T-Mobile USA, Leap ready to roll out AWS markets

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By Matt Kapko
Story posted: March 14, 2008 - 3:55 pm EDT

Almost 18 months after the advanced wireless services spectrum auction wrapped, carriers are on the verge of commercially launching networks and devices that make use of the recently cleared 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum bands.

Although the carrier hasn’t launched any AWS markets yet, Leap Wireless International Inc. recently released the first CDMA handset in the United States to support the 1700 MHz spectrum band. The UTStarcom CDM7126 handset initially was for sale for $120 to customers in Tulsa, Okla., with plans to expand to all of its markets.

T-Mobile USA Inc., which was the biggest bidder in the auction after purchasing 120 licenses for nearly $4.2 billion, launched the first GSM device capable of supporting the spectrum last October. The No. 4 carrier now offers three compatible handsets in New York City, where it plans to begin the deployment of its UMTS network.

“We continue to make solid progress toward our planned 3G network rollout, beginning in New York City this spring. Then during the balance of the year and into ’09, we will continue the rollout to many other major metropolitan areas,” T-Mobile USA spokesman Peter Dobrow wrote in response to questions.

Other carriers that snatched up AWS spectrum include Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and MetroPCS Communications Inc.

Rollout lauded

If both T-Mobile USA and Leap remain on schedule for their AWS rollouts, it will be quite a feat, said Peter Jarich, principal analyst on wireless infrastructure at Current Analysis Inc.

“To me, it’s even a little surprising that it happened that quickly,” Jarich said.

Leap has been pleased with the progress as well. “I think it went along as expected. I don’t think there’s been any big delays,” Leap spokesman Greg Lund said.

“It’s not a trivial matter,” Jarich said. “The time it takes to launch a network and the urgency with which they had to get new spectrum out there … the amount of time seems more than fair to me.”

Opportunities, complexities

With more spectrum and frequency bands being dedicated to cellular technology, handset makers are being asked to increase the number of frequencies supported by a single handset. Device manufacturers have a much more difficult time with this than network vendors, Jarich said.

“It’s a lot easier on the network because on the network side of things you’re paying a lot for these,” he said. “We’re not talking about the same level of integration. It’s easier to do it on the network side.”

SDR to the rescue

Jarich believes it’s an issue that eventually will be resolved with software defined radio frequency. “It’s not going away,” he said. “It’s just going to be a lot more of a pain.”

Leap, which bought more than $1 billion of spectrum in the AWS auction, hasn’t met any handset makers unwilling to develop devices that support 1700 MHz. “I don’t have knowledge that it’s been difficult getting them through that process on our end,” Lund said.

“They saw it as an opportunity,” he added. “We started working with handset makers pretty much right after the auction. We have been working with several and over the next couple weeks will be rolling out more AWS-capable handsets.”

Leap is launching its first AWS market in Oklahoma City followed by Las Vegas. The carrier plans to have a few markets launched by the end of the year.

“It probably will take up to 2010 until we have all the markets deployed,” Lund said. “Most of that will happen in ’08 and ’09.”