Wifi Revolution

Nokia (News - Alert) and French operator SFR have performed a technical pilot of a WCDMA 3G/HSDPA voice call on the 900 MHz band in SFR's network. The equipment used for the voice and data calls comes with the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station as well as a special solution for sharing the existing GSM site infrastructure.

 

The 900 MHz band is capable of offering a bigger coverage area than the most commonly used 2 GHz band. The equipment, thus, decreases network deployment costs significantly especially in the rural areas. It also improves the availability of 3G services indoors due to superior radio signal propagation characteristics.

 

"We are impressed by the voice quality of the call, and the HSDPA user data transfer speed reached our expectations. The WCDMA 900 MHz variant brings us an efficient solution, which could allow us to extend our 3G services to rural areas cost-effectively," said Paul Corbel, Chief Technical Officer, SFR in a statement.

           

According to a news release, the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station and Nokia Flexi Multiradio Combiner help SFR share their existing GSM900 base station site, including base station cabinets, antenna lines and power system, with the WCDMA 3G network.

 

Nokia and SFR have been working together for more than 10 years and Nokia has provided SFR with GSM and WCDMA 3G/HSDPA radio and core network equipment and services.

 

"These WCDMA 900 voice and data calls are another testimony of Nokia's strong end-to-end capability and commitment to support operators in developing their offering to better meet the demand that they face in today's increasingly competitive environment," says Olivier de Percin, Account Director, Networks, Nokia. "With the Nokia WCDMA 900 solution, network operators can provide wireless broadband services, such as HSPA, to their customers in a very cost-efficient way."

 

SFR, the second largest mobile telecommunications operator in France, is operating its own GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA networks and offers a complete range of mobile telephony and multimedia services, as well as mobile data solutions to its personal, SOHO and business customers.

 

 

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