O2 To Launch HSDPA Next Month

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- O2 PLC (OOM.LN), the U.K. mobile telecommunications company, Thursday said it will launch a faster third-generation, or 3G, network in the Isle of Man on November 1.

It will be the first commercial launch in Europe of high-speed downlink packet access, or HSDPA, technology. This allows mobile operators to offer users much faster speeds than existing 3G networks. The network will offer speeds of 1.3 megabits-a-second and provides theoretical maximum speeds to 14.4 mbs.

The launch is in partnership with telecoms equipment manufacturer Lucent Technologies (LU).

Company Web site: Http://www.o2.com

-By Nic Fildes, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9264; nicolas.fildes@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 20th October 2005