3 and Nokia Siemens Networks complete radio technology upgrade and demonstrate Ireland’s First Roll Out of I-HSPA

Dublin, Ireland / Espoo, Finland

3’s National Broadband Scheme Customers to have access to the cutting edge, high speed HSPA+ technology

3, Ireland’s fastest growing mobile and broadband operator, and Nokia Siemens Networks have demonstrated the I-HSPA technology and announced that the upgrade of the radio technology to enable higher broadband speeds has been completed.

Nokia Siemens Networks innovative I-HSPA (Internet High-Speed Packet Access)
technology is currently being rolled out as part of the National Broadband Scheme, and will be extended to 3’s existing network in Ireland. It is the first commercial deployment of I-HSPA in Ireland.

The strategic agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks, will see 3 offering consumers and businesses in the NBS coverage areas and their existing network, access to high-speed and high capacity broadband services, operating on 7.2Mbps technology, upgraded during 2010 to operate on technology of 14.4Mbps. The project uses I-HSPA, the innovative flat network architecture optimized to carry huge volumes of data traffic, with its all-Internet Protocol (IP) backhaul.

To prepare for I-HSPA technology and the National Broadband Scheme 3’s WCDMA network has been totally replaced with Flexi base station technology by Nokia Siemens Networks in an astonishingly rapid time of just one year – nearly 2 years quicker than the original estimate.

The new broadband network will build on 3’s new WCDMA/HSPA radio and packet core networks, allowing the service provider to build on the existing investments. I-HSPA also provides greater scalability and a smooth evolution path to the future mobile architectures
“Long Term Evolution” (LTE).

Commenting on the demonstration, David Hennessy, Chief Technical Officer of 3 said: “With our demonstration today, 3 and Nokia Siemens Networks are bringing this cutting edge technology to Irish consumers in what is a world first, helping to build Ireland’s leadership credentials in the knowledge economy. 3 are the network which continues to drive change and address the growing demand in the Irish broadband marketplace.

“For a contract such as this, it was essential that we have an easy to implement, cost effective, and highly scalable wireless technology platform - as that would not only address our immediate needs, but also serve as a strong foundation for future expansion. I-HSPA made the most sense, since it offers , and is also extremely cost effective, and offers a path to future upgrades.”

“Across the world, wireless technologies are helping service providers break through traditional access barriers in rural areas to bring consumers in these areas into the digital fold. I-HSPA allows the benefits of broadband and wireless access to be combined and extended as a robust service,“ said Richard Kitts, customer business team head Hutchison global at Nokia Siemens Networks. “It also brings significant operational benefits to service providers and is thus the right choice for initiatives such as this.”

Nokia Siemens Networks is the forerunner in flat architecture solutions with its I-HSPA,
Direct Tunnel and LTE platforms, helping operators to increase the efficiency of the mobile broadband networks, to cope with data explosion by lowering cost per gigabyte and to effectively serve their subscribers’ needs and covering new areas and customer segments.


About 3

* 3, which launched on the Irish mobile services market in 2005, operates one of Ireland’s 3G mobile phone licences under the ’3’ brand. With over 19 million customers worldwide, 3 is Europe’s leading 3G operator and was the first to offer 3G services to European customers.
* 3 is Ireland’s fastest growing mobile network with over 350,000 customers.
* 3 is now the leading provider of mobile broadband services in Ireland, with 120,000 high speed mobile broadband subscribers.
* 3 has invested €530 million to date in building the Irish network.
* 3 has opened 21 of its own retail stores in Ireland, called 3Stores.
* 3 was first to launch mobile broadband in Ireland with a datacard modem in 2006 and the most advanced high-speed network with technology to support speeds of up to 3.6 mb per second.
* 3 is the only operator offering a pre-paid mobile broadband service in Ireland.
* 3 is 100 per cent owned by Hutchison Whampoa Group which also holds 3G licenses in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Macau, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

For more information about 3’s products and services, see www.three.ie

About Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of telecommunications services. With its focus on innovation and sustainability, the company provides a complete portfolio of mobile, fixed and converged network technology, as well as professional services including consultancy and systems integration, deployment, maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software and professional services companies in the world. Operating in 150 countries, its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland.
www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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