Australia Offer Local Consumers 3G Wireless

Telstra became the first Australian mobile telephone company to offer local consumers access to mobile phone services on a 3G (third generation) network. Telstra deployed Nortel Networks Univity CDMA2000 1X technology to 3G-enable its existing CDMA wireless network. The carrier previously launched a service for business customers, also delivered on the CDMA2000 1X network, in December 2002.

"It's gratifying to have built the network that enabled Telstra to lead the way in giving Australian consumers access to enhanced mobile phone services, delivered at higher speeds than generally available on existing Australian wireless networks," said Steve Wood, president, Nortel Networks Australia and New Zealand. "Nortel Networks and Telstra are delivering a combination of faster speeds and leading applications that represent a whole new era in mobile communications for Australians."

"Telstra's CDMA2000 1X upgrade improved capacity while protecting its current investment in the CDMA network. The strategy drove down the costs of delivering traffic across the network, crucial in enabling Telstra to offer affordable and revenue-generating services to its customers," said Wood.

"The ease and affordability of upgrading our existing CDMA infrastructure was critical to achieving a rapid time to market with this consumer package," said Tim Buckley, director, Next Generation Wireless Services, Telstra Consumer and Marketing. "By working with Nortel Networks to incrementally deploy this cutting-edge technology, we have been able to leverage our existing equipment investment and be first to give Australian consumers the benefits of a 3G network."

Telstra's CDMA network enhancement consisted of a simple card upgrade to Telstra's Metro Cell base station equipment, as well as deployment of a new packet-based core infrastructure. The CDMA2000 1X roll-out is now complete in greater Sydney, greater Melbourne, some areas of regional Victoria, Canberra, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Nortel Networks completed its original CDMA roll-out for Telstra in 1999 and has worked with Telstra for 13 years, the past four supporting the carrier's wireless initiatives.

"Today's announcement continues to highlight that Nortel Networks is at the forefront of providing carriers around the world with a flexible digital wireless infrastructure that offers 3G services to consumers and businesses," said Wood.

Products deployed for Telstra from Nortel Networks Univity CDMA2000 product portfolio include the Univity CDMA Metro Cell radio base station, Univity CDMA Base Station Controllers and Univity CDMA Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN).

A CDMA leader since 1995, Nortel Networks has designed, installed and launched networks for more than 65 CDMA customers across 17 countries, and has deployed more than 35,000 3G-ready CDMA base stations. Nortel Networks continues to build on CDMA momentum in the Asia Pacific region with the announcement of a series of contracts signed with customers including China Unicom, Ratelindo and PT Wireless Indonesia (WIN). Nortel Networks also announced in January that it is building Tawian's first CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO voice and data network for a new 3G operator, Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless (APBW).

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