Europe
: At a media briefing in London, Nokia and 3 UK, the UK's first and
only video mobile operator, underscored the maturity and reliability
of 3's WCDMA 3G network. Speaking at the event, executives from 3
UK and Nokia detailed how 3G technology is now as robust as time-tested
GSM/2G networks, but much faster and more efficient.
"Today we have the most technically advanced high-capacity network
in the UK, thanks in part to Nokia," says David Cooper ( INSET
), Chief Technical Officer, 3 UK. "WCDMA 3G technology is now
every bit as robust as GSM, it has reached levels of reliability and
capacity much faster than GSM did in the early 1990s - and it is a
more complex technology. This accelerated progress is allowing us
to offer our customers a range of exciting video and mobile multimedia
services, like person-to-person video calling, and streamed video
clips of news, music, comedy and sports highlights. Nokia is one of
our key partners in this service roll-out, helping us maintain our
position as the leading video mobile network in the UK." He went
on to add, "With over 78% population coverage for our video mobile
services, we have rapidly closed the gap on our competitor networks
with a superior technology. The future really is 3G!"
Nokia has supplied 3 UK's entire core network and the northern part
of its radio network. Nokia's core network solution has been key in
ensuring advanced service functionality for 3's customers from the
very first day 3 launched its network in March 2003 - for instance,
video telephony was supported from day one.
3 UK has undertaken the fastest network rollout in UK history and
has succeeded on a scale and speed that is unprecedented. The focus
of the last six months has been on network optimization and fine-tuning
for superior performance and improved customer experience. As a result,
3 UK's radio network provides strong video service coverage to more
than 78% of the UK population, complemented by voice & picture
service coverage to 99% of the population through a roaming partnership.
3 UK now has 2,500 sites installed and integrated in the network with
Nokia radio equipment.
"3 UK's network is now fully up to speed for delivering high
volumes of data-intensive traffic," says Rajeev Suri, Vice President,
Networks, Nokia. "3 UK's customers get all the benefits of GSM
and GPRS as well as sophisticated data services at up to 384 kbits.
But this is just the start of the journey. WCDMA is an evolution built
on earlier networks and will lead to even higher data speeds in the
future."
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth
and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia is dedicated
to enhancing people's lives and productivity by providing easy-to-use
and secure products like mobile phones, and solutions for imaging,
games, media, mobile network operators and businesses. Nokia is a
broadly held company with listings on five major exchanges.
3 UK and Nokia gave a joint presentation on the achievements to date
and then took a range of questions from the industry's leading media
and correspondents.
