Nortel targets CDMA 450 market

Nortel last week unveiled a line of Code Division Multiple Access products intended to help users transition to digital wireless service from analog.

The products are designed for use in the 450-MHz radio spectrum. CDMA 450 is a standard for use in countries transitioning to digital wireless service from Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) 450 analog service and in countries advocating universal access to voice and data.

Because of the lower radio spectrum, CDMA 450 covers a larger area than traditional cellular systems. This means fewer cell sites and no need for licensed operators to acquire additional spectrum, Nortel says.

The CDMA 450 products, built on Nortel's Metro Cell base station line, are stand-alone radios designed to let operators build on existing NMT450 infrastructure and expand and digitize voice and data services in rural and urban environments. Each radio can support three carriers, which can be activated individually via software.

To continue reading, register here to become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

Nortel last week unveiled a line of Code Division Multiple Access products intended to help users transition to digital wireless service from analog.

The products are designed for use in the 450-MHz radio spectrum. CDMA 450 is a standard for use in countries transitioning to digital wireless service from Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) 450 analog service and in countries advocating universal access to voice and data.

Because of the lower radio spectrum, CDMA 450 covers a larger area than traditional cellular systems. This means fewer cell sites and no need for licensed operators to acquire additional spectrum, Nortel says.

The CDMA 450 products, built on Nortel's Metro Cell base station line, are stand-alone radios designed to let operators build on existing NMT450 infrastructure and expand and digitize voice and data services in rural and urban environments. Each radio can support three carriers, which can be activated individually via software.

CDMA2000 1X and CDMA 1xEV-DO are also integrated in the base station to let operators customize their mix of coverage and costs, and reduce site acquisition costs. Nortel won a $1 billion CDMA2000 1X contract from Verizon Wireless last summer.

Nortel is the second-largest vendor, behind Lucent, in CDMA infrastructure, according to Dell'Oro Group. Nortel had a 22% share of the $7.4 billion worldwide revenue in 2003, while rival Lucent owned just more than 41%.

Click to see: Duking it out

Ericsson also added 450-MHz options to its CDMA line last month.

Nortel says it has deployed CDMA networks over varying terrain and population densities for more than 65 operators in 17 countries. Nortel's CDMA products support frequencies of 800, 1900 and 2100 MHz. The company says it can support all of these frequencies simultaneously in a single CDMA base station.

Read more about wireless & mobile in Network World's Wireless & Mobile section.