Mobile operator Orange has successfully tested mobile broadband services at 1800 MHz, using equipment supplied by Ericsson, ST-Ericsson and Quanta Computer. The trial paves the way for the launch of commercial HSPA services in 1800 MHz spectrum from the second half of 2011. Spectrum refarming of the 1800 MHz band – widely used today for 2G services – will help mobile operators meet fast rising demand for video streaming and multimedia services.

Leading mobile operator Orange has successfully tested mobile broadband services at 1800MHz using equipment supplied by Ericsson, ST-Ericsson, and Quanta Computer paving the way for the launch of commercial HSPA services in this spectrum band from the second half of 2011. Refarming the 1800MHz band, which is widely-used for 2G mobile services, for HSPA will help mobile operators meet fast rising demand for mobile social networking, video streaming and other demanding multimedia services.

The four companies successfully tested data services running at speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps on dongles developed by Quanta using ST-Ericsson's low power M570 HSPA+ thin modem. For the trial, Ericsson supplied Orange with an HSPA 1800 network made up of several radio sites located in central France. Orange plans to start deploying HSPA 1800 devices in the second quarter of 2011.
"With an aim to constantly enhance our networks and improve the quality of service offered to our customers, Orange is ready to expand its mobile broadband service offerings to the 1800 MHz band", said Alain Maloberti, Senior VP Network Architecture & Design France Telecom-Orange. "Mobile broadband is exploding and it is key to be able to leverage all our spectrum assets to convey this traffic. This is already possible in the 2100 and 900 MHz bands, thus 1800 MHz band is the natural evolution".

Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, added: "Ericsson is ready to offer products and solutions that support HSPA on the 1800 MHz band. We are happy to work with the chipset industry for consumer devices and France Telecom Orange, one of the world's leading operators, on this groundbreaking activity. Together we are shaping the new usage of existing 2G frequency bands, enabling a mass-market ecosystem for mobile broadband, also for the 1800 MHz band."

"We are developing flexible modem platforms that will make best use of all the spectrum available to mobile operators, enabling them to create a compelling mobile broadband experience for their customers," said Jorgen Lantto, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of ST-Ericsson. "This trial demonstrates that we are ready to supply high-performance modems for HSPA 1800 devices in good time for the much-needed refarming of this important spectrum band."

Notes to editors:

The launch date of HPSA 1800 services and devices in each market will depend on local regulations.
ST-Ericsson's low power HSPA+ modem platform, the M570, is designed for notebooks, netbooks, USB dongles and smartphones. Supporting HSPA+/EDGE, the M570 can download data at speeds of up to 21Mbps and upload data at speeds of up to 5.76Mbps

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Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices. 

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the "prime driver in an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 90,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 203.3 billion (USD 28.2 billion) in 2010. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.
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