Ericsson upgrade Cingular to 3G HSDPA in Dallas/Fort Worth

October 18, 2005

Ericsson has successfully upgraded Cingular Wireless' UMTS infrastructure in the Dallas/Fort Worth market - the seventh largest market in the United States - to High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA), making the carrier the first in the world to offer services over a commercial HSDPA network. The carrier will use the HSDPA mobile broadband network to carry all voice and high-speed data traffic from the operator's existing UMTS customers.

In addition to providing radio access equipment for the Dallas/Fort Worth market, Ericsson has provided civil site construction services and integrated the UMTS network Cingular acquired from AT&T Wireless into the operator's larger existing footprint. Because the former AT&T Wireless network has been operating commercially since December 2003, conversion, expansion and upgrades were performed on the live network.

"Cingular Wireless set out on a very ambitious schedule for rolling out UMTS and HSDPA, and it is very rewarding to have worked together to realize that vision," said Angel Ruiz, head of Ericsson North America. "This upgrade will provide Cingular with cost advantages for both voice and data traffic, and subscribers will benefit from applications that use higher data speeds."

Ericsson HSDPA represents a natural, fully standardized evolution of UMTS that will provide average data speeds between 400-700kbps with bursts over a megabit when used with compatible HSDPA devices. It also offers operators more than twice the system capacity within the current radio spectrum.