Hungary's Pannon GSM has conducted the country's first public EDGE call by a mobile operator, the first such call to be announced in Europe. The call was made using Nokia's solution for EDGE technology, which significantly increases mobile data rates, enabling 3G-type of services and improved quality for 2G services.
The call, which was conducted at the Kempinski Hotel in Budapest, demonstrated the enhanced speed for accessing data made possible by EDGE. Pannon GSM's chief technology officer, Jozsef Huszlicska, used the Nokia 6220 EDGE terminal to make the call.
In addition to cooperating on the EDGE call, Nokia and Pannon have signed an agreement for Nokia to provide EDGE infrastructure for a trial launch in Budapest in the third quarter 2003. Under the agreement, Nokia will provide Pannon with EDGE network equipment and related implementation services. This will enable Pannon to be prepared to extend the benefits of the EDGE technology to its customers in the near future. By upgrading existing GSM network elements to be EDGE capable, Pannon will greatly enhance user experiences with mobile services, while leveraging the most from its current network investment.
"Pannon is committed to high-quality, innovative services, and providing the highest data speeds for our subscribers," says Jozsef Huszlicska, chief technology officer, Pannon GSM. "This call clearly demonstrates this commitment and our strong position as a pioneer in wireless services. Already having Nokia's EDGE-ready hardware in our network has enabled us to save considerable time and effort in experiencing this technology."
Nokia has been Pannon's primary supplier of GSM network equipment since the Hungarian operator launched its network in 1993.
The EDGE call with Pannon follows on recent EDGE calls by DTAC in Thailand and Smart in the Philippines made with Nokia equipment. Nokia has to date delivered EDGE-ready hardware to 35 operators globally."
Posted to the site on 15th May 2003
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/8870.php