EDGE Lives

Despite numerous rumors to the contrary, EDGE's demise is not imminent.

Some in our industry have questioned the viability of EDGE, a narrowband radio technology that enhances the data capabilities of GSM networks and lets carriers move into 3G. Those concerns may be due to lingering technical or economic misconceptions about EDGE, or they may be the result of counter-arguments raised by organizations that back an alternative 3G evolution.

But facts are facts, and the bottom line is this: EDGE remains a viable 3G technology that's gaining acceptance by major U.S. and global carriers. Before you buy into the latest telecom rumor, take a moment to examine the reality behind EDGE technology.

EDGE is very much alive in today's evolving 3G marketplace. In late 2000, AT&T Wireless Services announced (www.attws.com) that it would deploy a 1.9GHz EDGE 3G radio system.

Other global TDMA carriers also are moving toward EDGE. Those key players recognize the substantial technical and business advantages offered by this radio solution.

EDGE allows carriers to offer 3G services in the near future without buying a 3G license. By adopting EDGE at an early date, carriers can offer multimedia services within the year and position themselves to serve the projected 60% of global mobile subscribers who will be EDGE/WCDMA customers by 2006.

EDGE is well suited for existing North American spectrum, and GSM/EDGE, using existing spectrum, complements WCDMA. Because EDGE provides good capacity and quality and is most suitable for narrow-frequency allocations, it's viewed as the best radio technology for existing frequency bands. WCDMA offers superior capacity and quality in wider frequency allocations and is thus viewed as more appropriate for new spectrum. In some deployment scenarios, WCDMA and EDGE may co-exist, with WCDMA providing coverage in high-traffic urban areas.

Carriers considering WCDMA deployments face spectrum challenges. EDGE can be deployed without new spectrum acquisitions. EDGE is an enhancement to an existing GSM network, and carriers can enable it for all mobile segments with only a marginal cost beyond GSM/GPRS.

Also, in the 3GPP R5 standardization (www.3gpp.com) to be finalized later this year, GSM/EDGE is fully harmonized with WCDMA, supporting the same bearer classes and QoS controls, using the same core interface connections and delivering 3G services in a way that's transparent to the radio technology.

EDGE offers a logical, cost-efficient technology path that builds naturally on the strengths of a GPRS deployment. EDGE supports 800MHz/900MHz/1.8GHz/1.9GHz frequency bands, and by enhancing the capabilities of a GSM or TDMA network, it opens a smooth evolutionary migration toward the all-IP future. EDGE offers from two to three times the data speed of GPRS and allows carriers to leverage the full capabilities of GPRS to achieve fast-connect set-ups, higher bandwidth and data rates to 473kb/s.

Although some people still think EDGE is only for data, this technology also can work in GMSK mode and fully uses voice codecs. More refined Adaptive Multirate Codec innovations soon will expand the voice capacity of EDGE-capable networks. In many situations, EDGE provides a flexible, cost-effective way to add affordable speed and capacity while laying a strong 3G foundation.

Harper and Laine are with Nokia Networks in Irving, TX.