Subject: [NEXTEL-1] "Timmy The One Trick Pony Show"- A (Sleeping) Writers Perspective

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 23:06:13 -0500

"Timmy The One Trick Pony Show"- A (Sleeping) Writers Perspective

This writer slept through  meeting today in the back of the room.

<Snip>
"Nextel said it has tested the next phase of Motorola's voice coder software"
Voice coder???? What's that?

"Motorola said it is also working on its own version of an iDEN phone."
I guess Nextel invented iDEN??

"The digital signals, resistant to interference and dropped calls"
He must have made this part up.

" iDEN is also referred to as a "6:1 voice coder"
Oh really, did Barry tell you that?
It's a 1/2 rate vocoder

Geezeee!
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Nextel, Motorola Extending iDEN's Reach

Story Filed: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 8:39 PM EST

Dec 17, 2002 (Internet.com via COMTEX) -- Nextel Communications Tuesday inched closer to
making its Direct Connect
function a nationwide experience.

The wireless giant said it is working with Motorola on two technical projects - nearly
doubling the voice capacity of Nextel's
interconnect network, and expanding the Direct Connect digital walkie-talkie feature to
make it possible to conduct two-way
radio calls nationwide. Direct Connect is based on Nextel's Integrated Digital Enhanced
Network (iDEN) wireless technology.

"We're progressing on schedule, while exceeding our expectations for quality," said Nextel
CTO Barry West.

Reston, Va.-based Nextel said it has tested the next phase of Motorola's voice coder
software, which it says will nearly
double the capacity of the company's wireless interconnect network. iDEN phones are
offered by Telus Mobility in Canada
and by Nextel in the US. Motorola said it is also working on its own version of an iDEN
phone.

Utilizing existing 800 MHz SMR frequencies, iDEN converts the analogue SMR channel to an
ESMR digital network. The
digital signals, resistant to interference and dropped calls, are more easily manipulated.
Developed by Motorola, iDEN is also
referred to as a "6:1 voice coder" since it allows six cellular calls to be conducted
concurrently over a single radio channel.

The companies said the new technology would be delivered on time in the first quarter of
2003, with third quarter commercial
rollout. Coast-to-coast Nationwide Direct Connect is expected to be available to Nextel
customers mid year 2003.

To show how far along they've gotten, the two companies publicly-demonstrated the first
Direct Connect conversation to span
multiple calling areas - from Nextel's engineering facility in McLean, Va., to Motorola's
iDEN manufacturing plant in
Plantation, Fla., - a distance of more than 1000 miles.

"This cost-effective enhancement to our existing iDEN network brings Nextel what we
believe is the most important benefit of
3G technology - voice capacity," said West.

Nextel also said it expects to meet its previous 2002 full-year guidance of approximately
1.9 million net additional subscribers.
Currently, 10.1 million (about 90 percent) of Nextel's customers are from the enterprise
sector including its core base of
market segments including government, construction, distribution, financial, professional
services, real estate, field sales and
service, and manufacturing.

By Michael Singer URL: http://www.internet.com

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