <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> gsm and tdma are both digital. gsm and tdma are both the same
>> generation, second.
>
> Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and GSM "New Technology".

GSM is still generation 2 (coined 2G) technology. GRPS was an attempt
to get the 2G technology to near 3G speeds, so it is sometimes referred
to as 2.5G. Edge is supposedly a true 3G technology. I believe that
CDMA2000, which Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless use, is also considered
a 2.5G technology for the same reasons.

- --

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

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Robert M <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Jerome Zelinske <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> gsm and tdma are both digital. gsm and tdma are both the same
>> generation, second.
>
> Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and GSM "New Technology".

Which is utter bull****, because GSM has been around just about as long as
TDMA has. What, do you think all those European GSM networks were lit up
only in the past year or so?

Aerial/Omnipoint and Powertel were doing GSM in the US in the mid-90's.
As was BellSouth, as was SBC Pacific Bell; the Cingular areas that were
originally GSM were the former BellSouth DCS and PacBell/NevadaBell Mobility
areas. (BellSouth Mobility was TDMA, as were the wireless divisions of the
other companies SBC bought, as were SBC's CellularONE properties.)

Besides, when did you start trusting ATTWS? I thought they screwed you
over.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
"someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy
slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003

[email protected]

is busy changing the subject so no one will notice he didnt know the difference
between AT&T and AT&T Wireless.

[email protected] says:

>> Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and
>> GSM "New Technology".

> Which is utter bull****,

That language is uncalled for and inappropriate and does not bolster your
argument. The fact remains that is how AT&T Wireless labels those technologies.

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Phillip <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] says:
>
>>> Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and
>>> GSM "New Technology".
>
>> Which is utter bull****,
>
> That language is uncalled for and inappropriate and does not bolster your
> argument. The fact remains that is how AT&T Wireless labels those technologies.

Yes, they do label it that way, as GSM is based upon a form of TDMA and
is a newer technology. However, they are both 2G technologies, which
was the point [that you so conveniently clipped].

- --

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

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Nebby <[email protected]> wrote:
> [email protected] says:
>
>>> Last I saw AT&WS called TDMA "Digital", and
>>> GSM "New Technology".
>
>> Which is utter bull****,
>
> That language is uncalled for and inappropriate and does not bolster your
> argument. The fact remains that is how AT&T Wireless labels those technologies.

OK, I didn't need to use the word. You're right.

Would you prefer that I use the phrase "totally absurd"?

GSM isn't new, and using the phrase you dislike doesn't validate *or*
invalidate the argument.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
"someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy
slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003