PARIS, November 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) successfully completed the worldwide first long term evolution (LTE) data call on the 800 MHz "European Digital Dividend" (EDD) spectrum band in a live network. The call was completed in October at Alcatel-Lucent's 4G/LTE end-to-end solutions center in Stuttgart, Germany, involved transmitting high-definition video streaming over the air using Alcatel-Lucent's commercial infrastructure platforms and prototype mobile devices.

This first EDD call in a live LTE network marks a milestone for the introduction of LTE in the European market, and highlights Alcatel-Lucent's readiness to provide mobile operators with a commercial solution as soon as regulatory decisions on EDD will be made. In Germany, for instance, a frequency auction including the 800 MHz spectrum band is expected to take place in the 2nd quarter of 2010. The 800 MHz spectrum is particularly well suited to bringing mobile broadband Internet services to rural areas.

"This is a major breakthrough on our path to become the first vendor to offer a commercial solution for the 'Digital Dividend` spectrum", said Ken Wirth, President of Alcatel-Lucent's LTE/4G Solutions. "Our goal is to quickly and effectively support operators in their plans to further enhance the availability of broadband services all over the region, so we adapted our LTE solution to the 800 MHz frequency band quite early on and we are now working with customers on field trials."

Deploying LTE at 800MHz has a clear benefit for operators which can require fewer sites to cover rural areas, thus reducing overall environmental impact. 800 MHz spectrum LTE deployment could be an ideal complement to a 2.6GHz spectrum LTE deployment where smaller cells are required, in a dense urban environment for example. Alcatel-Lucent has live 2.6GHz LTE networks in Stuttgart and Velizy in France and its 2.6GHz radio modules are CE marked, clearing the way for shipment of 2.6GHz LTE base stations in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Background on the 4G/LTE solutions center in Stuttgart

At its German headquarters located in Stuttgart, Alcatel-Lucent has installed an end-to-end solutions center for 4G/LTE. The solutions center consists of a complete LTE end-to-end network, including an "on the air" radio network in the Northern District of Stuttgart. For several months Alcatel-Lucent has been successfully testing 4G/LTE mobile services on the 2.6GHz spectrum band. In these tests, Alcatel-Lucent achieved very high data rates of up to 60 Mbit/s in the 10 MHz spectrum and very short round-trip delay, or "latency" times. The tests include innovative LTE-enabled applications which give mobile users a rich experience comparable to that available on fixed networks today.

Background on Alcatel-Lucent's LTE position

Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in LTE, and is actively engaged in the majority of LTE projects being pursued by operators around the world, including both commercial deployment and trials with operators including Verizon Wireless, Telefonica, Etisalat, FT/Orange and NTT DoCoMo.

For more information about Alcatel-Lucent's end-to-end LTE solution, please visit: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/lte

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions that to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

SOURCE Alcatel-Lucent

Back to top