Even though many wouldn’t put Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York and Orange County in the same category, wireless telecom service providers do.
OC is right up there with the nation’s largest cities as important markets for wireless service, say the major wireless telcos, which are putting their money where the Mouse is as they upgrade and expand OC networks to keep pace with population growth in the land of Disney.
“Absolutely, Orange County is an important market. As a matter of fact it’s one of our most important,” said Todd Hallenbeck, the technology manager for Verizon Wireless. “It’s the perfect demographic.”
Wireless companies drool over OC’s sprawling size, which necessitates car travel, creating a need for mobile communication. Wireless service providers also like OC’s robust business climate, which creates demand for companywide wireless deals. And the county’s relative affluence means there are plenty of private users with the money to spend on mobile phones.
“All that gets you the type of people who are going to use wireless networks,” Hallenbeck said.
With four large firms,Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS and AT & T; Wireless Service,and several smaller companies covering OC with wireless service, the competition for customers is heated. Every major player is working to improve network capacity to accommodate more customers.
“We’re acquiring more customers and getting more demand for service, so we need to expand our capacity,” said AT & T; wireless spokesman John Mendez.
For instance, the San Joaquin (73) Toll Road corridor, once lightly-traveled, has seen a steady increase in traffic, requiring more capacity in certain sections.
Improving capacity requires large capital expenditures to upgrade and add the cellular sites that pick up and transmit wireless signals across communication networks. The result of the upgrading is fewer dropped calls and better reception in crowded areas.
Fortunately, the increasing need to upgrade OC’s networks comes at a time when all the major wireless telcos are already upgrading their networks for third generation wireless, or 3G. Companies have been working with cell phone makers to upgrade to 3G, which promises clearer voice communication and fast transmission rates for data-intensive uses such as video.
Piggybacking on the need to upgrade networks is the need to expand coverage to some of OC’s newer developments, such as areas of South County. While some firms are reluctant to provide specific figures, all the wireless providers say they’re aggressively expanding their OC networks.
Verizon Wireless is spending $550 million to expand its Southern California operations, and a large portion of that will go to its OC network, local officials say.
“This is accomplished by regularly truing up the forecast and actual usage numbers and re-forecasting growth requirements and building ahead instead of just in time,” said Mark Snell, Verizon’s director of radio frequency engineering and operations.
Sprint PCS is looking to expand coverage into certain areas of South County, such as Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, but, like other wireless companies, runs into roadblocks with homeowner associations that have restrictive rules on building cell sites.
“Where we can’t improve coverage, we will build capacity” in existing towers, said Sprint spokeswoman Stephanie Walsh.
Like Sprint, AT & T; Wireless is looking to build coverage at new developments in Coto de Caza and Laguna Niguel in its expansion plans. Cingular Wireless plans to increase its OC network by 50% this year for a total of $100 million. n
