Originally published at Premium mobile technologies.

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced it has been selected by Vodafone in Spain to migrate all networking services onto a highly reliable Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS based network. The converged network will support broadband data services (GPRS and 3G), signaling and billing traffic, 3G voice traffic as well as future multimedia evolutions. The project, part of a global network transformation to IP, will enable the operator to guarantee end-to-end quality of service, to optimize its network performance and to support new multimedia services.

By evolving its networks to a next-generation infrastructure, Vodafone will support all services on a single network allowing the mobile operator to optimize its investment and operational expenditures, and accelerate the launch of new advanced and convergent services to the market.

“This project provides our network with the reliability and versatility needed to offer our consumer and corporate clients the highest quality and most advanced mobile services on the market,” said Jaime Bustillo, Technology director from Vodafone Spain. “A streamlined network based on the Alcatel-Lucent IP solution allows us to dramatically improve on CAPEX and OPEX while still gaining new revenue opportunities. As well, Alcatel-Lucent is involved in the Vodafone Group’s overall end-to-end IP transformation initiative so from a consistency point of view, the Alcatel-Lucent IP solution is a perfect fit.”

With the Alcatel-Lucent IP/MPLS solution, Vodafone is optimizing the use of bandwidth in its IP core network, that will dynamically be adapted to the bandwidth needs depending on the volume of data and the type of traffic transmitted. Additionally, its intelligent service management capabilities will allow the operator to guarantee reliability and end-to-end quality, and to diversify its offering by establishing differentiated quality of service levels based on the type of client or the use of the network. This is a significant advantage for high bandwidth multimedia services that are very demanding in terms of network performance.

“Users are requesting more innovative and sophisticated ‘always on’ mobile services with optimal quality and widespread availability which is very demanding in terms of network performance,” said Olivier Picard, President of Alcatel–Lucent’s Europe and South activities. “Offering a service mix of this caliber requires a complete network transformation giving Vodafone the reliability, performance and flexibility of a converged network architecture. Alcatel-Lucent’s unique high availability features in our service routers are ideally geared toward delivering mobile voice services over an IP/MPLS network.”

Alcatel-Lucent is providing Vodafone with an IP/MPLS core and edge network solution based on its next generation Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and 7710 Service Router along with the Alcatel-Lucent 5620 Service Aware Manager.

Vodafone joins more than 160 service providers in over 60 countries, including massive, multi-year IP network and service transformation projects at AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, and Telstra. According to Ovum-RHK, Alcatel-Lucent was #2 in the IP/MPLS Edge market segment in Q4 2006, with 19% market share.

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Originally published at Premium mobile technologies.

Vodafone has coughed up E£3.34bn (Eur452m) for a 3G license in Egypt, the country’s telecoms regulator said on Monday.

As part of the 15 year agreement, Vodafone will also pay 2.4 per cent of annual revenues from the provided services.

The move makes Vodafone the second Egyptian operator to secure a 3G licence. Etisalat paid E£16.7bn and 6 per cent of annual revenues for the country’s first 3G licence last year. Both operators have been awarded 10MHz of spectrum in the 2GHz frequency band and have five years to provide coverage to the whole population.

However, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt said that Vodafone cannot launch 3G services until Etisalat has started operations. Etisalat is expected to launch 3G services by the end of February.

The regulator said that the deal, which was signed by Vodafone, can be also granted to rival operator Mobinil in case it wished to sign the same licence.

Tarek Kamel, the minister of Communications and Information Technology and the chairman of the NTRA, said “The agreement with Vodafone to pay this amount of money mirrors a sincere confidence in the growth of the Egyptian Market with the introduction of the third mobile operator, in the light of the fact that the mobile subscribers in Egypt have surmounted to reach 18 million subscribers with a growth percentage of 70 per cent. The number is also expected to reach 30 millions by the end of 2010″.

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Originally published at Premium mobile technologies.

New Zealanders now have access to world-leading mobile broadband technology with the launch of Telecom’s Mobile Broadband CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A upgrade today, powered by Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) solutions.

“New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to have this technology, which makes possible a whole new world of real-time mobile services,” said Simon Moutter, Chief Operating Officer – Business, Telecom New Zealand. “It offers super-fast mobile data speeds for both downloading and uploading data, which means that wherever they are, customers will be able to use their notebooks, laptops and other mobile devices to enjoy services such as video conferencing, multi-player gaming, and streaming video.

“Super-fast upload speeds means that Mobile Broadband powered by Rev. A is ideal for remote workers wanting to send large files, as well as receive them. For example, photographers will be able to send large photo files directly from location shoots much more quickly and easily. Mobile Broadband Rev. A makes it feasible for many more New Zealanders to work effectively away from their office, wherever they need to be,” said Mr Moutter.

Mobile Broadband Rev. A offers average download speeds of 800Kilobits per second (Kbps) and average upload speeds of around 300Kbps. It employs CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A technology, the next step up in the development path for the CDMA 1xEV-DO network behind Telecom’s current Mobile Broadband offering. The upgrade was carried out by Alcatel-Lucent, which built and now manages Telecom’s mobile data network.

Mobile Broadband Rev. A is available initially in the Auckland CBD area. It will be available in other metropolitan areas starting from early 2007 and rolled out throughout New Zealand during the course of the next year.

Hilary Mine, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s Australasia Regional Unit, said the launch of Mobile Broadband Rev. A is another example of the strength of Telecom’s mobile technology path. “Upgrading to Rev. A will ensure that New Zealand remains at the forefront of global mobile innovation and enable Telecom to continue delivering a truly world-class mobile broadband service for customers.

“This is one of the first deployments in the world of EV-DO Revision A, and the rapid growth of EV-DO subscribers beyond New Zealand means a ready demand for new applications and services based on the technology. We can expect to see some very exciting developments and it’s fantastic that New Zealand and New Zealanders will be at the forefront of them.”

Originally published at Premium mobile technologies.

Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) announced today the successful demonstration of Europe’s first broadcast of live TV channels on mobile handsets in S-band. The demonstration took place in Alcatel’s UK premises. It is using the new DVB-SH standard (Satellite services for Handhelds), which is currently being drafted by the DVB Project. To perform this demonstration, Alcatel was assisted by UK broadcasters Sky, ITV and BBC.

Representatives from European mobile operators, TV broadcasters, industry analyst firms and regulatory bodies attending this demonstration were able to enjoy high quality images displayed on SAGEM myMobileTV handsets. These terminals are using the S-band telecom frequency between 2.17GHz and 2.20GHz, which is adjacent to the 3G/UMTS band. 30MHz of spectrum is currently available all across Europe and in other major regions in the world.

DVB-SH is a new technology targeting the S-band. DVB-SH is a related standard to DVB-H. With DVB-SH technology, Mobile TV signals can be broadcast from satellites as well as from terrestrial transmitters directly to handhelds. DVB-SH handhelds can be designed in such a way that they become compatible with DVB-H so that both standards can be received in one end-user terminal.

In addition, Alcatel demonstrated two possible key technical features using the DVB-SH standard. Reception Antenna Diversity, a feature using two antennas inside the same mobile device, enables improvements in the signal quality under difficult conditions. Furthermore, improved Time Interleaving overcomes fading impairment in mobility conditions. The significant quality enhancement was demonstrated by implementing these DVB-SH features.

On the occasion of this demonstration, Professor Ulrich Reimers, Chairman of the Technical Module of DVB Project declared: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to witness a live Mobile TV demonstration in the S-band even before the new Mobile TV standard has been finally designed. Within the DVB -Project, we have decided to give that standard a new name - DVB-SH - digital video broadcast from satellite for handhelds. DVB-SH is a perfect complement to other standards, such as DVB-H, which is typically using UHF frequencies but is capable of using the L-band. Thus DVB-SH may have a significant impact on the global Mobile TV industry.”

Olivier Coste, President of Alcatel’s mobile broadcast activities concluded: “Quality of Service is essential for operators to attract and retain Mobile TV users. Today, we demonstrated that high quality live Mobile TV using the S-band works. This can be up and running commercially very soon. With the additional benefits of universal indoor and countrywide coverage, the fundamentals of our solution are already solid enough to enable operators to profit from sustainable Mobile TV market growth thanks to the S-band.”

Originally published at Premium mobile technologies.

Palm Experience Delivered With Push Email, 3G/UMTS Speeds

Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced the availability of the new Palm(R) Treo(TM) 750v smartphone in Indonesia on the XL network, bringing for the first time to Indonesia the hallmark Palm experience on Microsoft(R) Windows Mobile(R) 5.0 over a wireless 3G/UMTS network. The new Treo 750v will be available next month through XL, Vodafone’s network partner in Indonesia.

“The new Treo 750v brings to Indonesian businesses and prosumers choice and further expands the market and adoption of smartphones in Indonesia,” said Paul Blinkhorn, vice president for Palm Asia Pacific. “The Treo 750v blends the hallmark Palm experience with the Windows Mobile platform favored by many businesses, delivering a compelling smartphone solution that helps mobile professionals do more while on the go.”

The new Treo 750v will allow Palm to target business users with push email platforms such as Microsoft’s Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP), which includes Direct Push Technology and enhanced security features free out of the box.(1) This business-ready solution addresses the need for a robust push-email platform that can be deployed easily by small businesses to global enterprises.

The Treo 750v combines the hallmark Palm experience of a multifeatured mobile phone with email, messaging, web browsing and organization software all in a new compact design.(2) Unique to the Treo smartphone on Windows Mobile 5.0 is a suite of software enhancements developed by Palm that underscores its brand promise of fast access, ease of use and simplicity. Examples include the following:

– Today Screen enhancements, which feature the ability to “dial by name” with a few keystrokes on the keyboard, perform a web search directly from the Today Screen and perform one-touch dialing with personalized photo speed dials;

– Ability to manage a call directly from the Today Screen and stay on top of voicemail with on-screen, VCR-like icons, such as rewind, delete and fast-forward controls, for easy navigation;

– Ability to ignore a call and quickly compose a text message, such as “In a meeting” or “Can’t talk”; and

– Dedicated messaging application for SMS/MMS that is organized in a “chat thread” so users can reference prior messages and use emoticons for a personal touch.

“This alliance underscores XL’s commitment to becoming the preferred provider of information and communication solutions in the country,” said Hasnul Suhaimi, president director, PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk. “The Treo 750v together with XL’s new XL3G service will present new experiences in mobile productivity and communications to the Indonesian business community as well as retail consumers. The Treo 750v will be bundled with XL Business Solutions products that are designed specially for the local business community.”

“Mobility today means far more than voice calls or basic data services. Users want to access emails, documents, manage their calendars, search the Internet, enjoy music, videos, games and more with a single device,” said Jason Lim, regional director, Asia Pacific and Japan, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division, Microsoft Corp. “The Treo 750v builds on the power and flexibility of Windows Mobile, Palm’s unique design and user experience, and service through PT Excelcom’s fast 3G network to deliver a winning solution for sophisticated professionals seeking to enhance their digital lifestyle.”

Treo 750v Features and Benefits

– Powerful Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 with Palm enhancements;

– Integrated SMS/MMS with chat view and dedicated inbox;

– Mobile access to multiple business and personal email accounts;

– Compatibility with 3G/UMTS networks for fast data access;

– 1.3-megapixel digital camera that also captures video;

– Built-in Bluetooth wireless technology enhanced to support Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets;

– Touch screen, which makes surfing websites, gathering data and navigating forms and applications much easier;

– Mini-SD expansion slot; and

– 240×240 transflective (TFT) touch screen.