Nokia has been chosen by leading French operator Cegetel SFR as a 3G packet core network supplier. This choice confirms Cegetel's commitment to further develop 3G/UMTS technology in France and Nokia will be a major provider of the SFR UMTS Network.
Cegetel and Nokia have been working together since 1988 for the delivery of network equipment and since 1994 for the delivery of Cegetel's GSM radio network.
"We are looking forward to expanding our business in 3G and being at the forefront of developments for mobile data services," said Paul-Henri Ferrand, Area General Manager, France & North West Africa, Nokia Networks, "With this agreement, we are pleased to continue our cooperation with Cegetel SFR network. Nokia is strongly positioned as a leader for GPRS solutions and is fully committed to next generation UMTS systems and services. By choosing Nokia, Cegetel will be first to market with a full range of new, advanced mobile Internet services and applications in the French market,"
In July 2000 Nokia was chosen to supply Cegetel's GPRS core network. Now the two companies are demonstrating the capabilities of the GPRS solution - which will allow the roll-out of packet-based Mobile Internet services to Cegetel subscribers and is the first GPRS network in France.
With a turnover of EUR 5,1 billion in 2000 and over 8100 employees in the whole of France, Cegetel is the second largest telecommunications operator in France and the first challenger operator. This position is a result of a global operator strategy covering all telecom activities. In mobile telephony, SFR has more than 10 million subscribers and in fixed, their "7" service has 2,5 million subscriber lines. In the corporate telecommunications market, Cegetel offers its fixed telephony, mobility, Internet and data services to 30,000 corporate customers.
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.
Further information:
Nokia Networks, Communications Department
Tel.+ 358 9 5113 8541
E-mail: nokia.networks@nokia.com
www.nokia.com
Notes to Editors:
3G is also known in Europe as UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. 3G is the future of mobile communications and in Nokia's vision, IP-based technologies will eventually form the core of the future mobile network. Nokia's GSM/UMTS system will gradually evolve to an all-IP system, having 3G GPRS network elements as its base.
The 3G system will complement the existing GSM system, not replace it. It will be the vehicle that provides wireless access to multimedia services, and a way to provide more voice capacity, or a mixture of voice and multimedia services.
Nokia's 3G infrastructure is based on open standards, platforms and interfaces, critical for a smooth evolution to commercial 3G services in a multi-vendor network. It includes integrated end-to-end solutions covering charging, security, network management & service control applications.
Nokia already offers a full range of support services and solutions to help network providers differentiate in today's fast-changing business environment and rapidly build out 3G networks.