Europe : Alcatel officially launched its latest-born 3G Reality Centre in Milan, Italy.

This unique facility is part of Alcatel's worldwide program which offers a live and comprehensive end-to-end network environment open to operators, content and services providers and dedicated to the development, validation and testing of the most-exciting next generation mobile applications and services.

The Italian 3G Reality Centre, powered by Alcatel's industry-leading Evolium? global mobile solution, is intended to be particularly significant because of the very high density of mobile users in Italy (over 50 million SIM cards) and because Italy is one of the very first countries to have launched 3G/UMTS services in Europe.

In addition, leveraging on Alcatel Italy's valuable experience through its already existing two competence Centres dedicated to UMTS and multimedia broadband services, the Alcatel's 3G Reality Centre in Milan will represent an opportunity to investigate the potential of fixed-mobile convergence.

Alcatel's 3GRC in Milan is featuring a broad range of mobile video solutions, spread over two segments: video content delivery (video streaming, video downloading, video push), and video communication (video messaging, video telephony, video conferencing, video mailbox). The 3G Reality Centre in Milan is particularly focusing on real time video streaming and broadcasting enabling download optimization and video surveillance applications.

MMS, with a wider media diversity, in particular with the introduction of video, is one of the most appealing services to enrich end-user's experience to access and share personal information, multimedia content, mobile location-based services, m-commerce and video-based services.

With the development of multimedia services, the harmonization of fixed and mobile services will provide service continuity over all networks and all devices, to the benefit of both users and operators. A case in point is Alcatel's Instant Messaging (IM) application, service that enables users to know whether friends or colleagues are currently connected to the Internet and - if they are - lets them exchange messages that are immediately posted to each user's screen, either on a GSM/GPRS phone or on a PC connected to a DSL line.

By partnering with key Italian mobile operators and solution providers, Alcatel will foster development for a new level of GPRS/UMTS services and applications.

On the occasion of the official opening ceremony, Samy Gattegno, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel in Italy declared: "The growth in mobile communications market in the coming years will depend on the development of multimedia services that can bring value to all the relevant players in the new value chain. The 3G Reality Centre in Milan will benefit from Alcatel's experience as key player in fixed broadband to leverage advanced mobile multimedia services. I believe that the 3G Reality Centre in Milan will offer almost endless possibilities of services and partnerships for successful mobile solutions on the Italian market."