UC Berkeley

This article evaluates CDMA450 as a potential solution for rural data and voice connectivity. We begin by analyzing the main strengths of CDMA450, but also some of the potential limitations for rural coverage, from both a technical and an economic standpoint. We argue that CDMA450 is a promising technology, competitive in both capacity-centric urban environments and in coverage-centric rural environments. Consequently, we discuss the opportunities of providing universal coverage by adopting a business model targeting both urban and rural deployments, and utilizing urban to rural cross-subsidization. We then explore the advantages of deploying CDMA450 using a fixed wireless (WLL) model. To this end, we explore the effective range of WLL CDMA450, and the impact of using directional antennas and receive antenna diversity in real-world commercial CDMA450 deployment in Romania. If used properly, these techniques can aid us in increasing cell radii and thus lead to substantial cost benefits.