IP: Verizon launches what it CALLS a 3G network

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Verizon launches what it calls a 3G network
> Daniel Terdiman - www.the451.com
>
> Verizon Wireless says it has begun rolling out its third-generation wireless
> network and that about 20% of its US subscribers will be covered. But the
> company expects that most subscribers who upgrade to the network will use it
> to get a 40-60Kbps connection for their laptops or PDAs, a scenario that
> falls far short of the wireless industry's hype about what 3G is supposed to
> deliver.
>
> For months, a public relations battle has been raging among several of the
> major US wireless carriers over who would be the first to upgrade to 3G.
> Verizon, Sprint PCS, Cingular and AT&T Wireless have all said publicly that
> they would be - or are - the first, and that their competitors are lagging
> far behind.
>
> But as the carriers argue over who is first, and whether cdma2000 is
> superior to WCDMA or GPRS, they have begun to shy away from promising
> super-fast networks capable of running the complex, multimedia applications
> that will bring them billions of dollars in revenues. It used to be that
> handset manufacturers blamed the carriers for not having the networks to
> match the technological progression of the new handsets. Now, instead of
> promising transmission speeds in excess of 2Mb, the carriers are trying to
> get customers excited with talk of speeds of 144Kbps. Even more troubling,
> they are beginning to point the finger at the handset makers when explaining
> why the 3G multimedia killer app is still so far from reality.
>
> Verizon's version of 3G - the Verizon Express Network - is a cdma2000 1XRTT
> network. The upgrade will, at least initially, cover about 20% of the US,
> with concentrations in the Northeast US, as well as in and around Silicon
> Valley and Salt Lake City, Utah (site of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games). The
> company says it should be able to cover about 50% of subscribers by the end
> of 2002. Verizon is saying its network will top off at 144Kbps.
>
> In the early stages, Verizon expects very few of its subscribers to upgrade.
> The advantage of a 1XRTT network, explains company spokesperson Jeffrey
> Nelson, is that it is forward- and backward-compatible and will allow
> existing Verizon subscribers to continue using their current handsets. But
> without upgrading to a 3G phone - and Verizon is pushing a Kyocera model as
> its phone of choice - users would not be able to take advantage of the
> higher speeds.
>
> Further, most of the subscribers who upgrade will do so in order to use
> their handsets as modems for their laptops or PDAs. As such, Verizon is also
> pitching a Sierra Wireless card to offer this functionality. Users paying at
> least $35 for a monthly Verizon wireless plan would have to pay $300 for the
> card, $80 for the Kyocera phone and then $30 a month extra in service
> charges just to able to use the 3G network. And even then, Verizon promises
> transmission speeds of only 40-60Kbps, equivalent to what former Ricochet
> wireless modem customers had before Ricochet's parent, Metricom, died last
> year. Says Nelson of customers' expectations for complex 3G multimedia
> applications: "This is a reality check right from the get-go..All that ooh
> ahh stuff belongs in convention halls. We're after customers now with
> realistic expectations from the service."
>
> Certainly, in the US there is much disagreement about what 3G really is and
> who is providing it. Last year, Sprint PCS said it would be the first to
> unveil 3G in the US. Then AT&T Wireless said its GPRS networks had been
> first. Earlier this month, Sprint PCS once again announced that it will be
> the first when it rolls out its network this summer. Now, Verizon claims it
> is first. Cingular Wireless, of course, says Verizon is exaggerating, and
> claims its own 2.5G service is akin to Verizon's 3G: "Today's announcement
> by Verizon essentially provides the same service that Cingular has been
> providing customers in a number of markets since August of last year," says
> Cingular spokesperson Monica Mears. "Cingular currently offers this 2.5G
> service to consumers in [six states]."
>
> It's all still hype. When the wireless industry began to talk in colorful
> terms about the incredible applications that would soon be available on 3G
> handsets, it was attempting to justify the billions and billions of dollars
> its member carriers had invested in network upgrades. Clearly, no US carrier
> has gotten anywhere near what has been promised. Although a 50Kbps wireless
> connection for a laptop is a nice offering for a former Ricochet customer,
> it is hard to see how anyone else is going to be impressed.

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