KTF Selects High-Speed 3G Wireless Service in Korea

ASIA : KTF has selected LG Electronics and Nortel to power its new ultra high-speed broadband wireless communication service throughout Korea's major metropolitan areas including Seoul.

Nortel will provide HSDPA-based access equipment, while LGE will furnish the UMTS core network solution for this service. This is the first collaborative win for LGE and Nortel since announcement of the LG-Nortel joint venture in August 2005.

The 3G UMTS solution with HSDPA will allow KTF subscribers to access new wireless multimedia services such as high-speed music transfers, real-time DVD-quality video, gaming applications, videoconferencing and split-second multimedia collaboration. KTF's HSDPA wireless network will be capable of delivering services at download speeds up to 14.4 Mbps - 30 times faster than today's commercially deployed wireless networks.

Beginning with Seoul, KTF plans to roll out its HSDPA-ready broadband wireless network to 17 cities by December 2005, and to extend it to an additional 45 cities by June 2006.

"Our selection of LGE and Nortel as the UMTS/HSDPA broadband wireless service supplier is based on the trust we have in Nortel's global strength in wireless technologies and strong support capabilities through the LG-Nortel joint venture," said Won-Jin Park, executive vice president, KTF. "We chose the Nortel solution because we believe it will enable us to bring KTF subscribers new and unprecedented levels of wireless speed and functionality and help us to maintain our position as a global leader in mobile broadband."

"Nortel has actively developed and tested HSDPA technologies, and our selection together with LGE by KTF confirms our networking strengths in emerging broadband wireless technologies," said Peter MacKinnon, president, GSM/UMTS, Nortel. "HSDPA is the first step in the evolution beyond 3G, and we look forward to working with KTF to help realize the full potential this exciting new technology can deliver."

Korea has the highest broadband penetration in the world and is an early adopter of cutting-edge mobile technology.

Nortel was the first to make HSDPA drive calls in January 2005. In March 2005, Nortel and LG Electronics completed the industry's first live test calls using a commercial handset solution for HSDPA. In June 2005, Nortel became the first wireless network supplier to complete the TL9000 registration standard for Quality Management System Requirements and Measurements across its end-to-end portfolio of hardware, software and services for HDSPA, UMTS and GSM wireless infrastructure solutions. This quality certification milestone underscores the breadth of Nortel's UMTS solutions, which include solutions across all probable frequency ranges and multiple base station configurations.

Nortel has worked with a number of wireless operators on HSDPA trials and deployments in 2005, including SOFTBANK Group's BB Mobile, mmO2, Orange (at 3GSM World Congress 2005 in Cannes, France), Vodafone (at CeBIT 2005 in Hanover, Germany), Partner Communications in Israel, and mobilkom austria.

Nortel has designed, installed and launched more than 300 wireless networks in over 70 countries. Nortel was the industry's first supplier with wireless networks operating in all advanced radio technologies, and is the only end-to-end provider of all next generation wireless solutions, as well as edge and core network solutions for IP, ATM and optical transport.

LGE and Nortel executed a joint venture agreement on August 17, 2005 to establish a joint venture company in the area of telecommunication infrastructure businesses. The joint venture company is scheduled to be established within this year, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions provided in the agreement.