Lucent Technologies And Novatel Wireless Confirm Leadership In 3G UMTS PC Card Market With New Customer Contracts
By plugging the PC cards into a laptop and installing the necessary client software, UMTS customers are able to connect to their operators' UMTS networks, enabling access to their corporate intranets as well as high-quality streaming video and audio, secure mobile access to e-mail with large attachments and other information stored behind corporate firewalls at data transfer speeds of up to 384 kilobits per second.
Lucent and Novatel Wireless have previously announced UMTS data card contracts with operators including 3 (Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Sweden and the UK), e-plus (Germany), Telecom Italia Mobile (Italy), Telefonica Moviles Espana (Spain), O2 (Germany) and T-Mobile (Austria, Germany, UK).
"Today's announcements demonstrate the support that Lucent and Novatel Wireless are providing to mobile operators worldwide as they launch their 3G UMTS service offerings," said Roger Derrien, vice president for UMTS product management with Lucent's Mobility Solutions Group. "Our research demonstrates that there is a strong demand for high-speed data services among enterprise customers and this is confirmed by the purchasing decisions of the major European operators and their roll-out of commercial 3G services to the business market using these UMTS PC card modems."
"The success of our strong partnership with Lucent has helped establish the Merlin U530 as the dominant UMTS PC card modem in Europe and internationally," said Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless. "We are very pleased that the major operators in Europe are using our technology to coincide with their 3G deployments. Looking forward we expect to continue to build on our leading position in Europe. In addition, we will focus on replicating our success internationally as we incorporate our technology with leading carriers deploying 3G networks in Asia and North America."
ABOUT LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES
Lucent Technologies designs and delivers the systems, services and software that drive next-generation communications networks. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent uses its strengths in mobility, optical, software, data and voice networking technologies, as well as services, to create new revenue-generating opportunities for its customers, while enabling them to quickly deploy and better manage their networks. Lucent's customer base includes communications service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide. For more information on Lucent Technologies, which has headquarters in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, visit www.lucent.com.
ABOUT NOVATEL WIRELESS, INC.
Novatel Wireless, Inc. is a leading provider of wireless broadband access solutions. Novatel Wireless' Merlin PC Cards, Expedite Embedded Modems, and Freedom Box Ruggedized Modems enable high-speed wireless access to personal, corporate and public information via portable computers, handheld devices and vertical market applications. The company delivers innovative 2.5G and 3G solutions to operators, distributors and vertical markets worldwide. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Novatel Wireless is listed on Nasdaq: NVTL.
© 2004 Novatel Wireless. All rights reserved. The Novatel Wireless logo, Merlin, Merlin U530, Expedite and MobiLink are trademarks of Novatel Wireless, Inc. All other brands, products and company names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.
This release may contain forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended to date. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. These factors include risks relating to technological changes, continued acceptance of and market demand for Novatel Wireless' products, projections of future results and dependence on intellectual property rights. These factors, as well as other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, are discussed in more detail in Novatel Wireless' filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov) and other regulatory agencies.