Orange France Launches HSDPA Trials with Nortel

Orange France launched an HSDPA trial using technology from Nortel. The trial is providing mobile broadband connectivity from 1.8 Mbps for 150 lead business customers in Lyon, France's second largest city. Orange France expects to commercially launch its HSDPA enterprise network nationwide in the second half of 2006.



In addition to its presence in Orange France's GSM and EDGE networks, Nortel is also the exclusive provider of Orange France's UMTS network in the Côte d'Azur and central regions of France which include Cannes, Nice, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulon, Grenoble and St. Etienne.

In January 2006, Nortel, Orange and Qualcomm successfully completed UMTS and HSDPA calls in the 900 MHz band, a solution that could complement Orange's existing 3G services to deliver wireless broadband to rural areas of France. Nortel and Orange also demonstrated this capability during the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February 2006.

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