Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Ready to Launch 3G HSDPA

Europe Poland : During the Intertelekom Trade Fair in Lódz, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa presented its technological readiness to introduce HSDPA standards in its UMTS network.

By presenting the HSDPA technology in a ready-to-implement version, PTC has again confirmed its leading position on the Polish market of wireless data transmission. It is worth stressing that in 2001 PTC was the first mobile operator in Poland to present voice transmission in a UMTS network, in 2002 – ‘videophony’ based on the 3G technology, and in 2004 - a comprehensive solution for the integration of multimedia.

PTC declares that the fast progress in broadband communications is its priority, and both the range and transmission speed are the key words in the strategy to be implemented by the company in 2006. PTC has been systematically extending its network infrastructure so as to provide its customers with all the advantages of the wireless broadband technology – anytime and anywhere.

One of the elements inherent in the strategy of PTC in this field is the technology of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). HSDPA allows the speeding up of data transmission in the 3G networks (UMTS) initially to 1.8 Mbit/s and eventually even up to 14.4 Mbit/s.

PTC is technically ready to adjust its UMTS network to speeds corresponding to HSDPA standards. This year, UMTS based on the HSDPA technology will ensure the highest speed of wireless data transmission, starting from 1.8 Mbit/s. Thanks to this, PTC customers will obtain faster wireless access to the Internet from a laptop computer or a PC at home or in the office.

The HSDPA technology will be introduced within the framework of the Blue Connect service in 2006. In the very near future PTC is also planning to launch voice services in its UMTS network.

Blue Connect is one of the strategic and most popular services offered by PTC. Only ten months after its market launch, over 30,000 customers are now using this service. Since November 2005, Blue Connect data transmission cards have been offered in the ‘HSDPA-ready’ version, and all the previous versions of the BC cards will gradually be replaced.

Currently, PTC’s UMTS is commercially available in Warsaw and several dozen nearby towns (i.a. Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Ozarów Mazowiecki, Piastów, Pruszków, Blonie, Brwinów, Milanówek, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Podkowa Lesna, Piaseczno, Konstancin-Jeziorna, Józefów, Otwock, Góra Kalwaria, Sulejówek, Wolomin, Radzymin, Serock, Legionowo, Marki and Kobylka), in Lódz and its surrandings (Zgierz i Pabianice), Poznan, Wroclaw and in the winter-sports resorts of Zakopane and Szczyrk. Technical tests have been finalised and soon the launch of the UMTS network in other urban centres, such as Kraków, Gdansk and Silesia, will be announced. Torun, Bydgoszcz and Lublin are waiting for the start of the UTMS network at a later time this year.

By the end of 2006, i.e., by the end of the completion of the first stage of the UMTS network build-up, over 8 million people will be within the range of PTC’s UMTS signal. It means that the company will have fulfilled its licence obligations to provide UMTS services to at least 20% of the Polish population.

The UMTS infrastructure is supplied to PTC by Ericsson and Siemens. What should be emphasized is the fast pace of the construction of PTC’s 3G network: contracts with both suppliers were signed only in October last year. From the very beginning, the UMTS network built for PTC by Siemens and Ericsson was developed, designed and installed as ready for the HSDPA system.

The highest quality of wireless data transmission offered by PTC to its customers is not based solely on the UMTS technology. PTC has provided high speed data transmission also in areas which are not yet serviced by the UMTS network. By implementing the EDGE technology, PTC has improved the parameters of the GPRS fast packet data transmission, thanks to which transmission speeds are four times higher than those provided by ISDN.

Another part of the infrastructure used in the Blue Connect offer is the W-LAN technology. PTC provides its customers with an extensive network of Hot-Spot access points situated in attractive locations throughout the country.

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