From DIALLOG’s platform, Major (Retd) Muhammad Kamil Khan gave his perspective.
Below we cite a full version of the article published in November-December 2005, Volume 1, Issue 2.
Experience with CDMA450
CDMA International talked to two CDMA450 operators, one established and one new, about their perspective based on the experience so far...What were the main reasons for the selection of CDMA450 technology?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
Director, Regulatory, Corporate & Public Affairs, Great Bear International Services
There were two reasons. First, the license for 450MHz was far cheaper than that for 1900MHz. Second, the lay of the land, both rural and urban, as most of our cities are not that dense to cause any kind of obstruction. Hence, 450MHz was the choicest frequency, giving extended ranges, resulting in less infrastructure costs.
NIKOLAYLIKHACHEV
Deputy Director General, Skylink Moscow
It was an optimal way to upgrade the analog NMT-450 networks that were operated by Skylink's branch establishments. Having tested both GSM-450 and CDMA450 options, we determined that the latter had much more poten¬tial for future development since it was able to follow the same upgrade path as CDMA2000 systems in other frequency bands.
What has been the experience with CDMA450 (the positives and the negatives)?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
Our experience so far is very good. The system is providing excellent grade of service, good digital clarity, no time lags or interruptions except that the fidelity is not as good as that of GSM. The data speeds at 100-128 kbps are phenomenal, far better than the GPRS of GSM.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
CDMA's technological advantages allow Skylink to provide high speed internet access as different multimedia services - starting from 2G-like complete service packages to advanced services that require high speed communication and ensure a unique type of users' mobility. Signal processing in CDMA radio access technique gives a big gain that allows us to cope with network overload, and maintain dense radio coverage in an urban environment. At the same time, a limited number of CDMA450 base stations may cover large areas of low population density.
All the negatives we are facing in our operational practice (for example, limited choice of handsets) are related to the immaturity of the CDMA450 market, which has just started to evolve.
Which segments or markets are you targeting your services at?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
We have licenses for five out of the 14 telecom regions of Pakistan. The regions include the main cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Karachi, thus catering to about 28 percent of the 150 million plus population of the country.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
Skylink is a niche operator, initially targeting the narrow, as compared to mass-market providers, mobile segment - active business users interested in online services and unlimited voice tariffs.
We offer two main services - high speed mobile data transfer and voice communication. CDMA's technological advantages ensure higher quality of these basic offers as compared to other networks.
Currently, given the existing problems of a rapidly growing network, our main goal is to make use of these technological advantages to the maximum extent possible and to offer services on Skylink's entire license territory (more than 72 percent of Russia), which are not available on the networks of alternative standards.
Which features of CDMA450 are you promoting? Which applications are most popular?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
We are presently providing voice and basic data services. Data is very popular for its high speed, compared to what the ISPs are providing. Being new to the market, there are no further comments.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
We believe that the user is more interested in high quality of service rather than in its technological basis. Our main advantages are: high speed mobile internet access and data transfer, high level of communication and data transfer confidentiality, attractive tariffs and complete service packages for active mobile users.
There is a growing demand for non-voice services in business centers. At the same time, our attractive unlimited voice tariffs are very popular among business users. Skylink is working in the business segment and therefore we deal with very active and particular customers.
One of the new services we are currently offering our customers in Moscow and St.Petersburg is a personal user's center, "Skypoint," that allows the user to manage almost all the services available in the network as well as all types of personal communications.
In fact, a personal mobile office may be created based on this service. For corporate users, Skylink offers either standard or individual solutions for certain special business processes: VPN access, high speed remote access to private computer networks, manufacture of automation systems (ERP, CRM and others) and complexes for business automation. Also, Skylink offers development of special service packages combining business automation software, voice communication and internet access, which is supported by our system integrators.
Which technologies do you compete with? How does CDMA450 compare?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
Primarily GSM. CDMA is fairly comparable, if not better. The data speeds and extended ranges are a definite plus.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
Skylink offers services based on high speed data transfer and oriented to business users. This appears to be the main distinction between Skylink and mass-market operators who are mostly oriented to voice services. Currently, there are no commercially implemented technologies that we are competing against, which address the same market segment as we do.
Which handsets do your customers use? Do you have ade¬quate choice and selection?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
Primarily fixed wireless terminals (FWTs), though handheld devices are much sought after and are fast catching up. The choices on both are fairly limited.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
Skylink and the leading Russian handset dealers offer almost all the existing CDMA450 handsets. Currently, the most popular handsets offered by Skylink are Ubiquam (U-100, U-105) and Pantech-Curitel (HX-550C). These models have basic multimedia features (polyphonic sounds, color display, etc.) and support BREW applications. The Ubiquam UM-100 module is very popular among customers using mobile laptops. Skylink is planning to offer the Ubiquam U-300 (1X and EV-DO) handset as soon as EV-DO is enabled on the network.
Is roaming an issue? If so, how do you address it?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
Essentially we are a wireless in local loop (WLL) operator with limited mobility. The license for limited mobility, as per the government policy, restricts calls to a single cell not exceeding a call charge area, which, according to the incumbent fixed line operator, is 25 km.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
Usually our customers have a handset of an alternative standard, which they use on their business trips. As we expand our service to the rest of Skylink's license territory and new CDMA450 operators come into the market, the need for extra terminals will decrease. However, we are not pursuing this goal since our task is different - we want to offer our customers unique opportunities that are not available in the networks of differing standards. At the same time, compromise options are also under consideration. For example, plastic roaming is offered to Skylink users in St.Petersburg.
Are there any technical issues that you are facing?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
The frequency spectrum allotted to us for Islamabad region had huge interference. However, with persistent efforts, the situation improved to the extent that we were able to launch service on a commercial basis with a high grade of service.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
As Skylink is a multiple-vendor operator (infrastructure provided by Huawei, Lucent Technologies, Nortel and ZTE), our main technical issue is the interoperability of the various vendors' equipment. As geographical coverage of Skylink's regional networks increases and service areas of different vendors become adjacent, Skylink has to ensure that customers in the "boarding" areas have seamless communication. The interoperability issue becomes particularly important when introduction of new service platforms is under consideration (for example, Push-to-Talk, LBS). Also, as CDMA450 networks expand, the issue of their cross-border coordination becomes pertinent.
Recently, the Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications (RCC), which unites 12 Communication Administrations of the CIS countries, has initiated a development of RCC recommendation on cross-border coordination of CDMA450 networks.
What are your future plans?
MUHAMMAD KAMIL KHAN
EV-DO will be launched in Islamabad and Rawalpindi by the end of this year and in other regions by the second quarter of 2006. We have a 5MHz allocation in the 479-frequency band for Lahore region and we are considering various options for putting it to best use.
NIKOLAY LIKHACHEV
Based on the agreement between Qualcomm and Skylink in September, preparatory work started on the Qualcomm BREW platform implementation in the Skylink network. The BREW platform will allow Skylink users to download and pay for various entertainment and business applications and will, therefore, significantly increase the range of available services. Currently, Skylink is launching 1X EV-DO high speed data transfer technology that will increase the capability of mobile data transfer and allow our customers to benefit from using functional multimedia applications, including BREW content. These applications will be provided at high (up to 2.4Mbps) data rates, which have never been available in the Russian mobile networks.
