Study: TDD Halves 3G Costs

CANNES, France -- InterDigital Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:IDCC), a leading architect, designer and provider of wireless technology and product platforms, today announced at the 3GSM Congress in Cannes, France the results of a third generation (3G) wireless economic and performance study conducted with the U.S.-based research firm Arthur D. Little (ADL). The joint, year-long study found significant capital, operating and total cost of ownership savings for operators that deploy Wideband TDD (WTDD) as part of a complete WCDMA wireless solution. The study also determined that WTDD deployed in a single 5MHz unpaired band provided higher capacity for data-intensive applications like video, internet access or multi-media messaging than FDD similarly deployed in two 5MHz paired bands of wireless spectrum. WTDD is WCDMA for the unpaired spectrum and is fully harmonized with FDD technology in the paired spectrum. Together they form a complete WCDMA solution, the 3G evolution from GSM wireless. Standards-based WTDD will enable WCDMA-based networks and products to deliver voice, data and multimedia applications efficiently and cost effectively worldwide with full mobility and security. Based on research conducted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the UMTS Forum and other publicly available industry analyses, the InterDigital/ADL study evaluated potential applications of WTDD in urban and suburban area deployments. The deployment of WTDD was further evaluated from three operational scenarios where fully mobile voice and data services, packet and circuit switch connections are essential: wide area broadband coverage; capacity enhancement and "hotzone" coverage for heavy mobile and nomadic traffic usage. The joint study concluded that WTDD deployed for capacity enhancement can provide approximately 50% savings for operators in projected network capital and operating costs over a ten year period; and 25 to 35% savings in wide-area broadband data deployment scenarios. An additional 15% cost savings over the same period of time can be achieved by deploying WTDD in 10MHz of spectrum, rather than 5MHz. "There is a growing appetite in the global consumer market for wireless data on the go, as reflected in the increasing demand for camera phones, other mobile data devices and the applications that support them," said Dr. Alain Briancon, InterDigital's Chief Technology Officer. "This consumer demand is matched by an obvious expectation and desire on the part of operators for higher revenues per user, lower costs of deployment and the capability to adapt deployments to their unique marketing and operational needs. "We see tremendous opportunities to simultaneously meet operator requirements, drive higher operator revenue and margins, and exceed end user customer expectations through the deployment of WTDD as part of a complete WCDMA solution. The findings of this study, validated by the independent participation of Arthur D. Little, confirm the singular advantages offered through fully leveraging the unpaired spectrum already available to the vast majority of operators as a result of their WCDMA spectrum purchases or allocations," concluded Briancon. InterDigital Communications Corp.