Nokia and French operator SFR have carried out a technical pilot on 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.

"These WCDMA 900 voice and data calls are another testimony of Nokia's strong end-to-end capability and commitment to support operators in developing their offering to better meet the demand that they face in today's increasingly competitive environment," says Olivier de Percin, Account Director, Networks, Nokia. "With the Nokia WCDMA 900 solution, network operators can provide wireless broadband services, such as HSPA, to their customers in a very cost-efficient way."