Ericsson supplies WCDMA system to Telecom Italia Mobile

Ericsson supplies WCDMA system to Telecom Italia Mobile Ericsson will supply operator Telecom Italia Mobile with a WCDMA system (Wideband CDMA). The purpose of the system in Italy is to perform advanced testing and further evaluation of the breakthrough radio access technology. WCDMA was selected by ETSI (the European standardization body) in January for third-generation mobile communications in Europe. Strong global momentum has been building up for WCDMA, and the Japanese standardization body ARIB has also decided to support the same technology for the fast growing Japanese wireless market. Ericsson will supply the WCDMA experimental system before year-end to Telecom Italia Mobile's R&D centre in the Turin area, to test advanced wireless multimedia services, such as Internet and IP-based services, as well as other datacom and video services. Tests on WCDMA systems will further speed up the process towards fully commercial systems and verify the ease of interoperability with current systems, such as GSM and D-AMPS IS-136. Real-life experiences in WCDMA also support the provisioning of solutions as an integral part of the evolution of today's systems. "Ericsson has pioneered the development of WCDMA and fully supported the long and open-ended standardization process. Our customers in Europe, Asia and North America have strongly supported WCDMA. We see experimental systems as one way of sharing our knowledge and contributing to the rapid build up of competence. The interest in WCDMA is a sign of the enormous momentum behind the technology," says Åke Persson, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Ericsson Radio Systems. Recently, Ericsson supplied the world's first WCDMA system to NTT DoCoMo in Japan and will later this year supply another experimental system to Japan Telecom. In Europe, Ericsson will deliver a similar system to the German operators Mannesmann Mobilfunk and T-Mobil, as well as a system to Swedish operator Telia. Ericsson has had its own live WCDMA test bed up and running since 1995. Telecom Italia Mobile is the largest European wireless operator with more than 12 million customers. The company is currently running GSM and analog ETACS networks widely benefiting from the performance of Ericsson's systems. Ericsson´s 100,000 employees are active in more than 130 countries. Their combined expertise in fixed and mobile networks, mobile phones and infocom systems makes Ericsson a world-leading supplier in telecommunications. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Bruno Rossi, Business Development and Product Manager Mobile Systems Division, Ericsson Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. Phone: +39 6 7258 3346 Marino Marin, Information and Communication Manager Ericsson Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. Phone: +39 6 7258 3592 Johan Wiklund, Press Relations Manager Ericsson Business Area Mobile Systems Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@era.ericsson.se