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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
EDGE Quickly Accelerating in the Americas
Cingular's Market Launch is First on Track in Indy
BELLEVUE, Wash., July 17 - Mobile customers in Indianapolis will be the pacesetters for a potential captive market approaching 100 million customers throughout North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, who will have the benefit of EDGE, including data speeds three times faster than a wired dial-up modem. Cingular Wireless, along with Nokia and Ericsson, set the pace for the next-generation of mobile services in Indianapolis by becoming the first of 33 operators in the Americas who will offer EDGE high-speed mobile data and Internet access services.
Chris Pearson, Executive Vice President of 3G Americas emphasized, "EDGE is here today offering the start of a new generation of fast, cost-efficient and global mobile data services. Like the introduction of the personal computer, cellular phones and other phenomena of technology that have changed our lives, high-speed mobile wireless data services will positively impact us wherever we work or play."
3G Americas reports that there are 33 operators, representing close to 100 million current customers within their networks, who have announced their deployment of EDGE technology over the next few years in the Americas. Additionally, other operators are preparing for deployments by installing thousands of EDGE-enabled base stations as they expand their GSM networks or migrate their TDMA networks to GSM/GPRS. As an example, AT&T Wireless announced in June that 93% of their cell sites are EDGE-equipped.
Pearson stated, "EDGE continues its momentum as a preeminent 3G service, not just in the Americas but throughout the world. Operators who have announced their 3G technology choice of UMTS/WCDMA are now choosing EDGE as a complementary 3G technology deployment." Pearson continued, "The recent announcement by leading European operator Telecom Italia Mobile to deploy EDGE supports the business case for EDGE in Europe even where new 3G spectrum licenses have been awarded."
Global EDGE commitments by 48 operators on every major continent represent a potential market of close to 200 million customers today.
EDGE milestones include:
-- Jul 2000 -- 3GPP announces EDGE standards development
-- Nov 2000 -- AT&T Wireless (U.S.) announces plans to deploy EDGE
-- Dec 2000 -- Telcel (Mexico) announces plans to deploy GSM/GPRS/EDGE
with Ericsson
-- Jan 2001 -- Rogers Wireless (Canada) announces plans to deploy EDGE
with Ericsson
-- Oct 2001 -- Cingular (U.S.) announces plans to deploy EDGE
-- Nov 2001 -- First live EDGE call in U.S. made by Nokia and
AT&T Wireless
-- Mar 2002 -- VoiceStream [now T-Mobile USA] announces plans to deploy
EDGE
-- Nov 2002 -- Cable & Wireless (West Indies) plans for GPRS/EDGE in
12 island nations
-- Nov 2002 -- First EDGE phone announced -- the Nokia 6200
-- Dec 2002 -- First international call on AT&T EDGE network in Dallas to
Oi in Sao Paulo with multiple-vendors -- Ericsson, Nokia,
Nortel and Motorola
-- Jan 2003 -- Motorola announces the T725 EDGE handset
-- Feb 2003 -- America Movil announces EDGE plans in Colombia and Ecuador
with Nokia
-- Feb 2003 -- Sony Ericsson announces its GC82 EDGE PC Card
-- Mar 2003 -- First EDGE plans in Europe: TIM (Italy) to expand network
with EDGE and UMTS
-- Apr 2003 -- First EDGE call in Asia: DTAC (Thailand) first global
operator for EDGE with Nokia
-- Apr 2003 -- EDGE call in Philippines: SMART will activate EDGE in its
GSM networks upon delivery of the Nokia EDGE software
-- Apr 2003 -- EDGE in Hong Kong: PEOPLES signs MoU with Ericsson to
adopt EDGE
-- May 2003 -- First EDGE order in Asia: Siemens to equip DiGi (Malaysia)
for EDGE
-- May 2003 -- First public EDGE call in Europe: Pannon (Hungary) and
Nokia cooperate on call;
Nokia to provide EDGE infrastructure
-- Jun 2003 -- EDGE in the Bahamas: Nortel Networks to provide BTC with
EDGE equipment
-- Jun 2003 -- EDGE in Brunei: DST contracts Alcatel for EDGE rollout
-- Jun 2003 -- EDGE in Brazil: Siemens to set-up EDGE network for Telecom
Americas (America Movil); third EDGE order for Siemens
-- Jun 2003 -- First EDGE launch: Cingular launches in Indianapolis,
rollout to continue throughout 2003-2004
-- Jun 2003 -- AT&T Wireless announces 93% of sites are EDGE-equipped and
will be deployed and ready to launch in all major markets
by end of the year
-- Jul 2003 -- Globe Telecom (Philippines) plans to commercially launch
EDGE upon completion of testing and deployment
GSM is the most extensively used digital mobile network technology in the world reporting 847 million customers in 175 countries on more than 640 GSM mobile networks. In the first quarter of 2003, 82% of all new mobile customers chose GSM technology and it is forecast that 80-85% of next generation customers will use GSM technologies - GPRS, EDGE and UMTS. GSM has the only truly global footprint for international roaming and portability of services.
About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology
The mission of 3G Americas is to promote and facilitate the seamless deployment of GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS throughout the Americas for the benefit of consumers. The organization fully supports the Third Generation (3G) technology migration strategy GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS adopted by many operators in the Americas that will globally account for up to 85% of the world's next-generation subscribers. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, WA. For more information, visit our website at www.3gamericas.org.
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