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On 2003-12-23 22:26:01, rraz9228 wrote:
I agree with GiantRobot too.
The first GSM network provider is Cingular which is also the biggest GSM provider in the US. Come to think of it, They only have in 1996(I think but im not sure of the exact date). AT&T just have theirs like a couple of Years ago and most of their networks are still TDMA. T-Mobile on the otherhand don't even have a full coverage of networks in the US, in a lot of areas, they only rent from Cingular to use their network where T-Mobile don't have. T-Mobile right now is just expanding their on Network on GSM.
With 3G, first, the phone is expensive and second the service is expensive as well.
Conclussion, we will not see 3G in US soon.
Maybe when 3G is obsolete(joke) =)
Okay, I edited the quote a little because you were so great and wrote a lot of info.
Yes, Cingular is the largest GSM network provider in the US but T-Mobile is actually pretty good on the way to get there as well. T-Mobile "rents" networks from Cingular in California because they were smart and struck a deal with Cingular. Since Cingular are already so well established in California (and T-Mobile wasn't) they are saving a lot of time by renting from Cingular. Cingular on the other hand, didn't have sufficient coverage in NY so there they are actually using T-Mobile's network. I think that was an excellent solution for both of the companies and residents of those states as well. It is rediculous that each provider puts up their own networks. I think we'll see more and more cooperation when they roll out the 3G networks....as they are now doing in Europe.
Another thing, US is only behind on the GSM side. And that is not a surprise considering that DOD held on to their GSM frequencies until Clinton took presidency. Verizon are pretty far ahead with their third generation network (CDMA2000) and is up and rolling as we speak. CDMA2000 is easier/cheaper to implement than WCDMA but more difficult to upgrade when it will be time for 4G.
The reason Americans are not as into new expensive phones is because practically every phone is sold on contract and it is the provider that decides what phones to sell on their network. The other reason is that for a long long time Qualcomm and Motorola practically had monopoly on cellular phones in the US and wanted to milk every penny out of the every phone they created.
It's a good thing we have eBay and their independent importers.
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Posted: 2003-12-23 23:16:11
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Well, that is true that the providers have the say on the choice of cellphones but we still have to accept the fact that most of the consumers here in the US wouldn't spend so much money on a phone.
AMEN to Ebay and Expansys! =)
[ This Message was edited by: rraz9228 on 2003-12-23 22:27 ]
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Posted: 2003-12-23 23:24:44
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I don't think cingular's network is the largest gsm network. Not sure if at&t has caught up with t-mobile who i think has the largest gsm only network. Also cingular wasn't the first gsm network, but apc in the d.c. Area was the first, which is now part of t-mobile's network.
This message was posted from a Z600
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Posted: 2003-12-24 00:32:47
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Yes, there were a lot of city-focused GSM networks in the early stages that were later merged or acquired by larger companies. Today, the large European providers have big stakes in the US GSM market. Obviously T-Mobile bought Voicestream, and Vodafone has a large stake in AT&T.
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Posted: 2003-12-24 00:38:05
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Yes, that's true. I'm sorry I just concentrated on the big players on the market but you are right their are smaller once that are ahead of putting up GSM on the US.
With regards to consumer based, Cingular is Second to Verizon in customers but verizon is not GSM. Also, Cingular is bigger than T-Mobile thats why they are considering on buying it or to have a Merger with AT&T instead so they can be the biggest Cellphone carrier in the US beating Verizon.
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Posted: 2003-12-24 01:10:19
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dont worry too much, we have 3G in the UK and its more than a crap service right now....definitely not ready for reliable mobile use, just about ready as a 2nd handset you dont have to rely upon for service.
i had a 3G handset for about 4 months on a free trial...most of the time i had no service & when it did work the line was low volume or cutoff mid conversation...battery time was terrible too and reminded me of the analog handset days where you charged your battery twice a day.
by the time 3G hits you guys out there hopefully your service providers can learn from the mistakes that have been made over here...there's a long list of them to go through.
on a plus note, the novelty factor of seeing someone in realtime was very good, i'd liken it to the first time i ever used a mobile phone...it wore off pretty quickly but was another small step for man nonetheless.
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Posted: 2003-12-24 02:39:45
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Quote:
On 2003-12-24 01:10:19, rraz9228 wrote:
With regards to consumer based, Cingular is Second to Verizon in customers but verizon is not GSM. Also, Cingular is bigger than T-Mobile thats why they are considering on buying it or to have a Merger with AT&T instead so they can be the biggest Cellphone carrier in the US beating Verizon.
I see you read BusineesWeek as well
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Posted: 2003-12-24 03:29:49
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It is true that both Cingular and AT&T are larger than T-Mobile, but their networks and consumer base are hybrid. Are you sure that Cingular has a wider GSM coverage than T-mobile?
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Posted: 2003-12-24 05:26:44
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The idea of 3G is a pretty good one but in practice it will be a pain in the butt to implement anywhere. In the US there are only so many channels available per market that any one company can own. In order for say AT&T to roll out a UMTS network they'll have to give up space they're currently using for their IS-136 (TDMA) and GSM service. As of now AT&T and Cingular are in the middle of phasing out IS-136 channels in major markets to make room for their GSM customers. Cutting out even more channels to use for UMTS would just mean more network congestion.
For all that 3G promises there's a lot of hassle to go along with it. EDGE provides enough end user bandwidth for most applications and piggy backs easily with current GSM/GPRS systems. There's also the issue of providing GSM service on the 800MHz band. AT&T and Cingular have pretty extensive contracts for the 800MHz band in most areas. If they could get GSM service on a few channels in in most markets they'd have enormous amounts of GSM coverage. The rest of the GSM using world is benefiting from having GSM on two bands. We would benefit if we had more than one too.
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Posted: 2003-12-24 09:25:29
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[quote]
On 2003-12-22 22:10:42, amagab wrote:
EDGE is not very exciting and there's hardly any phones supporting the EDGE technology so I wouldn't bother getting into it. I rather wait for 3G to be fully developed.
I wouldn't switch to AT&T if you have read the latest write-ups about that company. My experience with T-Mobile customer service has been outstanding (except for 3G) and I've heard a lot of bad things from AT&T customers regarding their service.
True enought, Tmobile is strong, but still no 3g support or any high speed protocol. The new att/ cingular merger promises new things and will most likely be the next network to roll out a high speed plan such as EDGE. Shakey now, will be catching up soon.
BTW- the new nokia 6230 out now for $500 on ebay has EDGE and is the shiznit!
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Posted: 2004-04-28 23:29:53
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