Frequency neutral Ericsson carries TDMA across spectrum >BY JASON MEYERS, Wireless Networks Editor

Ericsson and several other wireless infrastructure vendors took the first steps last week toward proving that IS-136 technology is capable of dual-band, multivendor operation.

At the Universal Wireless Consortium conference in Orlando, the companies demonstrated hyperband handoff between 1.9 GHz and 850 MHz time division multiple access (TDMA) systems of AT&T Wireless. The connection stretched across five cities and linked disparate systems containing equipment from Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Northern Telecom and Hughes Network Systems, as well as intelligent network gear from Tandem, Octel and Aldiscon.

The demonstration was intended to prove that IS-136 TDMA systems can operate seamlessly across the cellular and personal communication services frequency bands. That is an important feature for companies like AT&T Wireless that plan to combine systems in both parts of the spectrum to create a national network that is transparent to customers.

"If they don't have the capability to hand off, there will be islands that won't have seamless service functions," said Abbus Abidi, manager of wireless technology for Ericsson. "As far as the customer is concerned, there is no change in the modulation scheme or frequency.

The demonstration highlighted applications such as caller ID, short messaging and four-digit dialing in private network portions of the networks. A PocketNet phone was used to show access to e-mail systems and the Internet via the cellular digital packet data network.

The ability to deploy infrastructure equipment from multiple vendors lets wireless operators create customized systems that can link up with other carriers using the same technology base.

"This opens tremendous opportunities for cooperation between carriers with [dissimilar] equipment for seamless service," said Joe McBride, vice president of engineering at Ericsson.

>CROSSTALK This week's channel chatter

ON-LINE Good solid market The annual GSM World Congress/love fest convenes this week in France, with a growing band of U.S. believers as the technology's latest testament to continued worldwide success. Identity crisis soothed Seven new Internet domain classifications will soon be issued, granting some relief to the nameless rabble of humanity forced to wear ".com" like a genetic imprint of the species while the ".edu" crowd made fun of our small brains.

OFF-LINE Let's make a deal The word is out that AT&T will eschew its One Rate 15¢-per-minute calling plan to meet Sprint's dime-a-minute plan for customers who haggle long enough. The company apparently has outsourced its telemarketing to Big Al's Used Cars. Appeasing the Wall Street gods Layoffs, spinoffs and network cutoffs haven't yet done the trick-if appointing a new president doesn't bring TCI's stock out of the doldrums, John Malone may need to start sacrificing small animals.