Can cellular phone companies agree on a new standard for transmission? One technique was a front-runner, but a new one could handle many more calls

Article Abstract:

Cellular industry executives are undecided about which technique to adopt as a standard. They agreed in 1989 on a technique that offered a threefold increase in traffic that can be handled simultaneously in one city. However, Qualcomm Inc, San Diego, CA, urges adoption of another technique that could provide as much as a 20-fold increase. Cellular companies use analog signals, but both new techniques - Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) - use digital signals. TDMA, which is the better-established system, is backed by Motorola Inc and LM Ericsson, the two biggest companies in the $4 billion cellular equipment industry. Both companies are preparing to manufacture large quantities of TDMA equipment. Qualcomm is developing CDMA systems, but some industry observers are skeptical that the equipment will perform as well as advocates have claimed.

COMMUNICATION, Communications Equipment, Standards, Telecommunications services industry, Telecommunications industry, Cellular telephones, Wireless telephones, Standard, Standardization, Telephone companies, Telecommunications equipment industry, Telecommunications equipment, Digital communications, Digital telephone systems, Telecommunications, Telephone Company, Cellular Radio, Digital Communication

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Cutting the computer wire snarl

Article Abstract:

Motorola Inc demonstrates a wireless local area network (LAN) that connects computers with radio, light and microwave signals. The computer maker's wireless product, which is expected to cost around $2,000 and run at 15 million bits per second, is part of a growing trend in the industry. Office wiring increases and becomes almost unmanageable with the proliferation of computers. Analysts estimate that American companies spend $3 billion annually on wiring computers together. Motorola's technique involves the use of microwaves but two other alternative solutions exist: infrared light signaling, which cannot go through walls, and ultra-high frequency radio waves, which goes through walls and relies on an encoding technology.

Electronic computers, Computer industry, Product development, Technological forecasting, Wireless LANs, Motorola Inc., MOT, Wireless local area networks (Computer networks), column, Trends, Future of Computing, Wireless Network

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