28 May 2009

* Mobile broadband for the whole of Austria
* There must be a clear regulatory framework
* The digital dividend is an opportunity for rapid development


T-Mobile Austria is the first Austrian mobile network operator to test the next generation mobile network (NGMN) using the example of LTE (long term evolution) together with Huawei.

Innovation leadership in the area of NGMN has already been demonstrated last year by our sister company, T-Mobile Germany in Bonn. Data rates of up to 150 Mbit/s are now also being tested for the first time here in Austria. "As a leading light on the path to NGMN, with this showcase T-Mobile is taking the first step in Austria to test the future network technology. We are emphasizing our claim of providing customers with the highest quality and fastest broadband connections for mobile Internet with the next network generation as well. We are the first network operator to use LTE to put one possible future technology within reach. By doing so, we are reinforcing our position as a driver of innovation in Austria," said Robert Chv?tal, Chairman of the Management Board of T-Mobile Austria.

World premiere

The speed and potential of LTE was presented during a showcase held in the T-Mobile Shop in Vienna's Rennweg: the usability of important applications that have a high requirement for bandwidth and latency, such as file downloads, video streaming, Web browsing and video telephony was demonstrated under live network conditions. For the first time, the new technology and associated bandwidths enable various applications to run effectively in parallel.

"From our perspective, this showcase represents two world premieres: for the first time a speed of over 130 Mbit/s has been achieved over the air interface while four modems are registered in a cell simultaneously," said Jim Burke, Chief Technology Officer at T Mobile Austria, proudly. "Those who observe the mobile communications industry are able to recognize clearly that a new mobile communications standard emerges every ten years. Starting with GSM, which was followed by UMTS, the next standard is not only just around the corner, we are actually bringing it to life for the first time in Austria," said Burke.

For the purposes of this test, T-Mobile and Huawei set up two LTE mobile cells in the T-Center. "Many mobile operators are currently studying the possible fields of application offered by NGMN and LTE. Here, T-Mobile has taken a leading role. For this reason, we are delighted that T-Mobile Austria has chosen Huawei as a technical partner for the LTE presentation. We are confident that with the support offered by the global experience and expertise of Huawei, T-Mobile will demonstrate even more graphic and successful NGMN tests," said Edward Zhou, Director, Huawei Europe Marketing. In comparison with other NGMN testing throughout the world, T-Mobile and Huawei are already using network equipment that is ready to go into series production.

A clear regulatory framework

New frequency bands must be allocated before the next generation of mobile communications will become a reality and customers are able to benefit from the bandwidths. This can be done either by means of the digital dividend or the distribution of 2.6 GHz frequencies. Austrian policy makers and regulators are still to make a clear statement on this. This decision is essential in order to give planning certainty to telecommunications companies for their quest for technological progress.

Innovation leadership in Austria

T-Mobile continues to develop its innovation leadership on the Austrian mobile communications market. By as early as 2005, T-Mobile was the first Austrian mobile network operator to provide its customers with a nation-wide HSDPA network. "T-Mobile has been the driving force for innovation in the Austrian mobile communications industry for years. In addition to exclusive terminal devices, we provide our customers with the best service and the best network quality. In this showcase we are demonstrating something that could be a reality in the near future: data rates of up to 150 Mbit/s. That is clear evidence that the data network of the future can be found at Rennweg," Chv?tal concluded.

Huawei Technologies

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