Ericsson and ATL to evaluate 3G evolution in Brazil

Ericsson and ATL to evaluate 3G evolution in Brazil Ericsson and ATL, a B-Band operator in Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo, announce an agreement between the two companies to evaluate the migration to 3G (third generation) wireless technologies. The collaboration encompasses early studies of end-user behavior and usage, new business logic as well as technical requirements. Both companies are committed to exploring marketing and technological innovation in the Brazilian wireless telecommunications market starting today with wireless Internet enablers such as WAP and then moving towards 3G. "As the world leader in provision of wireless infrastructure and development of technologies for the next generation of mobile telephony, Ericsson is well positioned to work with ATL in choosing the best migration evolution path to 3G," says Lars Jehrlander, Vice President of Ericsson Business Operations. Ericsson leads in 3G systems development and has set up WCDMA demonstration centers in Canada, the UK, Japan, Germany, Spain, Sweden and China. These full-fledged 3G systems are used to test the delivery of new applications and services, with customers in key markets, leveraging Ericsson's global customer base and 10 years of research in 3G technologies. Ericsson further strengthened its position as the world leader in 3G systems when it recently signed the world's first contract for an end-to-end commercial 3G system, based on WCDMA technology, with Finnish operator Ålands Mobiltelefon Ab. Ericsson is ideally positioned to support any operator anywhere to migrate to all ITU approved 3G systems - regardless of technology heritage or technology choice. Ericsson is offering customers 3G systems based on EDGE, WCDMA and cdma2000 - being the only supplier with a complete portfolio for second and third generation systems. "ATL has this far been extremely successful with the delivery of TDMA Digital technology and service to over one million subscribers," says Carlos Henrique Moreira, President of ATL. Our joint development of technology and marketing solutions will give us a deeper understanding of the practical 3G market challenges well before commercial deployment." Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Antoinette Torell, Press Officer, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 8 404 6782, +46 70 676 9279 E-mail: Antoinette.Torell@lme.ericsson.se Lilia Giannotti, ATL Press Agency contact Phone: +55 21 3084 2020; E-mail: lilia.giannotti@spsbr.com.br ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/27/20000427BIT01630/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/27/20000427BIT01630/bit0002.pdf