Europe : Nokia and Sierra Wireless announced their cooperation to develop and promote an end-to-end High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) WCDMA (UMTS) solution. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia’s Networks business group and Sierra Wireless will work together to conduct early technical and market trials for their respective HSDPA products – the Sierra Wireless AirCard® 850 and AirCard 860 wireless wide area network cards, Nokia’s HSDPA infrastructure equipment, and related software – with the purpose of jointly marketing the HSDPA solution to key global network operator customers.

“HSDPA products offer significant speed and efficiency benefits to both network operators and end-users, making it a logical choice for Sierra Wireless as we expand our product line into new wireless technologies,” said Jason Cohenour, Chief Operating Officer for Sierra Wireless. “We are pleased to work with Nokia to provide network operators with a fully tested, end-to-end HSDPA solution, so they can offer the benefits of HSDPA technology to their customers.”

“We are very happy to cooperate with Sierra Wireless in our HSDPA development program as they have an established reputation for producing reliable, high-quality wireless data access devices,” said Giuseppe Donagemma, Vice President, Radio Networks, Nokia. “The combination of Nokia’s HSDPA Radio Access Network and Sierra Wireless AirCard wireless network cards offers network operators a package they can roll out seamlessly, and we are pleased to work with Sierra Wireless to provide this alternative to our operator customers worldwide.”

HSDPA is an upgrade to WCDMA (UMTS) systems that offers end users significantly faster download speeds – up to 1.8 Mbps in the first phase, versus 384 kbps on standard WCDMA systems. Operators upgrading their networks with an HSDPA solution can take advantage of improved data rates and throughput, enhancing the efficiency of the network to support a higher number of users at a lower cost per user. Network operator customers with Nokia’s WCDMA solutions will be able to implement HSDPA with simple upgrades to their current RAN platforms.

The AirCard 850 and AirCard 860 wireless wide area network cards are the latest additions to Sierra Wireless’ award-winning AirCard product line. The AirCard 850 utilizes the 2100 MHz WCDMA frequency band and is targeted primarily for use in Europe; while the AirCard 860 operates on the 850 and 1900 MHz WCDMA frequency bands and is designed for North American users. Both cards will also be compatible with EDGE and GSM/GPRS networks on all four GSM frequency bands (850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz), for worldwide use in areas where a WCDMA (UMTS) network is not available. The AirCard 850 and AirCard 860 wireless network cards are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2005.