Lucent Technologies named major supplier of 3rd generation
equipment for AT&T's wireless network
FOR RELEASE THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2000
Agreement to help transition network to UMTS
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and MURRAY HILL, N.J. - AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE) and Lucent Technologies
(NYSE: LU) today announced an agreement naming Lucent a major equipment provider for AT&T Wireless'
planned high-speed data network and evolution to third-generation (3G) wireless services, including
Universal Mobile Telecommunications Services (UMTS).
To accelerate AT&T Wireless' 3G plans, Lucent will engineer and install its latest-generation Global System
for Mobile Communication (GSM) base stations with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) - an
industry-standard enhancement to GSM networks - to work alongside the current AT&T Digital PCS
network. This deployment will enable AT&T customers to access wireless data and enhanced mobile
Internet services at high speeds. The new data-enhanced network offers a direct path for the introduction
of UMTS, a global 3G standard for mobile multimedia communications and Web surfing.
"Having Lucent as a partner in this critical undertaking is a vital part of our aggressive time-to-market
strategy for high-speed data services," said Mohan Gyani, president and CEO of AT&T Wireless Services.
"Lucent is a leading wireless network provider in North America and has proven ability in the successful
deployment of large-scale and complex wireless networks."
Under terms of the agreement, AT&T Wireless Services will continue to rely on Lucent to provide
enhancements and increased capacity on its existing network. In addition, Lucent's new GPRS-enabled
GSM base stations will support the introduction of improved higher-speed wireless data, mobile Internet
services and UMTS.
"We're delighted AT&T Wireless Services has chosen us to help it quickly introduce high-speed mobile
data services while providing the enabling technology for its 3G direction," said Bill Wiberg, president of
Lucent's cellular and PCS business. "We're writing the next chapter in a long relationship with a highly
valued customer whose future is as exciting as the next-generation services its new network will offer."
The cornerstone of Lucent's solution for AT&T Wireless is the latest-generation GSM Flexent™ Macro Cell,
designed at Lucent's Nuremberg, Germany, laboratories and manufactured in Columbus, Ohio. While
commercially available for GSM and GPRS deployment at both the 850 megahertz (MHz) and 1900 MHz
spectrum licensed by AT&T Wireless, the same base will also support UMTS at the 1900 MHz band. |
