Print 7 comment(s) - last by mcnabney.. on Feb 9 at 4:53 PM














Comments     Threshold


By DanNeely on 2/9/2011 11:21:23 AM , Rating: 2
I'm asking because having to run CDMA and LTE wireless at the same time is being widely predicted to be battery life problem for VZW in the same way that CDMA+WIMAX is for Sprint. Routing voice/SMS traffic over 4g when available would let VZW turn off the 3g antenna entirely when 4g was available and save power in the process.

By dagamer34 on 2/9/2011 11:51:19 AM , Rating: 2
Eventually replaced 3G voice calling, because you should be able to use voice and data at the same time (they are technically just bits on a 4G network). Currently, even if a call is on 3G, I don't think you can use 4G data, because it's just one radio working at a time.

By mcnabney on 2/9/2011 4:53:13 PM , Rating: 2
No, LTE data and CDMA voice can run at the same time. Not sure why it was so important, AT&T made it sound like something people do constantly. Anyway, moving data from EVDO to LTE will allow concurrent use.

By acer905 on 2/9/2011 12:59:44 PM , Rating: 2
If thats the case, which would make the most sense, then they better drop the idea of Voice plans. Seriously, i can see them sneaking this to the customers without telling them, and then still charging for minutes and data

By DanNeely on 2/9/2011 1:38:28 PM , Rating: 2
Don't hold your breath. It won't happen until after their 4g coverage is as large as their 3g coverage, and their main 2/3g roaming partners have fully fielded LTE as well; the carriers (and "consumer groups" consisting of class action lawyers) would claim that having calls switch from data to per minute charges would be too confusing for the average consumer.

After that, they'd still need to restructure their pricing because lots of low level back office stuff, marketing, along with building the network out in the boonies (effectively marketing since it won't pay for itself directly) is primarily funded via voice/sms plans; all of this would have to go to higher data charges. I'm going to guess this will run $10-30/mo.

There's also the question of how much data would be used for the voice service. I don't have any numbers, but assuming a 32kbps data rate (1/4th baseline minimum mp3 level), you'd use ~1MB/4 minutes. For lower end plans voice service could end up using up all the data even at fairly light talk levels; really chatty people could use up the entire capped data level in current plans; so figure probably another $20-40/mo for extra data.

Combined you've got an extra $30-70/mo in fees added to your current data plan and would end up paying a similar amount as you are today. Your usage might end up being rationalized, but don't expect it to get significantly cheaper unless end up dropping to a lower average level of consumption.

