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Reusing part of the existing 3G+ sites allows efficient and economic indoor
coverage
Paris, January 16, 2008 — Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and
NYSE: ALU) today announced that, following the DVB-SH pilot jointly performed
by SFR and Alcatel-Lucent from July to December 2007, both companies validated
the fundamental assumptions for the deployment of a DVB-SH network
co-localized, for its terrestrial part, with an existing commercial 3G+
network.
The tests validated that it is possible to reuse the 3G+ sites, towers and
antennas in order to deploy a DVB-SH Mobile TV broadcast network in the
frequency bands adjacent to UMTS (i.e. in the S band at 2.2 GHz, currently
available all over Europe).
Furthermore, tests performed in the city of Pau (South-West of France), both
outdoors and inside buildings, validated several fundamental assumptions on the
performances of a DVB-SH network, notably the coverage, continuity and quality
of service.
In particular, the tests confirmed that it only requires that portions of
the 3G+ sites are equipped with DVB-SH repeaters to allow Mobile TV coverage
inside buildings identical to the 3G+ coverage. This validates the economical
efficiency of the deployment of a DVB-SH terrestrial network for Mobile TV
broadcast with a very high coverage quality.
In addition, tests related to the satellite part of a hybrid DVB-SH network
were performed using a helicopter as a fixed point at high altitude, thus
emulating a geostationary satellite. These tests confirmed that, for the user
of a mobile terminal in a pedestrian as well as a vehicular situation, the
signals coming from the satellite perfectly combined with those coming from the
terrestrial repeaters, in a transparent manner for the terminal.
The rigorous methodological approach followed in the framework of this test,
which relies on the analysis of network deployment hypotheses at the same time
real and diversified, shows the flexibility of Alcatel-Lucent’s “Unlimited
Mobile TV” solution. This solution allows the adaptation of the DVB-SH network
deployment to the capacity needs (i.e. number of channels) and to the level of
coverage desired by the operators, while securing the economic efficiency of
the deployment and the perfect integration of the DVB-SH network with their
preexisting 3G+ network.
On this occasion, Jean-Dominique Pit, Strategy Director of SFR, declared:
“SFR has always stood at the forefront of innovation in order to provide all
its clients with the most attractive mobile services. This is why we wished to
bring our contribution to Alcatel-Lucent by allowing them to evaluate on our
sites the hybrid technology based on the new DVB-SH standard. The different
technologies used for broadcast TV on mobiles seem to us worth evaluating,
based on the growing success enjoyed by Mobile TV among our customers, and we
are fully satisfied with the results obtained from the field.”
Olivier Coste, Chairman of Alcatel-Lucent’s mobile broadcast activities
added: “Thanks to this trial and to the quality of the tests and measurements
that we jointly conducted with SFR, we succeeded in validating in the field our
analyses on the deployment cost for a DVB-SH Mobile TV network. Therefore we
can confirm that this innovative technology will enable the players to quickly
offer very high quality Mobile TV services at the best cost. These elements are
of an utmost importance for the success of Mobile TV among consumers.”
During a field visit in Pau, the results of these tests were presented by
Alcatel-Lucent and SFR to key Mobile TV players in France, to the media, to the
local and national authorities, and to the industrial partners of this
solution. In the framework of this visit, six channels were broadcast live
(TF1, France2, France3, CANAL+, M6 and Eurosport France). SES Astra managed the
distribution of content to the terrestrial repeaters network.
The “Unlimited Mobile TV” solution based on DVB-SH is supported by the
French Agency for Industrial Innovation (now integrated with OSEO). In the
framework of his solution, Alcatel-Lucent consolidates the efforts from several
innovative companies including DiBcom for the DVB-SH chipsets, TeamCast for the
DVB-SH modulators and test terminals, UDcast for the DVB-SH encapsulators and
Thales Alenia Space for the network head-end.
Description of the pilot
The pilot used pre-commercial low-power terrestrial repeaters for the broadcast
part, co-localized with several SFR’s 3G+ operational sites. The broadcast
signal from a satellite was emulated by a transmitter located in a
high-altitude helicopter perceived as a fixed point. The mobile terminals used
were pre-commercial terminals provided by Sagem Mobiles and Samsung Electronics
offering an improved reception quality thanks to the antenna diversity related
to the use of the S-Band (2.2GHz).
About SFR: www.sfr.fr
With almost 18 million customers, SFR is the second largest mobile
telecommunications operator in France. Operating its own GSM/GPRS and
UMTS/HSDPA networks, SFR is able to provide a complete range of mobile
telephony and multimedia services, as well as mobile data solutions to its
personal, SOHO and business customers. SFR has become the operator of choice
for new uses of mobile phones, having been the first operator to launch
3G and 3G+ services on the French market, and now
boasts 3,5 million 3G/3G+ customers (September 2007). SFR benefits
from a stable ownership structure, with two major shareholders, Vivendi (56%)
and Vodafone (44%).
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