PCS not the same as old cellular
Richard J. Kinch
We're seeing lots of ads for "PCS" cellular service. Is that the new
GHz frequencies, not the old 900 MHz cellular service? Can a phone
for PCS (Ericsson DH318, e.g.) be registered to use the old cellular,
too, with the dual NAM feature?
None of the ads, instructions, or sales people know any of the technical
details.
Bill Walker
In article <58qr0d$i...@tesla.netline.net>, ki...@netline.net (Richard J.
Kinch) wrote:
I assume we're talking about North America here. If not, skip this message.
There's been a lot of discussion on this topic in alt.cellular-phone-tech,
and some in alt.cellular. I think what we've agreed on is that "PCS" means
different things to different people. To the FCC, it means various digital
systems operating in the 1900 MHz band. To others, it means a package of
services: digital voice, short message service/paging, voice mail, etc.
These could be offered at either 1900 MHz or 800 MHz. In particular, AT&T
Wireless is marketing their 800 MHz digital cellular service as "PCS". I
haven't seen anybody else selling 800 MHz anything as "PCS".
There are a number of different digital technologies being used. The major
ones are:
800 MHz: IS-95 CDMA, IS-54 TDMA, IS-136 TDMA. IS-136 phones are most
likely backward compatible with IS-54, since IS-136 is mainly IS-54 with
the addition of a digital control channel. All of the 800 MHz digital
phones I've seen are dual-mode, i.e., they can operate in the old analog
mode (AMPS) as well as in one of the digital modes. CDMA is being deployed
by Airtouch, Ameritech, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile, GTE Mobilnet, and 360°
Communications (and I think some others I'm forgetting). TDMA is being
deployed by AT&T Wireless, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, and several
A-side carriers.
1900 MHz: J-STD-008 CDMA (upbanded IS-95 with some additional features
that are being retrofitted into IS-95), upbanded GSM TDMA (the European
standard digital cellular system), and upbanded IS-136 TDMA. As far as I
know, nobody has yet introduced a dual-band 800/1900 MHz phone. All the
currently-available 1900 MHz phones are 1900 MHz only, digital only. CDMA
is being deployed by Sprint PCS (except for their Washington, D.C.
partnership with APC, which uses upbanded GSM), PrimeCo, NextWave/MCI, and
others. GSM is being deployed by Pacific Bell Mobile Services, Omnipoint,
and others (I haven't followed this area too closely). Upbanded IS-136 is
being deployed by AT&T Wireless.
For more info on who's using CDMA, check out the CDMA Development Group web
site at <http://www.cdg.org>.
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Bill Walker, QUALCOMM, Inc., San Diego, CA USA
WWa...@qualcomm.com