Subject: [NEXTEL-1] EMS Wireless in Talks with Carriers to Boost Indoor Cell Coverage

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 14:07:33 -0500

EMS Wireless in Talks with Carriers to Boost Indoor Cell Coverage

Norcross, Ga.-based EMS Wireless is in in discussions with several of
the U.S.-based wireless service providers (WSP) about the supplying WSPs
with in-house repeaters developed by EMS, LGP Allgon and Andrew Corp.
The in-house repeaters provide wireless subscribers with cellular
coverage indoors and out. The technology EMS is offering the WSPs would
be able to amplify wireless signals in locations such as offices,
stadiums, malls and homes, allowing cell phone users to talk indoors
without losing a signal. EMS currently has an in-house repeater on the
market called Link2Cell, however, it is in limited supply.

EMS Wireless offers a product that would boost cellular
signals

=================================================================

EMS Wireless offers a product that would boost cellular  signals

By Douglas Sams
[email-masked]

NORCROSS, Ga.
A local wireless company
is considering how it can
best satisfy consumer
craving for cellular
coverage indoors and out.

EMS Wireless in Norcross, known for making cellular antennas, is in
discussions with the big boys on the wireless block about supplying them
with in-house repeaters.

The products would offer Verizon, Cingular and T-Mobile technology that
can amplify wireless signals in offices, stadiums, malls and homes,
enabling consumers to talk indoors without worrying about dropping their
call.
Although repeater technology has been on the market for a while,
in-house versions of the product are a relatively new innovation.

EMS Wireless, along with LGP Allgon and Andrew Corp., are developing
in-house repeaters, which are about the size of a laptop computer and
small enough to sit in the window sill of a home or office. But EMS, the
largest personal communication systems-cellular antenna maker, may have
the most flexibility when it comes to mass producing the products.
EMS has put a version of the in-house repeater called Link2Cell on the
market in limited supply, said Michael Gulledge, vice president, sales
and marketing, for the company. The device would cost about $200, but
the price would almost certainly drop if consumer demand increases.
Gulledge estimates in-house repeaters could rival revenues from the
company’s flagship antenna products within five years.

The market looks promising for in-house repeaters, given the significant
power wireless consumers will gain Nov. 24. That is the day a flood of
wireless consumers can keep their cell phone numbers, and change their
wireless provider, without penalty, the result of a federal mandate
called local number portability, or LNP.

What is the connection between in-house repeaters and LNP? “A big one,”
Gulledge said. If cell phone users feel their current wireless provider
offers inadequate coverage, it will be easier than ever to change. A
wireless provider able to deploy an affordable in-house repeater could
offer better coverage indoors — where more people are using their cell
phones these days.  Wireless providers were already plagued by high
customer turnover, or churn, but local number portability is about to
make the problem even worse, analysts say. Telecom consulting firm TMNG
estimates at least 10 million cell phone users plan to change their
wireless providers Nov. 24, and another 30 million may follow suit.

“It’s going to make an extremely competitive business even more
competitive,” said Sheryl Sellaway, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman. “I
think it’s going to make all carriers focus on the coverage of their
networks, the quality of their customer service and the ability to be
customer friendly.”

It is too early to say how much of a role in-house repeaters will play
in Verizon’s business strategy, but Sellaway said the company is testing
the technology.  Verizon, the No. 1 wireless provider with 36 million
customers, has also spent some $60 million to upgrade its network in
preparation for Nov. 24.

The amount underscores how competitive the industry is

— and how local number portability is about to make the battle for cell
phone dollars even more intense. “It’s the biggest initiative to hit the
industry,” Sellaway said.  “It’s going to change the marketplace
significantly.”

http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/articleAEF04109E80F48C7B41F4BC9233C0AA1.asp

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