Europe : Market leading UK mobile operator O2 is to utilise the unique technology of network optimisation specialists Arieso to provide subscribers the best possible service for the forthcoming O2 3G network.

Inset is Arieso CEO Shirin Dehghan, quoted below.

O2, the UK 's most successful mobile communications network*, has signed a major deal with UK-based Arieso to implement its market leading network optimisation product, ‘Altaro' across the O2 3G network area.

Following extensive competitive trials, Arieso's product Altaro was found to be consistently and by far the top performer. For O2, as for the other 3G operators trialling the product, Altaro automatically produces the optimal network configuration - the best combination of power levels, antenna type, direction and tilt producing the best possible coverage, capacity and quality of service for minimum cost.

David Williams, group CTO, O2 said: “O2 customers expect the best. Arieso is an innovative company whose powerful product and service proposition has enabled us to get the best from our 3G network. Altaro has given us unprecedented results in the field, doubling our network coverage and other quality metrics while halving our rollout time. The Altaro product has delivered on its promises and the results it has achieved have impressed us – it's next generation technology designed to maximise the next generation networks.”

Shirin Dehghan, CEO of Arieso, said, “Altaro's superior performance has proved that Arieso's intelligent optimisation technology enhances network performance while accelerating operators' return on investment in 3G technology.

Altaro's unique algorithm-based approach ensures the best possible network performance, giving the operator the power to input constraints at an individule site or sector level and extract the optimal network configuration while considering a mix of services and quality metrics. This is an essential requirement for operators looking to exploit the full multimedia capability from their 3G networks while ensuring their customers experience seamless service, irrespective of whether the traffic is voice, data or video.

In operator trials**, Arieso has proved its ability to generate network savings of around £300 million from a ‘typical' 3G network. Optimising existing networks can result in improvements of over 30% in network coverage and capacity, and also a reduction in the number of dropped calls. O2 UK field results have shown a doubling of coverage with major improvements in other quality metrics.

Motorola has today announced the creation of a dedicated 3G mobile phone design centre in Basingstoke. The company’s mobile devices business will be deploying existing employees to the centre as well as creating new engineering and product development jobs.