US : Grupo Iusacell, S.A. de C.V. (Iusacell), a leading provider of digital wireless telecommunications services in Mexico, and Lucent Technologies today announced an agreement to deploy a super-fast, third-generation (3G) CDMA2000(R) 1xEV-DO network in the cities of Mexico, Monterrey and Guadalajara.

This Lucent-supplied network enables Iusacell to provide mobile high-speed data services such as high-quality video clips of news, sports and entertainment events and access to applications stored behind corporate firewalls including e-mail and intranets to businesses and consumers at speeds of up to 2.4 Megabits per second - up to 40 times faster than dial-up connections or 20 times faster than GPRS.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lucent will upgrade existing Lucent-supplied base stations to support CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, enabling Iusacell's customers in the cities of Mexico, Monterrey and Guadalajara to access the high-speed network using their laptops and PDAs equipped with 1xEV-DO PC cards. As part of the project, Lucent also will provide additional mobile switching centers and its Flexent(R) Mobility Server to provide an open Internet Protocol (IP) interface to the data network. Lucent Worldwide Services will provide deployment and network integration services.

"With Lucent's 1xEV-DO network, we can now offer advanced data services at speeds that compete with most of the fixed connections," said Gustavo Guzman, Iusacell's CEO. "Our corporate customers will be able to have remote access to all the applications that are normally used in their offices, making the concept of a mobile or virtual office a reality."

With virtual private network (VPN) connections, business customers can access the Iusacell high-speed data network as an extension of their corporate local area network (LAN) or intranet, allowing them to work from any location as if they were in the office while enjoying the same speed, security, authentication and data protection. The 1xEV-DO network can be accessed from any location where a cell phone works, including airports and corporate offices.

"We're very excited about this opportunity to work with Iusacell to bring the benefits of mobile broadband to consumers and corporations in Mexico," said Osvaldo Di Campli, general manager, Lucent Technologies de Mexico. "Once the deployment is done, Iusacell will have one of the largest and most advanced 3G networks in Mexico, and will be able to offer its customers a variety of new multimedia services."

Lucent Technologies de Mexico, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, will provide the products and services outlined in this agreement.

A global leader in the development of commercial 3G spread-spectrum solutions, Lucent's Mobility Solutions Group has deployed CDMA2000, CDMA450, and W-CDMA/UMTS networks with more than 35 customers on the continents of North and South America, Asia, Europe and in the Australia/New Zealand region. Lucent has deployed more than 120,000 spread-spectrum base stations for mobile operators worldwide, of which 70,000 are already supporting 3G services.