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15th January 2003

Mercedes-Benz, NEC, Siemens Mobile and SingTel Mobile jointly showcase the first car with integrated 3G-UMTS services worldwide. This industry-first 3G-UMTS car made its debut in Berlin, Germany recently and is presented in Asia-Pacific for the very first time.

In a specially fitted Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the partners demonstrate a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia services which has become possible through the use of the broadband 3G-UMTS mobile phone standard, based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA).

The 3G-UMTS services in the test vehicle cover a broad range of mobility and infotainment services. In addition to live video conferencing capabilities between two parties, there is high-speed video-streaming, which facilitates video-on-demand. Other applications include an interactive City Guide, broadband access to the various partners’ portals and the Internet, a video monitoring system, access to traffic observation cameras, international radio and a multi-player soccer game. The off-board navigation system includes location guide and routing and traffic information in part with video support.

The unique 3G-UMTS vehicle marks a breakthrough in mobile data applications for businesses as well as entertainment and information offered with video support. Content is transferred to the 3G-UMTS vehicle at an average transmission rate of 256 kBit/s. UMTS allows a maximum bandwidth in the vehicle of 384 kBit/s, up to six times the normal dial-up speeds. The future vision of live video and music downloads, video telephony and the ingenious off-board navigation system, which uses up-to-date cartographic data via UMTS for destination finding, has become reality in the test vehicle.

The experience offered by this 3G-UMTS car showcase underlines the innovation and leadership of the partners in their respective industry, and will support their efforts to establish their 3G-UMTS business model and to develop future 3G services.

Mercedes-Benz equipped the UMTS test vehicle with the appropriate operating units and monitors, the link to the car infrastructure and the specification of the UMTS services. “The UMTS test vehicle already created huge public interest at its first presentation in Berlin some months ago. It helps us today to create the necessary expertise to satisfy the demand of our customers for mobile UMTS services of the future”, said Frank Messer, President & CEO of DaimlerChrysler South East Asia.

NEC provides the entire solution for the UMTS radio network to the world. In Singapore, NEC has been working with Siemens mobile through the strategic alliance in the 3G business arena in establishing the UMTS infrastructure in the current test 3G network in the CBD (Central Business District) area since 2001. “The advent of 3G will lead to many new business opportunities and, apparently, this 3G-UMTS car is one of them,” said Ben Nakamura, Senior Vice President of NEC Corporation. “NEC is the industry leader in the 3G area supplying commercial infrastructure and handsets for the very first phase of 3G rollout in the world. New solution utilising 3G applications such as 3G-UMTS car will accelerate the expansion of 3G. NEC will fully support this project with our extensive technical know-how and expertise in the 3G and mobile Internet field as well as the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) field.”

The Siemens Information and Communication Mobile Group (Siemens mobile) supplied the entire technology for the UMTS core network and participated in the development and implementation of the UMTS applications for the test vehicle. “Worldwide Siemens mobile is one of the three leading suppliers for 3G-UMTS infrastructure. Through this demonstration, Siemens is aligning itself fully to 3G-UMTS, the new generation in mobile telecommunications,” commented Thomas Frischmuth, Managing Director, Siemens Pte Ltd. “And we are pleased that we can present, together with our partners here today, innovative new ways to deliver 3G-UMTS services and demonstrate UMTS technology’s versatility and adaptability.”

SingTel Mobile provided the customisation and localisation of the applications and content for the 3G-UMTS car showcase. It also undertook the provisioning of the local telecommunications infrastructure.

Said Lucas Chow, Chief Executive Officer, SingTel Mobile: “Even as we work towards a 3G network rollout, it is important for our customers to see the potential benefits of having faster, more wide-ranging and more innovative applications as promised by a broadband, high-speed wireless network.”

“The 3G-UMTS car showcase today is an excellent example of how we are leveraging convergence across all broadband access platforms to provide our customers with seamless access to an entire suite of services and applications anywhere and anytime ... even when you are on the move.”

SingTel worked with BMG Singapore Pte Ltd, and Zomba Records (APRO) Pte Ltd to provide the music videos, and Landmat International to provide the CityGuide available in the 3G-UMTS car for the Singapore showcase. MediaCorp also provided the Traffic Cam information and Channel 5 content for the Live TV application.

The UMTS S-Class is a pure test vehicle and was equipped especially for this purpose with in-car PCs, with two flip-up 15-inch TFT monitors recessed into the seat backs and wireless keyboards for the use of the 3G-UMTS services in the rear. In a user-friendly way via an inbuilt touchscreen monitor the driver and front seat passenger can access services such as a navigation. In addition, a live video of recent traffic situations on the route is provided, but switched off automatically above a speed of 6 km/h for safety reasons. The operating elements, user interfaces and interaction processes in the test vehicle were developed exclusively for the demonstration of the possible UMTS services. They do not correspond with the requirements of a future UMTS solution for serial production of any Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Here DaimlerChrysler attaches the highest level of priority to mature technology and an optimum design of the Man-Machine-Interface (MMI) to rule out any distraction of the driver.