Just under the wire Sprint PCS makes eleventh-hour launches >BY JASON MEYERS, Wireless Networks Editor

As 1996's twilight loomed, Sprint PCS made good on its self-imposed deadline to turn up several personal communication services markets by the end of the year.

The first phase occurred the week of Dec. 16, when Sprint PCS launched service in Fresno, Calif.; Spokane; Wash.; Milwaukee; and Portland, Ore. On Dec. 27, the wireless operator added San Diego and Albany, N.Y., and last week, Syracuse, N.Y., and Pittsburgh joined the roster. Sprint PCS holds licenses to offer service in 33 major trading areas nationwide.

Sprint PCS executives dismissed questions about scaled-back launch plans by saying the markets where the company has introduced service represent a commitment to broad coverage and high quality standards. The services offered will provide proof of this, they said.

"We are launching metro-wide systems," said Andrew Sukawaty, chief executive officer of Sprint PCS. "We don't think there's any lift you get by just saying you're first in the marketplace. Providing Sprint PCS service is not a race to the starting line, it's a race to the finish line.

Sprint's launch marked the second commercial rollout of code division multiple access (CDMA) network systems in the 1.9 GHz PCS spectrum, following by a month a 16-city CDMA launch by PrimeCo Personal Communications. One analyst attributed PrimeCo's edge to the wireless experience of its cellular partners but said it may prove irrelevant in the long run.

"PrimeCo was able to borrow a lot of resources from the member companies, whereas Sprint had to build a company from scratch," said Mark Lowenstein, vice president of wireless research at The Yankee Group, Boston. "Down the line, I don't think the three- to four-month lag is going to make much of a difference.

Lucent Technologies is providing the network systems for all operational networks. Sprint initially promised to have operational PCS systems in 15 to 20 cities by the end of 1996, but the carrier revised that goal in early December when it encountered software glitches in markets where it is using Northern Telecom equipment. Those problems have been resolved and networks in those markets are being tested, Sukawaty said.

The current systems are performing according to the company's expectations for CDMA in terms of quality and capacity gain, said Al Kurtze, chief operations officer at Sprint PCS.

"We're seeing anywhere from six, seven or eight times capacity [of analog]," Kurtze said. "It depends on how the specific cellular system you're comparing it to is engineered.

Features for Sprint PCS service are in line with other PCS providers' offerings, including voice mail, first incoming minute free, caller ID and detailed billing. Base prices rate about 5% to 10% less than prices for cellular service (see table) with charges of 50¢ a minute for calls placed or received outside of Sprint PCS markets. Handsets have a retail price of $199 and are being distributed through Radio Shack, Circuit City, Best Buy, Nobody Beats the Wiz and The Good Guys.

PCS PROLIFIC AT YEAR'S END Sprint PCS wasn't the only personal communication services provider making noise in the waning weeks of 1996. Western Wireless has launched VoiceStream service in its Des Moines market, and Powertel has turned up PCS 1900 networks in eight additional cities in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. ALLIANCES STRUCK IN CANADA Bell Mobility has granted a three-year, $400 million contract to Northern Telecom for code division multiple access infrastructure equipment. The deal includes base station gear, mobility services and switches for the cellular and PCS properties of Bell Mobility. In addition, Lucent Technologies has garnered a $475 million contract from Clearnet to provide CDMA equipment for that Canadian operator's wireless networks. GWI PREPARES CDMA BUILDOUT General Wireless Inc. has granted Lucent Technologies a $400 million contract for code division multiple access infrastructure equipment and engineering. Lucent will build turnkey networks for the C block PCS provider in all but one of its 14 markets in California, Georgia and Florida.