CDMA carriers face standards conundrum

CDMA operators are on the cusp of understanding the demand for high-speed data applications at just 144 kb/s, yet many carriers are aggressively pushing ahead for a new technology that promises data speeds of 5 Mb/s so they are prepared whether the demand for high-speed data explodes or only slightly sizzles.

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By the end of this year, several CDMA operators will have migrated many of their markets to 1XRTT technology, a third-generation International Telecommunication Union standard that doubles voice capacity and adds packet data speeds of up to 144 kb/s. In 2002, those carriers will be able to add another option called 1X evolution data only (1XEV-DO), which uses a dedicated 1.25 MHz channel to deploy multimedia services at speeds of up to 2.4 Mb/s.

Qualcomm and some CDMA carriers see the combination of 1X technology and 1XEV-DO as the most economical way to roll out higher speed data services because 1XEV-DO is optimized solely for data. In addition, carriers can roll out 1XEV-DO as soon as next year.

“There are some carriers that are very committed to DO and see time to market as very important,” said Fran O'Brien, director of standards for Lucent Technologies. “DO is here now, the standard is completed, and vendors are developing product for the second half of next year.”

But some carriers say they'd rather wait for another solution that has yet to be standardized. It's called 1X evolution data and voice (1XEV-DV), and it promises even higher data speeds with real-time applications over a voice-over-IP network. Advocates say DV technology would have a broader appeal among operators because it wouldn't force a carrier to sacrifice voice capacity.

“There are some operators that have specifically told us that 1XEV-DO is not a realistic technology for them either because they have spectrum constraints or they've looked at the business case to say that financially it doesn't make sense,” said John Touvanas, senior product marketing manager of CDMA systems for Motorola, which has joined with Nokia to propose technology for the 1XEV-DV standard.

There wasn't much interest in these types of high-speed data enhancements until Qualcomm introduced its 1XEV-DO technology, or high data rate (HDR), nearly two years ago. The CDMA innovator is bullish about the data market, expecting users in the future to consume about 200 megabits apiece, giving the incentive to separate data on a separate 1.25 MHz channel.

But carriers are more cautious about the demand for high-speed data services, and some are leery about dedicating an entire 1.25 MHz channel solely to data. As Qualcomm was drumming up support early last year for HDR, CDMA carriers were intrigued when Motorola and Nokia approached the industry with their own voice and data solution called 1xtreme that promised to offer even higher data speeds and real-time applications.

However, Qualcomm's technology was the furthest along, and the CDMA community chose to table the 1xtreme proposal so operators could get to market as quickly as possible with a multimedia solution. 1xtreme was then considered for the second phase, 1XEV-DV.

‘There are some carriers that are very committed to DO. DO is here now, the standard is completed, and vendors are developing product for the second half of next year.’ — Fran O'Brien Lucent Technologies

As standards committees set out to look at 1XEV-DV, 1xtreme and at least seven other proposals were on the table at the end of last year. Today, 1xtreme is competing with one proposal from CDMA heavyweights Lucent, LG Electronics, LSI Logic, Nortel Networks, Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics. Their proposal is known as L3NQS.

The Third-Generation Partnership Project 2, an international standards body established by the Telecommunications Industry Association to develop CDMA 3G technology standards, was supposed to select a framework for 1XEV-DV by May, with the final specification done in July. That process has been delayed as the 3GPP2 worked to whittle down the number of proposals and finish standardization work of 1XEV-DO.

Many carriers hope that voting on the framework of 1XEV-DV technology will be completed this month during a 3GPP2 meeting in Japan, with the final specification finished by February. Assuming the CDMA community gets the standard written by February, CDMA vendors will ship commercial product 18 to 20 months later.

Time is of the essence for some operators. 1XEV-DV is a big deal to some CDMA carriers because it theoretically offers a more efficient network and faster data speeds than 1XEV-DO. Carriers will have the ability to mix voice and data on the same channel and offer real-time applications such as interactive gaming. The 1XEV-DO system, which doesn't allow for real-time applications, will hand off to the 1X network when customers want to interrupt their data sessions to make or receive a voice call.

Sprint PCS cdma2000 upgrade timetable
Date	Upgrade	Data Rate
Late 2001/early 2002	1X Release 0	144 kb/s
Late 2002	1X Release A	288 kb/s
2003	1XEV-DO	2.4 Mb/s
Early 2004	1XEV-DV	3 to 5 Mb/s
Sources: Sprint PCS, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

“With spectrum a limited resource, it doesn't make sense to do a wholesale deployment of 1XEV-DO,” said Chris Smith, executive vice president of network services for CDMA super-regional carrier Alltel. “Our preference is DV as the end path. That doesn't preclude us from using DO as customer demand warrants that.”

1XEV-DV debate:  1xtreme or L3NQS?  1xtreme Proposed by Motorola and Nokia nearly 17 months ago. Based on newer concepts not built on previous standards work. Backward-compatible to 1X technology. L3NQS Proposed by Lucent Technologies, LG Electronics, LSI Logic, Nortel Networks, Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics. Based on standards work already done for 1X technology and 1XEV-DO. The International Telecommunication Union's Third Partnership Project 2 is expected to vote on a framework for 1XEV-DV this month.

Oliver Valente, chief technology officer for Sprint PCS, said his company hasn't decided whether it will skip 1XEV-DO altogether because the company doesn't know where the data market is headed.

“If the data market takes off in a big way, [DO] could be deployed on a large scale. If higher-bandwidth services are not where the mass market goes, then we have more time with our 1X deployment,” Valente said. “We're aggressively pushing DV because it's the best solution. It allows for voice and data on one [channel] and doesn't limit the amount of spectrum for data.”

Gerry Flynn, director of advanced technology and standards for Verizon Wireless, the country's largest CDMA operator, is urging the CDMA industry to slow down, calling the aggressive move toward 1XEV-DV the Marie Antoinette syndrome.

“Let them eat cake, yet people would be very happy to have a piece of bread,” he said. “We have a ways to go in terms of understanding how these technologies will really work…. I know some carriers want the specification done on an aggressive schedule. At some point, you have to prove the technology really works.”

Flynn said Verizon plans to aggressively deploy 1X technology and determine what type of demand will exist for high-speed data services. “When the demand for data is more than what we can engineer effectively, then that seems perfect for 1XEV-DO, which is optimized for data,” he said.

A Nokia spokeswoman said simulation work of the 1xtreme proposal showed the technology proposal could process data two to three times faster than the proposal submitted by the L3NQS group. Flynn, however, would like to see a field trial of those results since the 1xtreme is not built on concept already proven with 1X technology and 1XEV-DO standards, although it is backward compatible with 1X technology.

‘With spectrum a limited resource, it doesn't make sense to do a wholesale deployment of 1XEV-DO. Our preference is DV as the end path.’ — Chris Smith Alltel

“We are very concerned about deploying technology in an evolutionary process,” Flynn said. “1xtreme starts from a clean slate. That concerns us a great deal. It doesn't seem to concern other carriers at all.”

That's why it appears momentum is building for the Lucent/Qualcomm/Nortel proposal, which is built on existing technology concepts such as 1X and 1XEV-DO, even though the group has submitted just a portion of its simulations.

“The groundwork is built on mature technology that's already standardized,” said Lucent's O'Brien. “The foundation is from 1XEV-DO as well. That's how we came up with DV rather than starting clean.”

Motorola's Touvanas hopes all vendors and carriers will come up with a compromise to meet this month's 3GPP2 deadline. “Our proposal provides more data throughput,” Touvanas said. “We've been listening to operators, and what we're hearing is that we're doing the right thing. That's our fundamental drive for DV.”

Breakdown  of 1X technology 1XRTT A 3G standard that adds 144 kb/s data speeds and doubles voice capacity for CDMA carriers. Deployed in 2001/2002. 1XEV-DO 1X evolution data only; uses a dedicated 1.25 MHz channel to deploy multimedia speeds of up to 2.4 Mb/s. Deployed in second half 2002. 1XEV-DV 1X evolution data and voice; mixes data and voice on the same channel and offers multimedia speeds of up to 5 Mb/s. Scheduled to be deployed in 2003/2004; not yet standardized.

Sprint PCS' Valente believes it's unrealistic to merge 1xtreme and the L3NQS proposal.

“I give Motorola credit for developing DV in the first place,” he said. “Now other companies are developing similar kinds of concepts. At this point, there appears to be momentum for Nortel, Qualcomm and Lucent.”

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