Europe UK : Orange Launches Fully Trialled and Tested HSDPA to Complement Existing Range of HSDPA-Enabled Devices and Mobile Office Cards

Orange announced the availability of its HSDPA service. Orange 3G+ is a fast upgrade to its existing 3G network which covers over 90% of the UK outdoor population. Orange UK's overall strategy has been to deliver ongoing enhancements to its market-leading network and HSDPA-optimised mobile office cards and devices throughout 2006 in preparation for the rollout of 3G+ across its 3G footprint from today.

Orange 3G+ is being initially concentrated on key commercial zones such Greater London and airports. The service will be rolled out to the top five cities in the country during 2007.

Customers have a wide choice of the 3G+ enabled devices and Business Everywhere mobile office cards that are already available from Orange, including: Sierra Wireless 850, the current Option 3G/EDGE card* and the Fujitsu Lifebook E: Laptop with embedded 3G+. 3G+ enabled devices include the SPV M3100 and Motorazr maxx V6.

'Mobile broadband is designed to increase the productivity of our customers, wherever they happen to be working,' said Neil Laider, VP of Orange Business Services. '3G+ provides faster response times and enhances applications where bigger file downloads or faster data streaming is required. For example, a 3MB PowerPoint presentation will typically take just 34 seconds to download using Orange 3G+ compared with 20 minutes via GPRS. Customers with 3G+ enabled mobile office cards will notice these benefits as 3G+ is rolled out across the network. Orange is future proofing by ensuring all mobile office cards are 3G+ ready.'