3G by the back door by the Border !

spongebob

See this fascinating article on the Reg about PCCW who have all the 3.5Ghz spectrum in the UK including Norn Iron , a snippet here .

We say WiMAX class because initial intelligence on PCCW had it that its new Netvigator service will in fact use the IP Wireless UMTS TDD technology that is a data delivery extension of 3G

In other words, the 3.5Ghz kit in the UK will be a 3G variant ....with the mobility gonads removed but otherwise the same. It will not be Wimax though, PCCW are not waiting around for it and are going with an off the shelf technology instead.

Remember that there is not 1 single global 3G standards but 5 Variants of which 3 or 4 will go live within the next few years. There is a Further explanation of all that on the Reg in a follow up article to the one linked above (heavy on the FLA's lads) which may be found Here and comes to the stunning conclusion that :

Of course the 3G operators are pissed about it, if they could have bought a nationwide licence for 3G service for £14 million instead of £5billion they'd be laughing all the way to the bank - that is what PCCW has done.

Comreg would **** a 5 ft red rhumba dancing canary were any of our 3.5Ghz operators to try to launch a service that was in any way analagous to 3G in Ireland, so I think no , it wont happen here...... even (or especially) IF it works. Meteor was run out the door last year for proposing 1EV-DO on some unused 1.8Ghz spectrum but I kinda see the Comreg angle there . Had Meteor come in with a TDD proposal it may have been entertained moe politely but hit a brick wall anyway. The 1.8Ghz spectrum in question is only available to an existing 2G operator ........don't get up anybody

M

jwt

[QUOTE=MuckMeteor was run out the door last year for proposing 1EV-DO on some unused 1.8Ghz spectrum but I kinda see the Comreg angle there . Had Meteor come in with a TDD proposal it may have been entertained moe politely but hit a brick wall anyway. The 1.8Ghz spectrum in question is only available to an existing 2G operator ........don't get up anybody

M[/QUOTE]


Why were Meteor runout Muck?

And why hit a brick wall?

John

spongebob

1EV-Do is part of the US 3G standards, the Data bit (as distinct from voice or video or txt/pic messaging. Meteor were proposing to deploy 3G with a 2G licence an were run . Comreg had waxed lyrical about none other than 1EV-DO in some technobabble they released about January last year despite the fact that they enforce European 3G standards here..........muppets.

The Brick wall is that Nomadic Wireless cannot really be locked into a cell , especially on the margins between cells. Therefore the device will tend to dynamically hop to the next cell and that is Mobile according to Comreg so they will not allow it on spectrum allocated to 2G or 3G .

3.5Ghz spectrum is different , it is not allocated for those mobile services . We see that IBB are in no hurry to push the envelope with Ripwave which should be Nomadic but is locked into one cell (= Base Station) as per current configurations in Dublin. The envelope is where IBB allow the device to work in another cell in another licence area such as Cork for example . Ripwave s a Nomadic technology thathas been 'artificially' Fixed by IBB in my opinion.

The single UK 3.5Ghz service is called Netvigator and could be launced in Derry or Newry for example.

Another snippet from that Reg article

Vodafone has made noises about crying foul if mobility is ever implemented having paid billions of pounds for its 3G licenses. Berriman, although he doesn’t say that he is planning a mobile service, makes it clear PCCW can go that way if it chooses.

“Mobility is not specifically ruled out in our license, in fact the whole deal is silent on the matter. The only reference to “fixed” is in the title “Fixed Wireless,” and once the equipment has the capability to go mobile, we will look at it.”

As Comreg allocate 3.5Ghz by area (30km across) and not in 13 regions as per the UK they also ask for technical details on the kit, I would give you 2 chances of getting a licence here with the IP Wireless kit . Never forget that Comreg has more respect for the High Court than it as for the Irish consumer .

M

Ripwave

Muck wrote:

The envelope is where IBB allow the device to work in another cell in another licence area such as Cork for example . Ripwave s a Nomadic technology thathas been 'artificially' Fixed by IBB in my opinion.

Probably for revenue reasons, rather than regulatory reasons, though - there have been indications that they will charge extra for the ability to use Ripwave on multiple masts.

(It's also easier to manage provisioning if you know how many users are allocated to a single mast, and might also ensure that modems train on the "right" mast, so that you don't get users complaining about weak signals because they managed to connect to a far away transmitter).