CDMA EV-DO Rev A Network Upgrade Meets Growing Demand for Advanced Mobile Services such as Interactive 3D-Gaming and Mobile Television
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC--(Marketwire - February 06, 2008) - Telefonica O2 Czech Republic has enhanced its fixed and mobile broadband services portfolio with new converged services by upgrading its CDMA network to Rev A with a Nortel(1) (TSX: NT)(NYSE: NT) CDMA solution.

Network innovation is a key contributor to Telefonica O2 Czech Republic's continuing growth and now Nortel's CDMA Rev A technology is enabling the company to offer new real-time applications, such as mobile VoIP, video and multimedia interactive services, using the solution's ability to offer high-bandwidth services in both directions - network to user with peak speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps and user to the network with peak speeds up to 1.8 Mbps.

With over five million mobile subscribers, Telefonica O2 Czech Republic is one of the largest providers of wireless services in the country. The company recently announced that it had over 110,000 CDMA customers using services such as O2 Internet Mobile Plus Go which enables users to go online whenever and wherever they are using their O2 mobile Internet connection to surf the Internet at home or on the road. The new network upgrade will enable more users in more cities and towns to benefit from affordable voice and mobile broadband services.

The Quality of Service mechanisms in EV-DO Rev A support real-time interactive access to services such as VoIP, interactive 3D-gaming, push-to-talk, mobile television and video telephony. The company upgraded its CDMA2000 1x EV DO REV 0@450MHz network to Rev A technology to ensure the delivery of always-on connectivity with mobile broadband capabilities.

"With CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev A at 450MHz, Telefonica O2 Czech Republic can offer personal wireless broadband services, with much higher speeds, making it ideal for mobile business users needing to access and send data intensive applications and download and upload large attachments," said Pavel Kolar, chief network infrastructure officer, Telefonica O2 Czech Republic.

"By using its broadband wireless spectrum more efficiently Telefonica O2 Czech Republic can deliver new, revenue-generating services that will provide a powerful competitive advantage and enhance the user experience," said Wim Te Niet, president Central Region EMEA, Nortel. "And, with high-speed, always-on services, users can increase their productivity, because once a connection has been made, the information - no matter how data-intensive - can be sent and received without delay."

In 2006, Nortel and Telefonica O2 Czech Republic successfully demonstrated the world's first CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev A call in a commercially operated network at 450 MHz frequency band.

The Nortel CDMA 450 MHz solution creates networking efficiencies that help drive reduced capital and operating costs. The 1xEV-DO Rev A implementation only requires a single card addition - the Rev A channel card - on the Telefonica O2 Czech Republic network to enable the new service and maximize the operator's existing investment in 450 MHz spectrum and its All-IP Radio Access Network.

Using the same 1.25 MHz channel as for REV 0, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev A provides both forward and reverse links with more capacity and higher data rates. These faster data rates, combined with QoS and low latency, enable the provision of 3.5G services such as interactive wireless gaming, real-time video communications and sharing, location based services, rich media content and high performance push-to-talk capabilities.

Nortel is a global CDMA leader with the most number of commercially deployed 1xEV-DO networks with solutions in multiple frequency bands from 450 MHz to 2100 MHz. Nortel has deployed more than 350 wireless networks worldwide.

About Telefonica O2 Czech Republic
Telefonica O2 Czech Republic, a.s., is the first integrated operator in the Czech Republic formed on 1 July 2006 by the merger of the leading fixed line operator, CESKY TELECOM, a.s., and the strongest mobile operator, Eurotel Praha, spol. s r.o., into a single telecommunications organization. The organization is now operating more than seven million lines, both fixed and mobile, making it one of the world's leading providers of fully converged services.

Telefonica O2 Czech Republic offers the most comprehensive portfolio of voice and data services in this country. A special attention is paid to the exploitation of the growth potential, in particular the data and Internet business. Telefonica O2 Czech Republic operates the largest fixed and mobile network including a 3rd generation network, CDMA (for data) and UMTS, enabling the transport of voice, data and video. Furthermore, Telefonica O2 Czech Republic offers the largest network of WiFi hotspots in the country.