Nortel Enhances End-User Experience With Improved GSM/UMTS Coverage
Paris (ots/PRNewswire)
- Solutions Aimed at Improving 2G/3G Services in Buildings, Towns, Remote Areas
Nortel(x) (NYSE: NT ; TSX: NT) has announced new wireless solutions aimed at helping operators improve GSM, UMTS and HSDPA broadband mobile coverage in buildings, towns and remote areas. In addition, Nortel is introducing solutions designed to improve flexibility for deploying mobile broadband base transceiver stations (BTS) in space-constrained locations. These solutions are expected to be showcased at 3GSM World Congress 2006, Barcelona, Spain.
"Consumers want the feature-rich services offered by UMTS and HSDPA such as mobile TV, video calling and data communication to be available wherever they are, in particular indoors," says Jean-Luc Jezouin, vice president GSM&UMTS Products, Nortel. "This is why we are announcing new approaches to improved coverage, including providing new in-building base stations and driving the use of 900MHz spectrum."
Nortel is introducing new Pico BTS, Micro BTS, Remote Radio Head (RRH) with companion digital BTS, and compact Macro BTS for UMTS and HSDPA networks. These solutions are designed to allow operators to increase their coverage and traffic to meet subscriber demand for wireless; and only require a software upgrade to support HSUPA in the beginning of 2007, continuing with Nortel's unmatched track-record of software upgradeable base stations.
Nortel's new UMTS Pico BTS 1010 is a lightweight and compact indoor solution created to enable mobile phone users to experience the same service indoors as outdoors. The new Pico BTS, with ATM or IP backhaul, has enough capacity for corporate use and is cost-effective for providing public coverage in moderate traffic areas.
Nortel is also enriching its GSM portfolio with a Pico BTS for indoor applications. Both GSM and UMTS Pico BTS are ideal for reliable and quick in-building coverage enhancement.
Nortel's new UMTS Micro BTS 1120 is a small "zero footprint" BTS which can address the demands of capacity hot spots or filling macro coverage holes. This Micro BTS can easily be deployed in areas where space for a Macro BTS is more difficult to find, and satisfies a need for higher numbers of base stations to cope with increasing network usage.
The new Nortel RRH (Remote Radio Head) solution provides operators with a means of overcoming site constraints and speeding network deployment, as well as dense indoor coverage such as malls, conference centres, or campuses. This solution, supporting a Common Public Radio Interface architecture, uses optical fibre to connect the RRH with a digital BTS located elsewhere - typically in-building. In order to meet a wide range of deployment and capacity scenarios the digital BTS can be standalone, outdoor or indoor, or housed inside the user space of a legacy BTS. The RRH outdoor solution helps protect existing site investment and ensure the cost-effective deployment of new sites. Nortel estimates a typical 80 per cent saving in site civil works and up to a 50 per cent annual OPEX reduction for each RRH site deployed. The RRH, used with indoor distributed antenna systems, can also provide indoor coverage.
Nortel's new BTS 6000 is the most compact Macro BTS designed for reducing cost of site ownership without compromising radio performance. Using highly integrated technology modules, already successfully deployed in the Nortel GSM/UMTS Combo BTS 18000, the unit accommodates six GSM or three UMTS/HSDPA full power multicarrier radios in a compact indoor or outdoor cabinet.
This offering complements Nortel's first to market GSM/UMTS Combo BTS 18000, which has already proven its ability to speed up UMTS roll-out for operators with legacy GSM networks. Thousands of BTS 18000's have been deployed worldwide.
Driving UMTS 900
In addition to new product introductions, Nortel and its customers have been championing, in 3GPP and regulatory bodies, the approval of 900MHz spectrum to be used for UMTS and HSPA services. Nortel aims to encourage countries to license 900MHz for UMTS services by highlighting the practical benefits it could bring, particularly in terms of broadband access roll out to less densely populated areas.
The use by operators of 900MHz spectrum for UMTS will improve in-building penetration by up to 25% compared to 2100MHz spectrum. The 900MHz band will also allow operators to cost-effectively deploy nationwide high-speed wireless services, reducing the number of sites by up to 60% compared with 2100 MHz in rural areas. Finally, Nortel's UMTS900 BTS can reuse existing GSM900 sites to provide a similar coverage area, thus avoiding the need to acquire new sites. Nortel's 900MHz UMTS and HSDPA capability will be showcased at 3GSM World Congress by Orange and Nortel's technology partner Qualcomm.
About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and protect the world's most critical information. Our next-generation technologies, for both service providers and enterprises, span access and core networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications, and help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people with information. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com. For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news.
Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the outcome of regulatory and criminal investigations and civil litigation actions related to Nortel's restatements and the impact any resulting legal judgments, settlements, penalties and expenses could have on Nortel's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and any related potential dilution of Nortel's common shares; the findings of Nortel's independent review and implementation of recommended remedial measures; the outcome of the ongoing independent review with respect to revenues for specific identified transactions, which review will have a particular emphasis on the underlying conduct that led to the initial recognition of these revenues; the restatement or revisions of Nortel's previously announced or filed financial results and resulting negative publicity; the existence of material weaknesses in Nortel's internal control over financial reporting and the conclusion of Nortel's management and independent auditor that Nortel's internal control over financial reporting is ineffective, which could continue to impact Nortel's ability to report its results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner; the impact of Nortel's and NNL's failure to timely file their financial statements and related periodic reports, including Nortel's inability to access its shelf registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); the impact of management changes, including the termination for cause of Nortel's former CEO, CFO and Controller in April 2004; the sufficiency of Nortel's restructuring activities, including the work plan announced on August 19, 2004 as updated on September 30, 2004 and December 14, 2004, including the potential for higher actual costs to be incurred in connection with restructuring actions compared to the estimated costs of such actions; cautious or reduced spending by Nortel's customers; increased consolidation among Nortel's customers and the loss of customers in certain markets; fluctuations in Nortel's operating results and general industry, economic and market conditions and growth rates; fluctuations in Nortel's cash flow, level of outstanding debt and current debt ratings; Nortel's monitoring of the capital markets for opportunities to improve its capital structure and financial flexibility; Nortel's ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; the use of cash collateral to support Nortel's normal course business activities; the dependence on Nortel's subsidiaries for funding; the impact of Nortel's defined benefit plans and deferred tax assets on results of operations and Nortel's cash flow; the adverse resolution of class actions, litigation in the ordinary course of business, intellectual property disputes and similar matters; Nortel's dependence on new product development and its ability to predict market demand for particular products; Nortel's ability to integrate the operations and technologies of acquired businesses in an effective manner; the impact of rapid technological and market change; the impact of price and product competition; barriers to international growth and global economic conditions, particularly in emerging markets and including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of rationalization and consolidation in the telecommunications industry; changes in regulation of the Internet; the impact of the credit risks of Nortel's customers and the impact of customer financing and commitments; general stock market volatility; negative developments associated with Nortel's supply contracts and contract manufacturing agreements, including as a result of using a sole supplier for a key component of certain optical networks solutions; the impact of Nortel's supply and outsourcing contracts that contain delivery and installation provisions, which, if not met, could result in the payment of substantial penalties or liquidated damages; any undetected product defects, errors or failures; the future success of Nortel's strategic alliances; and certain restrictions on how Nortel and its president and chief executive officer conduct business. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed by Nortel with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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