Nokia has signed a contract with J-PHONE GROUP for J-PHONE's 3G WCDMA network deployment. This contract provides Nokia with additional business cooperation with J-PHONE GROUP, positioning Nokia as one of the major infrastructure vendors in the Japanese 3G market.
"We have studied Nokia's capabilities and market record in end-to-end cellular network solutions, in both GSM and 3G systems," said Koichi Sakata, president, J-PHONE COMMUNICATIONS. "We believe that Nokia's leading-edge technology and open architecture - together with J-PHONE's expertise and innovativeness as a network operator and service provider - will form a winning combination in the upcoming 3G mobile era. We are looking forward to extending our partnership with Nokia."
Nokia had previously been awarded an agreement for the supply of the radio-access network for regions covering J-PHONE East and J-PHONE West. This is expanded under the new contract, and in addition Nokia will now supply the first phase of the mobile-packet switching system to J-PHONE Central and J-PHONE West. In addition to equipment expansion, Nokia was awarded a contract for integration and optimisation services.
"We are extremely pleased to expand our business with J-PHONE already in the initial stage of 3G network implementation," said Heikki Kasko, president of Nokia Japan. "We are also very confident of the capability and competitiveness of our 3G radio-access and core network technology, which J-PHONE selected for their major markets in a highly competitive situation. Nokia is working very closely with J-PHONE to make its 3G network and services a big success in Japan."
The J-PHONE GROUP was awarded a license for 3G services in June 2000 and has announced that it will launch 3G WCDMA services in Japan starting from 2002. The J-PHONE GROUP is one of Japan's largest PDC mobile-service providers today, with more than 10 million customers and over 7.5 million mobile Internet users. J-PHONE GROUP is majority owned by Japan Telecom and Vodafone.
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 broadband 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 7180 38195
Email: nokia.networks@nokia.com
www.nokia.com