Nokia and SFR Complete the First WCDMA 900 Voice Call

Nokia and French operator SFR have carried out a technical pilot on the WCDMA 3G/HSDPA voice call on the 900 MHz band in SFR's network.

The equipment used for the voice and data calls included the Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station with a special solution for sharing the existing GSM site infrastructure and thus reducing implementation costs significantly, and a Nokia prototype of a WCDMA 900 mobile device.

The 900 MHz band can provide a 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.

"We are impressed by the voice quality of the call, and the HSDPA user data transfer speed reached our expectations. The WCDMA 900 MHz variant brings us an efficient solution, which could allow us to extend our 3G services to rural areas cost-effectively," says Paul Corbel, Chief Technical Officer, SFR.

Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station and Nokia Flexi Multiradio Combiner enable SFR to share their existing GSM900 base station site, including base station cabinets, antenna lines and power system, with the WCDMA 3G network.

Nokia and SFR have been working together for more than 10 years now and Nokia has provided SFR with GSM and WCDMA 3G/HSDPA radio and core network equipment and services.