Old CDPD network causing new problems

The CDPD analog cellular network is being phased out by suppliers and carriers alike by suppliers and carriers in a move that will open doors for 3G and digital networks to flourish. 

AT&T Wireless, one of the two primary supporters of low-speed 19.2Kbps network, will discontinue its service as of June 2004, according to a spokesperson.

While AT&T is officially discontinuing service, a spokesperson for Verizon said it will continue to offer CDPD. According to many wireless analysts, however, Verizon’s support cannot be sustained for long because infrastructure suppliers already stopped making equipment for the CDPD network.

 “The carriers are scrambling to support analog cellular technology and cannibalizing systems to support their customers,” said a senior executive at a transportation company who asked not to be identified.

Art Marshall, assistant IT director of network systems for the City of Boca Raton, Fla, said that "the service [from AT&T] stopped issuing IP addresses for CDPD as of March 31.”

With a little crystal balling, as Marshall called it, the city of Boca Raton escaped any major disruptions to either the public safety wireless network or its budget.

“The first thing you are concerned about is your legacy investment,” Marshall said. With that in mind, last year Marshal chose not to buy laptop systems for the police department that used embedded CDPD modems, electing to use PC Card modules instead. Now, as they transition to GPRS, the cost is contained, Marshal said.

Other businesses and industries may not be so lucky. In the transportation industry, for instance, CDPD modems are built into the cab of a truck, which requires companies to rip and replace.

Companies are turning to local area wireless, IEEE 802.11x, to build wide area networks for field forces, and using high-speed WLANs as workers return to the corporate campus.

While rates are higher for GPRS than for CDPD, which offers an all-you-can-use flat rate from $30 to $50 per month, users are electing to buy by the megabyte knowing that their field force does not require a great deal of data and that they will not use it for browsing the Web.

"Over time the lower cost of the network will make up for the infrastructure costs," said Ken Dulaney senior analyst with Gartner in San Jose. "But if they used proprietary software from vendors they will have some upside costs."

For certain the wireless carriers stand to benefit from the transition. The 3G data networks being pushed by the wireless carriers, for instance, will get a major boost in subscribers over the coming year as the old CDPD network approaches obsolescence.

While AT&T Wireless would not reveal how many of its customers currently use CDPD it did say it is in the midst of helping them transition to its GPRS Network.

Another carrier, Nextel, which does not offer CDPD is also working with CDPD users.

“We are hearing from agencies, companies, associations, and they are very concerned. They have investments into CDPD and need a place to go,” said Ernie Cormier, vice president of business solutions at Nextel, in Reston, Va. “We are developing new offerings to expand their options."