TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: FCC Gives Blessing to Sprint, Nextel Marriage

Re: FCC Gives Blessing to Sprint, Nextel Marriage

John Levine (johnl@iecc.com)
9 Aug 2005 05:02:33 -0000

>> Actually, this is good for Sprint PCS which has been in the pits. The
>> benefit to Nextel is illusive. It's more than likely Sprint PCS had
>> more designs on spectrum than any real benefit to Nextel.

> Perhaps, but both companies will end up combining spectrum - there are
> towers where Nextel has antennas but Sprint doesn't, &c.

Unlikely, since Sprint is PCS 1900 and Nextel is iDen 800, different
bands, different technologies, different antennas. I can report that
our shiny new water tower has separate antennas for Sprint and Nextel,
each paying separate rent.

> Nextel probably figured Sprint was a good partner since (as I
> understand it) they're dumping iDen for a CDMA-based platform,
> long-term.

That's the point, iDen doesn't provide an upgrade path to spiffy
digital services. I wonder whether they're going to move to CDMA in
the 800 band that Nextel uses or run the networks in parallel forever
or what. They're surely not going to abandon the iDen band, since
they paid so much for them and 800 propagates a lot better than 1900.

Regards,

John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 330 5711
johnl@iecc.com, Mayor, http://johnlevine.com,
Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail

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