Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Convergence of services

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 23:28:29 -0400

Published on: 2003-10-16

Convergence of services
By Michael Clinebell
Staff writer

The tech talk Wednesday at the Airborne & Special Operations Museum was about the
convergence of voice and data as well as wireless communications services.

Neale Martin, founder and president of Ntelec Inc., an Atlanta-based
communications research and consulting company, was the keynote speaker at a
symposium sponsored by Sprint.
Martin talked about the changes in technology and its effects on business.

"Management can no longer afford to be ignorant of technology," said Martin, who
was hired by Sprint to talk at this symposium.

Ells Edwards, a Verizon spokesman who was not at the symposium, said talk about
convergence in the phone business goes back many years.

"It's all kind of a blending together right now. The Internet is driving a lot of
this."
Tom Matthews, a Sprint spokesman, said the company will spend $1 billion over 12
years to upgrade the capabilities of its wire network.

The network will have a Internet Protocol (IP) backbone, a cheaper and faster way
to converge the transmission of voice, data and video.

Some analysts say that Sprint has been one of the leading talkers about
convergence. The company is moving faster toward an IP network than bigger phone
companies, such as Verizon or BellSouth.
Sprint's investment comes amid a background of declining equipment spending in
telecommunications because of a weak economy.

The Telecommunications Industry Association said in its most recent overview that
equipment spending is expected to increase with a migration to new technologies.

The association said it believes that Voice-over Internet Protocol is gaining
traction and has the potential to provide significant cost savings.

   Security concerns

John Pruitt, who works in communications at Fort Bragg, said convergence is
something that the post is considering, but the post will keep some communication
services separate for reliability and security.
"We will never go to total convergence," Pruitt said. "We don't want one point of
failure."
With wireless service, Sprint is pushing its PCS Vision, next generation wireless
network.
Tahmin Clarke, an associate analyst with Legg Mason, said Sprint is trying to
distinguish itself as a major data carrier in wireless.

Sprint and AT&T wireless have historically been in the middle of the pack among
wireless carriers, with no differentiation in the market, Clarke said.

Competitor Verizon is thought by many to have the best quality network.
Nextel is the industry leader in the push to talk service, which creates a direct
connection between cell phones - eliminating the need to dial a number and wait
for a network connection.
Cingular and T-Mobile generally offer the lowest prices in the wireless market.

Staff writer Michael Clinebell can be reached at [email-masked] or
486-3523.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/printer.php?Story=5940821

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