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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / OCTOBER 6, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 40
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Breaking News -
Networking:
Commercial 3G Rivals Fastest
Wireline Connections
Verizon Wireless, operator of the nation's largest wireless network, and
Lucent Technologies announced the commercial launch of a third-generation (3G)
mobile data network in the Washington, D.C. area. Customers can now experience
a high-speed, wide-area, secure wireless data network -- BroadbandAccess --
based on CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology. The Lucent-supplied network will provide
customers with data services at speeds of 300-500 kilobits per second with an
upper limit of two Megabits per second -- comparable to the fastest wireline
connections.
"We congratulate Verizon Wireless on the commercial launch of this service,
which demonstrates their strong commitment to bringing leading-edge data
solutions to their customers," said Lisa De Laurentis, vice president of sales
at Lucent Technologies. "The BroadbandAccess network provides enterprise
customers with the best of both worlds -- fast, reliable, high-quality and
secure mobile data access coupled with the convenience of mobility. We expect
the service to be very well-received based on feedback from our market
trial."
"Verizon Wireless is committed to meeting the ever changing and
increasingly
mobile needs of enterprise customers," said Bill Stone, vice president of
marketing, Verizon Wireless. "With BroadbandAccess, and through the support of
technology partners like Lucent, we are able to surpass expectations and bring
speed, security and flexibility to our data customers wherever they
travel."
With virtual private network (VPN) connections, business customers can
access
the BroadbandAccess 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, with the same speed, security, authentication
and data protection.
In November 2002, Verizon Wireless and Lucent completed a successful trial
of
1xEV-DO technology with more than 200 enterprise customers and consumers in
the Washington D.C. area, which paved the way for the commercial launch of the
BroadbandAccess network. The positive feedback from businesses and government
agencies participating in the market trial revealed that there is a
significant demand for high-quality, high-speed mobile data services.
Nearly 80 percent of all participants said 1xEV-DO technology increased
efficiency, productivity and accessibility. In addition, two-thirds of
enterprise users considered the Verizon Wireless service superior to other
high-speed data technologies they had used.
Verizon Wireless customers can utilize the BroadbandAccess network by
equipping their laptop PCs with the Verizon Wireless PC 5220 wireless modem
card. In the future, Verizon Wireless plans to offer additional
BroadbandAccess cards, modem solutions for the office, and a wide range of the
latest handheld mobile devices.
To help prepare for the launch of the BroadbandAccess network, Lucent
expanded
the footprint of the initial trial network by deploying new Flexent Modular
Cell 4.0 base stations and upgrading existing Flexent CDMA base stations with
channel cards and software. Lucent also provided its Flexent Mobility Server
to provide an open Internet Protocol interface to the data network. Lucent
Worldwide Services provided installation and integration services.
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