[Nokia and Finnish telecom operator, Elisa, announce the world's first commercial WCDMA/HSDPA data call using the 900 MHz band.]

Espoo, Finland -- Nokia and Finnish telecom operator Elisa today carried out the world's first WCDMA/HSDPA data call on the 900 MHz band in a commercial network. The call was conducted in Elisa's live network in Finland, and the equipment included the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station with a special solution for sharing the site infrastructure of the existing GSM base station.

The call demonstrated a new possibility of enhancing the existing WCDMA 3G network. The 900 MHz band can provide 2-4 times larger coverage area than the most commonly used 2 GHz band, thus reducing network deployment costs significantly especially in the rural areas. It also improves the availability of 3G services indoors due to better radio signal propagation characteristics. Finland is among the first countries that have allowed WCDMA 3G operation at 900 MHz band.

Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station and Nokia Flexi Multiradio Combiner enable Elisa to share their existing GSM900 base station site, including base station cabinets, antenna lines and power feeders, with the WCDMA 3G network. Utilizing Nokia's solution, the network operator can provide broadband wireless type of services, such as High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), for end-users in a very cost-efficient way.

"Today's WCDMA900 call proves our dedication to continuously develop the Elisa service offering and bring the best services to our customers," says Matti Vikkula, Executive Vice President, Consumer and Small Enterprise Customers, Elisa Corporation. "Building rural 3G coverage in a cost-efficient way is very important for us, and offering our customers HSPA services at 900 MHz band is an interesting possibility to complement our existing HSPA services at 2100 MHz."

"Nokia has a robust position in providing new WCDMA frequency variants to operators. Nokia Flexi Multiradio Combiner is a unique solution for GSM-WCDMA antenna line sharing within the same frequency band," says Ari Lehtoranta, Senior Vice President, Radio Networks, Nokia. "This WCDMA900 call is another testimony of Nokia's strong commitment to support operators in developing their offering to better meet the demand that they face in today's increasingly competitive environment."

Nokia supported Elisa in launching the first HSDPA network in the Nordic Countries in April 2006.

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