CDMA2000 (1XRTT)

Phase one of CDMA2000, for the purposes of this discussion, is a 2.5G technology
platform because it offers some but not all of the IMTS-2000 requirements
that are envisioned for CDMA2000, like full mobility. For the purist
at heart, IS-95B has been widely publicized as being 2.5G, whereas
CDMA2000 is a 3G platform. However, IS-95B has seen limited implementation
and the industry has moved to deploy a 1xRTT platform instead.The
CDMA2000 platform is predominantly a non-European platform and is
meant to transition IS-95A/B systems from a voice system to a high-speed
packet data network capitalizing on the existing radio base station and
spectrum allocations that the operators have.

CDMA2000 1xRTT or phase 1, as will be 3xRTT, is fully backwardcompatible
with the IS-95 infrastructure and subscriber units. It also supports
all of the IS-95 existing services such as voice, circuit-switched data,
SMS, over the air provisioning, and activation. CDMA2000 1xRTT supports
handoffs with IS-95, which uses the same carrier as well as different carriers.
From an operator’s point of view, the migration from 2G to 3G via a 2.5G
strategy, regardless of the access technology platform chosen, needs to
address the following major issues:

■ Capacity
■ Coverage
■ Clarity
■ Cost
■ Compatibility

This chapter discusses many of the implementation issues associated
with the introduction of CDMA2000-1xRTT whether it is for data and voice
(DV), or just data only (DO). The design specifics associated with a1xRTT
system will be covered in Chapter 7, “CDMA2000.” Numerous purtebations
can and will exist with the deployment of a CDMA2000-1x that are, of
course, market-specific in nature. Therefore, what follows should provide
the necessary guidance from which to begin making design decisions. 203