Cybersurf

Hello, good morning and welcome to Cybersurf, your weekly window where web matters – and I am your Cybershost, Steven Lang.

The week we focus on a type of technology that could be used by the second national operator and should allow us better access to the internet – we are discussing CDMA – a mobile phone standard that can compete directly with GSM, in certain circumstances.

CDMA stands for - Code Division Multiple Access – It is a more recent standard than GSM and there are already several operational editions of CDMA in different parts of the world.

Last week, I attend a CDMA 2000 show-off session. The demonstration was not set up for me, but for ICASA, mainly because the group of companies involved in the demonstration is trying to convince ICASA to change the allocation of the 800 megaherz frequency from broadcasting to telecommunications.

Angus Hay Chief Technology Officer of Transtel, makes the case:

IN: We can get both, much greater . . .

OUT: of telecommunications in South Africa. - DUR: 18”

Transtel, a key player in the Second national operator is serious about using CDMA wireless technology instead of digging up the roads to lay copper wires.

I asked Thomas O’Neill, Vice President, Qualcomm if there is a blurring of the line between fixed line telephony and mobile networking:

IN: Yes, certainly it is . . . .

OUT: . . . . .

So if this new standard is so great for telephony, does it necessarily mean that it is good for connecting to the internet?

IN: Absolutely, one of the hallmarks of . . . .

OUT: . . . . megabitz per second

That was Thomas o’Neill, vice president of Qualcomm – the company that actually invented CDMA.

Now I must admit that the demonstration was very convincing and if I worked for ICASA I would certainly argue in favour of allocating the 800 megaherz frequency to telecommunications – but – this must be only one side of the story – the problem is, that I couldn’t find anyone to give me the other side.

I suspect that part of the down side is in the incompatibility between exisitng handsets which are all on the GSM standard and newer handsets on the CDMA standard.

But before I really get out of my depth, let’s wrap up today’s edition of cybersurf.

Thanks for listening – please join me again next Monday – and till then

Remember to keeeeep on surfing…..