Higher data rates draw nearer: CDMA 1X trials show first results in North America

Two weeks ago, within a day of each other, two separate trials demonstrated the first CDMA 1X calls in North America.

In a suburb of Ottawa, Canada, Nortel Networks demonstrated mobile voice calls outside the lab and data transmissions in the lab. That ongoing trial uses Nortel upgraded base station controllers, mobile switching centers, software and packet data serving node and Samsung prototype handsets.

In mid-March, Nortel completed its first voice calls in the lab. As part of this most recent exhibition, Nortel used base stations at existing Bell Mobility sites and tested mobile calls in a real-world, outdoor environment.

Nortel also demonstrated initial data transmissions. A 1X network requires a packet data serving node (PDSN), which essentially replaces the interworking function that connects data transmissions from the base station controller to the Internet in today's circuit-switched networks.

Nortel's trial showed the setup of a packet data session from the handset to the base station through the PDSN and back to the handset - it didn't actually demonstrate getting information from the Internet. It was a significant step, though, because it showed that the system can recognize the difference between voice and data and can route them differently, said Dave Murashige, vice president of marketing at Nortel.

Sprint PCS, Samsung Telecommunications America and Qualcomm also demonstrated 1X voice calls in Sprint PCS' lab in Lenexa, Kan. Through this trial and other planned trials with Lucent Technologies and Motorola, Sprint PCS hopes to verify that 1X will increase voice capacity and data speeds and that battery performance on end-user devices also will increase, said Oliver Valente, vice president of technology and advanced system development for Sprint PCS.

1X promises to double voice capacity, which is the biggest asset to for Sprint PCS. "We would roll out this technology even if that was the only benefit we got," Valente said. The trial uses a switch, base station and base station controller from Samsung and a Qualcomm handset.

The next step for both trials will be to test further data capabilities. Sprint PCS will incorporate a PDSN from Samsung later this year to demonstrate data transmissions.

Sprint PCS and Bell Mobility, which was part of the trial with Nortel, both offer data services on their existing networks, which gives those operators experience offering data services. "We're already trialing the applications that will be on 1X because we're offering them today live on our network," said Brian O'Shaughnessy, vice president of technology development for Bell Mobility.

Although these trials show progress in the development of next generation CDMA systems, they don't indicate the choices current CDMA operators may make about future upgrades of their networks.

"The interesting thing is the fact that there is a trial, which means they are considering the technology," said Ray Jodoin, group manager and principal analyst for Cahners In-Stat Group. In the U.S. where it's unclear if more spectrum will become available for third generation systems, operators must weigh their options. "If I have CDMA today, I have to consider if I don't get a license, I will have to upgrade to 1X," he said. With 3G spectrum, operators could go straight to 3G.

At the same time, some believe that cdma2000, the CDMA-based 3G standard, may be losing momentum in other parts of the world. In Japan, DDI, which operates a CDMA network, may have chosen to migrate to wideband CDMA, which is based on GSM standards. Such a move likely is based on political motives rather than on any technological shortcomings of cdma2000, Jodoin said.