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Press Release
Media Contact:-
Akiko Shikimori
NEC Corporation
TEL : 81-3-3798-6511
FAX : 81-3-3457-7249
E-mail : Akiko_Shikimori@HO-PRD.ccgw.nec.co.jp
*****For immediate use April 26, 1999
NEC AND TELIA ANNOUNCE TECHNICAL TRIALS OF NEC'S WATMnetTM BROADBAND WIRLESS NETWORK- New Technology to Provide Mobile Multimedia Networking Solutions -
NEC*1 Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY), NEC USA, Inc.*2 (NEC) and Telia AB*1 *3, Sweden's national telecommunications provider, today announced a new program to trial NEC's WATMnet*4TM broadband wireless network for mobile multimedia services of the future. The trial, named SEBRA (Semi-mobile Broadband Radio Access), will test and evaluate WATMnet's ability to provide high-speed wireless Internet Protocol (IP) and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) services. The trials are expected to conclude in June 1999. Telia plans to evaluate WATMnet for delivery of high-speed wireless data services with quality-of-service (QoS) to campuses, corporate buildings, factories and outdoor "hot-spots". The technology is intended to provide a seamless wireless extension to IP or ATM-based core networks for delivery of multimedia information to portable computing devices. The SEBRA service will enable a new generation of semi-mobile broadband applications including, Internet access, video-on-demand and teleconferencing. "We are always looking for emerging technologies that can be used to offer new and more efficient services to our users," said Roger Bengtsson, project leader for SEBRA at Telia Research AB. "NEC's WATMnet represents an exciting new area of mobile communications by providing broadband access capabilities competitive with those of wired networks." WATMnet, developed by NEC USA's C&C Research Laboratories and NEC Corporation, is the world's first broadband wireless network to provide QoS and dynamic mobility. The system has been designed to operate in the newly defined 5 GHz Unlicensed NII (U-NII) bands in the United States and the European Hiperlan2 5 GHz frequency bands, which are expected to be allocated shortly. WATMnet delivers reliable end user data services at bit-rates up to 25 Mbps using proprietary TDMA/TDD medium access and data link control protocols on the radio link. Dynamic mobility is supported by integrating location management and handoff enhancements into standard IP/ATM network protocols used in the core network. "This is a cutting-edge technology that we have been researching and developing since 1994 and are very excited to be working with Telia on this project," said Dr. Raychaudhuri, assistant general manager, C&C Research Laboratories. "With continued improvements being made to further enhance performance and reduce the size of certain components and evaluations of the product by leading telecommunications companies such as Telia, we hope to bring WATMnet into the consumer marketplace in the near future."
The WATMnet system features NEC America Inc.'s NETNEX *** Editor's Note: | ||||||||
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