NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced today that they will launch a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) service on August 31, when they start sales of Japan’s first HSDPA-compatible handset, the 3G FOMAв„ў N902iX HIGH-SPEED.

In FOMA HIGH-SPEED areas, the N902iX is capable of packet downlinks of up to 3.6Mbps, approximately 10 times faster than current FOMA handsets. From August 31, all of central Tokyo will be included in these HIGH-SPEED areas, and all major Japanese cities will be covered by the end of October. DoCoMo also plans to broaden the areas to cover 70% of the national population by the end of March 2007 and 90% by the end of March 2008. Outside these areas, both uplink and downlink speeds can still reach as high as 384Kbps.

The handset will be compatible with DoCoMo’s new Music Channelв„ў service, also starting from August 31. Users will be able to automatically download music programs of about up to one hour during the late-night hours for listening later. It also supports the Chaku-Uta FullВ® service, which enables the downloading of complete music tracks for normal playback or to create clips for ringtones. Its advanced music player seamlessly plays SD Audio and Chaku-Uta Full tracks. Stereo earphones are included.

It has an easy-to-use full Internet browser, and the NeuropointerВ® enables scrolling in all directions. Megapixel photos and video can be uploaded at up to 384Kbps. File sizes for the i-motionв„ў service have been increased tenfold from the 500KB of current FOMA handsets to 5MB, and streaming capacity has been raised from 2MB to 5MB. The handset’s four-megapixel camera comes with an anti-shake mode for shooting stills and video. The handset will be available at all DoCoMo sales channels.

No special contract or service charge for HSDPA will be required, and charges for FOMA packet communications will remain unchanged. FOMA discount packet services, such as the pake-hodai (packet flat-rate) service, will also be applicable to HSDPA.

HSDPA technology was standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and offers a theoretical maximum downlink speed up to 14Mbps.

Bouygues Telecom has selected Nortel as one of its suppliers for its national high-speed mobile internet and voice network. The advanced UMTS network, based on Nortel HSDPA technology, is being designed to provide customers in France with services such as high-quality live TV, high definition video on demand, MP3 streaming and multi-user mobile gaming when it goes live in early 2007. The new 5-year contract stipulates that Nortel is responsible for rolling out the network in 4 out of 6 of Bouygues Telecom’s operational regions in France; including the Western, South Western, Northeastern and Mediterranean regions.

“We have strong ties with Bouygues Telecom, having supplied their network from their first GSM implementation through to our EDGE solutions, and now we will help them take the important next step to 3.5G,” said Michel Clement, president of Southern Europe, Nortel. “Nortel’s HSDPA technology allows mobile operators to provide new real-time services that increase the end-user’s experience and helps build customer loyalty.”

Nortel is currently a key supplier of Bouygues’ EDGE and GPRS networks. The current infrastructure provides Bouygues Telecom with the appropriate foundation for the new network upgrade. It utilizes bandwidth more efficiently, which means it can relay cost-saving advantages to customers.

Nortel’s HSDPA solution can provide connectivity at speeds up to 7.2 Mbps. The company achieved the industry’s first HSDPA mobile call in January 2005. Nortel completed the first live test calls using a commercial handset solution for HSDPA in March 2005. In June 2005, Nortel became the first wireless network supplier to complete the TL9000 registration standard for Quality Management System Requirements and Measurements across its HSDPA, UMTS and GSM wireless infrastructure solutions.

In addition to Bouygues Telecom, Nortel has worked with a number of wireless operators on HSDPA deployments, including Orange France, Vodafone Spain in Barcelona (during 3GSM World Congress in February 2006), EDGE Wireless in the US, SKT and KTF in Korea, Partner Communications in Israel, and Mobilkom Austria.

T-Mobile Deutschland is pressing ahead with the expansion of its offer for mobile broadband applications for laptops. Germany’s leading mobile communications provider is launching its cooperation agreement with technology provider HP with a low-priced special offer package consisting of a notebook, a web’n'walk Card and a mobile data contract. With the HP Compaq nx7400 Business Notebook PC and via the web’n'walk Card plus the T-Mobile UMTS network, subscribers can work with the intranet or access information on the Internet quickly and comfortably. The hardware will be available at a special low price in conjunction with a T-Mobile contract and is expected to be on sale at computer specialists by the third quarter of 2006. Additional joint solutions from HP and T-Mobile for mobile data communication via the iPAQ and laptop are currently being developed.

The compact HP Compaq nx7400 Business Notebook PC is aimed at cost-conscious users. Thanks to the new Intel processor technology and up to four gigabytes DDR2 RAM, it is easy to work productively and flexibly while on the move with this laptop. It is equipped with a 15.4 inch widescreen display and has many practical and innovative functions, including HP ProtectTools, for example, which protect users from unauthorised access to sensitive data. Flexible battery solutions also enable users to work in comfort on business trips or during longer meetings. The standard battery offers up to 4.5 hours running time, and the new HP high-capacity battery even offers up to 14 hours. As well as the notebook, subscribers also receive the web’n'walk Card W-LAN or the web’n'walk Card compact. These data cards from T-Mobile enable users to surf on the move and download data at bandwidths of up to 1.8 megabits per second via the HSPDA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). So even very large files can be downloaded onto mobile computers in short order. HSDPA is already available for the entire T-Mobile Deutschland UMTS network.

A fixed element of the offer is a T-Mobile postpay contract consisting of the DataWeb data rate and the web’n'walk Large data option. This package offers professionals a quasi-flat rate and hotspot usage for a fixed price of EUR 59 per month including VAT. With a data volume of 5 gigabytes for mobile data transmission by HSDPA/UMTS or EDGE/GPRS and 200 hours of W-LAN at T-Mobile and T-Com HotSpots, users are perfectly equipped with professional technology for working on the move.

“Thanks to the cooperation agreement with HP we can perfect our range for mobile broadband applications and offer our customers modern data solutions hand in hand with high-quality laptops – and all at very attractive prices,” explains Ingo Marten, Head of Data and Solutions Business Customer Sales at T-Mobile Deutschland, highlighting the wide-ranging benefits for customers.

“This cooperative agreement is an important strategic step for both our companies,” says Ingo Gassmann, Director PSG Category Management at HP Deutschland. “Both partners give customers the benefit of their own individual experience and strengths – HP its products and technologies for mobile data communication, and T-Mobile its high-performance mobile communications network and individual rates.”