Phoenix Rising BBS/phoenixrising.zip/phoenixrising/cellular/bamcdp.txt

INI File | 1994-02-20 | 8KB | 122 lines

[from a joint Bell Atlantic/AT&T press release]

In an age when people and companies with the fastest access to information win,
Bell Atlantic Mobile (BAM) is betting a new technology will revolutionize the
way Americans work and live.

By tapping the power of an existing information superhighway -- the cellular
infrastructure -- Bell Atlantic Mobile plans to launch a wireless digital data
network that will connect people on the move with sources of information
everywhere, adding further mileage to the multibillion dollar investment America
has made in computers and telecommunications.

"We're talking about a total transformation in the way Americans view cellular
service.  Everyone will feel the impact of this new wireless service. Instead of
wondering when the next bus is due, riders can see an electronic display at
their bus stop, telling how soon the bus will come and how many seats are
available.  Truck drivers can learn immediately of delivery route changes, and
salesmen will get up-to-the-minute quotes on inventory and pricing," said Dennis
F. Strigl, president and chief executive officer of Bell Atlantic Mobile.

Based on sophisticated "Cellular Digital Packet Data" (CDPD) technology, being
developed by a consortium of the largest cellular carriers, BAM plans to deploy
the service in its six regions nationwide by the end of 1994.  Bell Atlantic
Mobile has selected AT&T Network Systems to help bring its wireless digital data
service to Washington, DC, customers in November 1993.

"CDPD takes data communications from the bronze age to the space age,"  said
Benjamin L. Scott, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Bell
Atlantic Mobile.  "By pushing the existing infrastructure to do 'double duty,'
CDPD will allow Americans to 'flash' wireless information throughout the US.

"This technology delivers a powerful tool for exploding productivity potential
by enhancing and expanding data communications access to a broader, more mobile
population," said Scott.

"BAM is a company that aggressively strives to understand its customers' needs,
and demands the most advanced technology available to meet those needs," said
Jim Brewington, president of AT&T Network Wireless Systems.  "So we are
extremely pleased to be working with BAM as the first company to deploy AT&T's
CDPD technology on an AT&T Autoplex(a) system anywhere.  We're eager to
demonstrate with BAM what can happen when the power of its AT&T Autoplex System
1000 Series II equipment is really put into play -- as it will be when it's
integrated with our CDPD system."

BAM's plan to respond to burgeoning market demand for real-time data
communications focuses on a solution that makes full use of an existing
information highway -- the nation's cellular networks -- to transmit "packets"
of data.  BAM's new service will allow people on the move to transmit high-speed
bursts of information -- inserted before and after voice conversations -- on a
single wireless channel, using a laptop or pen-based computer or personal
digital assistant.  Data could also be sent to and from devices such as traffic
lights, meters, alarm systems, or vending machines.

Like an attendant directing traffic in a crowded parking garage, CDPD technology
finds unused space in a network of voice messages and fills it with the "1s" and
"0s"  of digital code.  That data might originate as e-mail, a credit card
"swipe," or a service order.  A  commuter could purchase a debit card to be run
through a device as he enters a bus; his fare would be deducted automatically
from the card's total, eliminating fumbling for exact change. That fare
information could be transmitted in less than a second for just pennies.

"We have an excellent fix on the market potential for wireless 'packet data'
services.  This service will provide mobile workers like salesmen, service
technicians, and police officers, and consumers who need all kinds of
information-on- demand, with access to the kind of real-time data capabilities
their office-bound counterparts have enjoyed for more than a decade,"  said
Scott.

BAM's CDPD launch is the latest example of the company's images of restaurant
menus and prices into the cars of vacationing Americans, along with detailed
directions to the restaurant.  In the near future, BAM's CDPD service could
allow for real-time credit card verification, so a customer might pay by credit
card for a freshly delivered pizza right at her doorstep.

Industry observers believe the wireless data market could be worth $10 billion
by 2000, providing service to some 13 million mobile data workers. Currently,
data transmission represents approximately three percent of cellular traffic.

"The growth potential for wireless data service is enormous.  In our markets
alone, $1.3 billion is up for grabs.  Because CDPD technology is 'laid over' the
nation's cellular infrastructure, we can rapidly deploy ubiquitous service at
relatively little additional cost to the user or carrier," Scott said.

"The core competencies of AT&T provide a platform for the integration of phone,
fax, e-mail, and personal computing on BAM's network, including state-of-the-art
products like IBM's THINKPAD notebook computer, Apple's PowerBook, and the EO
Personal  Communicator.  American workers rely heavily on personal computers.
But we lose fully half of our productivity when we step away from our desks.
This new data service will allow us to regain that productivity anytime,
anyplace," said Scott.

BAM's CDPD launch is the latest example of the company's commitment to providing
a full range of wireless services to its customer base.  BAM launched its
Personal Line "single number, single phone" trial in Pittsburgh, and
ContactLine(sm) "one person, one number" service in Washington, DC, earlier this
year.

AT&T Network Systems, a leading supplier of wireless infrastructure equipment,
will provide Bell Atlantic Mobile with a CDPD system that will enable the
carrier to transmit packet data across its cellular network.  For the initial
BAM deployment, AT&T is supplying a turnkey CDPD offering for the AT&T
Autoplex(b) System 1000 network in Washington, DC.  AT&T will provide
engineering, installation, training, and 24-hour support. The system will
consist of mobile data base stations (MDBS), which provide radio connectivity
from subscribers to the mobile data intermediate system (MDIS), a back-end
network connecting the base stations together and connecting them to external
packet networks and packet services.  Initially, 30 cell sites in the Washington
system will be equipped with CDPD technology.  AT&T's CDPD systems will
complement BAM's existing Autoplex System Series II equipment and will also work
with other manufacturers' cellular equipment.

The AT&T CDPD system, designed to coexist with AUTOPLEX equipment, will protect
and enhance voice quality while giving more efficient use of the network
equipment already in place.  Its patented linear amplifier is capable of
transmitting multiple air interfaces, including AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, and CDPD. This
enables maximum flexibility, simplified operations and maintenance, and reduced
costs.  Because AT&T's system allows proactive channel assignment, each voice
and data call will be transmitted over a clear, uncongested air channel.

CONTACT: Bell Atlantic Mobile, Bedminster, Karen Ann Kurlander, 908/306-7552 or
Barbara Mierisch, AT&T, 201-606-2457