The objective of the project is to recommend an upgraded wireless technology for a major telecommunication carriers. This is an individual project.

The course project will involve producing a professional and well-cited research report that will be due in Week 7. The report should propel management and investors to deploy services and compete against other wireless carriers!

Scenario: You are an independent consultant. You have been hired to prepare a recommendation to management on when, if at all, they should begin to deploy 4G next generation services.

The course project shall consist of a single solution: CDMA, GSM, GPRS, CDMA2000, or UMTS mobile wireless project (you decide what is the correct technology). PCS spectrum has been won in a fictional nation's lottery, with the promise of a very quick deployment and cost effective service by you and another competitor. The nation is a protectorate of the US, using similar laws, language, and technology; there are no political barriers or rules that should be of concern to your company. There is a single existing 800 MHz TDMA cellular competitor with service in all 16 cities, but there is coverage blocking issues coupled with very high charges and no wireless data services what so ever! The nation has awarded two sets of licenses to you and another company to roll out a deployment that offers cost-effective service to their citizens.

describe your selection of the technology, and find out the costs and projected profits. describe each area in the report, remember to address equipment selection for the system, customer devices and any other ancillary equipment you feel is needed.

Remember you are competing with another service provider that has won the same amount of PCS spectrum as you in the market - you must be very competitive in performance, costs, and service deployment, while not bankrupting your company!

Content and format of the report are both important. Any drawings are expected to provide enough detail to execute the deployment after reading the report. As you assemble your periodic deliverables into a cohesive document, make sure it's suitable for reading by a board of directors, investors or the CEO.

Your paper should rely heavily on the World Wide Web for its solutions. That is, you should be able to go to the WWW and find out what vendor solutions are available. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source (see Webliography for details). Your paper must include at least 10 references. It is imperative to use proper reference citations - review the Syllabus with reference tutorials.

Remember, the focus of this report is wireless technology involving an entire nationwide deployment of a PCS system, this is not a marketing or sales report, and issues should not overshadow the wireless technology emphasis.

Due Dates:

* Draft Report Due July 30 - sections 2 & 3 complete, 4 - 8 should have outline
* Final Report Due Aug 20 - sections 1 - 8 should be complete

You will also be estimating the project cost and demonstrate your ability from a financial angle. In addition, you will discuss business related issues including backward compatibility, system operation, upgrading of the wireless technology when next generation will be available. Finally, you will prepare a conclusion by combining strategic and financial viability of the project.

1.
Executive Overview
2.
Strategic Business Assessment
1.
Competition
3.
Technology
1.
Trade off analysis and rationale
2.
System selection
3.
Customer devices
4.
Design a Wireless System
1.
System description
2.
Service description
3.
Coverage analysis
5.
Compatibility Plans
1.
Initial capabilities and limitations
2.
Standards impacts
3.
Data capabilities
6. Planned competitive improvements
1.
Applications
2.
Interconnections
3.
Mobility
7.
Other competitive technological solutions
8.
Upgrading to Next Generation
1.
Technical plans and detail
2.
Competitive to the existing cellular operator

Supporting data and analysis should be provided in the form of Appendixes to the main report. Remember to include a cover sheet, table of contents with page numbers, and references. Coverage maps or traffic charts will add quality and depth to the report.

* The report should consist of 15-20 pages (280 - 300 words per page - Except for Charts, Drawings, and/or Spreadsheets)