Lucent Technologies announced it has supplied the first third-generation 3G CDMA 2000 1X wireless network in the Australia / New Zealand region to Telecom New Zealand following successful trials with businesses across the country.
Last year, Lucent provided Telecom New Zealand with the equipment necessary to upgrade its CDMA network which initially allowed them to offer their customers voice, short message service (SMS), wireless application protocol (WAP) and packet data services at 14.4 kilobits per second (kbps). More than 700 base stations were enhanced with CDMA2000 1X channel cards and software, and software upgrades were provided for several mobile switching centers.
"Telecom New Zealand will now be able to offer customers mobile data services at speeds of up to 153 kbps, nearly 10 times greater than what is currently available. End users will experience average data speeds of around 50 to 80 kbps," said General Manager Lorrain Witten of Telecom New Zealand.
The CDMA2000 1X network, called Jetstream effectively doubles Telecom New Zealand's voice capacity and enables the carrier to offer customers compelling mobile Internet and data services at these higher speeds.
"Our business customers are very keen to use this technology, which really frees them up from their offices and lets them use high-speed services such as mobile office applications, taking and sending photos, accessing email and the Internet whenerver and wherever they want to," Ms Whitten said.
Businesses, in particular, find these higher wireless data speeds compelling because they can securely access corporate applications such as e-mail and intranets from any location using the CDMA2000 1X network.
Bart Vogel, managing director for Lucent Technologies in Australia and New Zealand, said, "We are proud to have worked with Telecom New Zealand to deploy its CMDA 2000 1X network and look forward to helping Telecom offer its customers a rich mobile internet experience. This latest success demonstrates our strong commitment to New Zealand and builds on our company's experience and expertise in providing 3G networks the world over."
CDMA 2000 is an advanced and efficient wireless technology being introduced worldwide and an international 3G standard established by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 3G CDMA2000 evolves existing CDMA networks, in existing spectrum, while it continues to serve existing subscribers.
