Mid-Tex launches converged CDMA/GSM network

Mid-Tex Cellular has launched the industry’s first dual-mode CDMA/GSM network, using Vanu’s software-defined radio solution.

The Vanu base station uses a software stack to replicate the radio access networks of both CDMA and GSM networks, allowing Mid-Tex to run both radio technologies over not only the same equipment and antennas but over the same cellular spectrum. In the typical network, an operator would have to deploy separate base stations over separate frequency bands to control the individual GSM and CDMA networks.

Mid-Tex is a tiny wireless operator in Texas covering four counties. While it has its own retail business, much of its revenues come from roaming agreements. It launched its GSM network in 2004 using Vanu’s Anywave solution, which led to roaming agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile, but it decided to expand its potential roaming revenue base by launching a CDMA network, Mid-Tex CEO Toney Prather said.

“We did not have to buy new equipment to add CDMA to our existing GSM system, and that allowed us to create an additional revenue stream for the company without a tremendous capital expenditure,” Prather said in a statement.

The CDMA elements were added to the network by a software upgrade to the Vanu base station, requiring no physical tinkering with cell sites themselves. Since deploying the CDMA upgrade a month ago, Mid-Tex said it has landed roaming agreements with Alltel and Verizon Wireless.