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Paris, November 19, 2009 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE:
ALU) successfully completed the worldwide first long term evolution (LTE) data
call on the 800 MHz “European Digital Dividend” (EDD) spectrum band in a live
network. The call was completed in October at Alcatel-Lucent’s 4G/LTE
end-to-end solutions center in Stuttgart, Germany, involved transmitting
high-definition video streaming over the air using Alcatel-Lucent’s commercial
infrastructure platforms and prototype mobile devices.
This first EDD call in a live LTE network marks a milestone for the
introduction of LTE in the European market, and highlights Alcatel-Lucent’s
readiness to provide mobile operators with a commercial solution as soon as
regulatory decisions on EDD will be made. In Germany, for instance, a frequency
auction including the 800 MHz spectrum band is expected to take place in the
2nd quarter of 2010. The 800 MHz spectrum is particularly well suited to
bringing mobile broadband Internet services to rural areas.
“This is a major breakthrough on our path to become the first vendor to
offer a commercial solution for the ´Digital Dividend` spectrum”, said Ken
Wirth, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE/4G Solutions. “Our goal is to
quickly and effectively support operators in their plans to further enhance the
availability of broadband services all over the region, so we adapted our LTE
solution to the 800 MHz frequency band quite early on and we are now working
with customers on field trials.”
Deploying LTE at 800MHz has a clear benefit for operators which can require
fewer sites to cover rural areas, thus reducing overall environmental impact.
800 MHz spectrum LTE deployment could be an ideal complement to a 2.6GHz
spectrum LTE deployment where smaller cells are required, in a dense urban
environment for example. Alcatel-Lucent has live 2.6GHz LTE networks in
Stuttgart and Vélizy in France and its 2.6GHz radio modules are CE marked,
clearing the way for shipment of 2.6GHz LTE base stations in the European
Economic Area (EEA).
Background on the 4G/LTE solutions center in Stuttgart
At its German headquarters located in Stuttgart, Alcatel-Lucent has
installed an end-to-end solutions center for 4G/LTE. The solutions center
consists of a complete LTE end-to-end network, including an “on the air” radio
network in the Northern District of Stuttgart. For several months
Alcatel-Lucent has been successfully testing 4G/LTE mobile services on the
2.6GHz spectrum band. In these tests, Alcatel-Lucent achieved very high data
rates of up to 60 Mbit/s in the 10 MHz spectrum and very short round-trip
delay, or “latency” times. The tests include innovative LTE-enabled
applications which give mobile users a rich experience comparable to that
available on fixed networks today.
Background on Alcatel-Lucent´s LTE position
Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in LTE, and is actively engaged in the
majority of LTE projects being pursued by operators around the world, including
both commercial deployment and trials with operators including Verizon
Wireless, Telefonica, Etisalat, FT/Orange and NTT DoCoMo.
For more information about Alcatel-Lucent’s end-to-end LTE
solution, please visit: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/lte
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