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CTIA WIRELESS '97 San Francisco — Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile announced today that it has launched the wireless industry's most sophisticated digital cellular phone service in the greater Philadelphia area. The new offering, called DigitalChoicesm, uses 13-kilobit Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to provide exceptional voice quality and enhanced security.
The company previously deployed its DigitalChoice service in Washington/Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, NC, and Trenton, NJ, and plans to introduce service in its remaining markets, where advanced digital features are already available on its analog network, by mid-year. Customers benefit from having wireless coverage virtually anywhere in North America since Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's digital phones will work on both digital and analog networks.
Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile leads the cellular industry in deploying 13-kilobit CDMA digital service, the next generation in wireless technology. The company launched the nation's first 13-kilobit CDMA network in Trenton, NJ, in March, 1996. Research concludes that the 13-kilobit version of CDMA service provides the clearest voice quality of any wireless technology, and the closest to landline voice quality, virtually eliminating static and crosstalk. The CDMA 13-kilobit vocoder uses a unique noise suppression technique that emphasizes or improves voice clarity, while greatly reducing background noise.
Customers who subscribe to DigitalChoice service will receive
- free Caller ID;
- free voice mail with message indicator;
- free first minute of airtime on incoming calls within home area;
- free TalkDialsm, Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's exclusive service, which allows customers to "dial" with their voice;
- Free Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, and Three-way Calling
- dramatically increased battery life;
- free fraud protection;
- and optional text messaging for an additional $12.99 a month, or operator-assisted text messaging for $24.99 a month.
The battery life for CDMA digital handheld phones is dramatically improved when operating in digital mode, allowing as much as five hours of talk time and 48 hours of standby time, compared with the average analog phone which provides up to two hours of talk time and 18 hours of standby time.
Voice privacy is greatly enhanced with CDMA technology. Since each call is coded in one of over four trillion codes, eavesdropping is virtually impossible when operating in digital mode. Commercial scanning equipment cannot intercept CDMA digital voice communication.
The company is the first provider to offer digital service in Philadelphia. Digital coverage is available in the major metropolitan area in and around Philadelphia, including Philadelphia county and large portions of the surrounding counties of PA, NJ and DE. There is no activation fee for DigitalChoice, and customers can sign up for monthly or one-year subscriptions. Price plans begin at $24.99 for monthly access.
The company is selling handheld Qualcomm digital phones in its Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Communications Stores the Philadelphia area for $299.99. For added protection and convenience, the phone is equipped with Authentication technology, which guards against cellular cloning, while eliminating the need for a PIN (personal identification number)in the customer's home area.
"Customers judge wireless carriers by the quality of their wireless phone calls," said Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch . "The market place will soon conclude that DigitalChoice CDMA service is the best wireless technology when compared to other digital services and even landline service. No other digital technology offers the voice clarity that 13-kilobit CDMA does."
Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, NJ, is providing network infrastructure equipment for the new service in Philadelphia. Qualcomm Personal Electronics of San Diego is providing the CDMA digital phones.
Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company owns and operates the most extensive network in the east, covering 111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless retail outlets, offering a full range of personal communications services including voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, the company has more than four million customers and 6,500 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company was formed in July, 1995 by combining Bell Atlantic Mobile's and NYNEX Mobile's cellular operations. For more information about the company, visit Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's Home Page at www.banm.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Herschel Shosteck Associates is currently using Bell Atlantic NYNEX Mobile's CDMA DigitalChoice service in the Washington/Baltimore Market. For comments please contact Jane Zweig at 301/589-2259.
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