Orange and Nokia sign £200M extension for further build out of its mobile network

The equipment to be delivered includes the continued supply of GSM base station equipment and the triple-mode Nokia UltraSite and Nokia MetroSite mobile multimedia solutions. These cutting edge systems are ideal for the Mobile Internet era and enable the provision of GSM, HSCSD and EDGE technologies. Nokia will also supply services covering network installation and commissioning.

"The Nokia technology will not only help us to manage our network more effectively, both operationally and financially, but places us on our first step towards next generation mobile services, through the provision of HSCSD and EDGE technologies, " said Bob Fuller, COO of Orange. "This agreement will mean that we will be able to meet the capacity requirements both now and in the future as we see the continued growth in mobile voice and data services."

"This deal is a continuation of Nokia's longstanding and trusted relationship with Orange," said Mr Peter Kühne, Nokia Networks Area Vice President, West Europe and Africa. "Nokia's solutions will enable Orange to enhance the capacity and quality of the network, but more importantly offer substantial cost benefits as they evolve toward future mobile Internet services."

Nokia's unique solutions can support GSM and next generation technologies in various combinations, giving operators complete flexibility to configure their network as needed to meet the changing demands of subscribers. Thus they are ideally suited to meet the voice and data capacity, quality and cost challenges of continued growth in the UK cellular market.

Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, broadband and IP networks, related services as well as multimedia terminals. In 1999, net sales totaled EUR 19.8 billion (USD 19.9 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 55 000 people.

Notes to Editors:

Orange and wirefree are trademarks of Orange plc group.

Orange provides a broad range of personal communications services. As well as Orange GSM 1800 services, this includes other digital cellular telephone and paging services.

As at 5 January 2000, Orange has over 5 million customers.

Prices shown are resale prices currently recommended by Orange. Resellers are free to set their own terms, so prices and offers available to customers may vary.

Orange provides high quality coverage to 99% of the UK population and over 80% of the geographic area. Coverage is based on hand portable, unlike some other operators which choose to base their coverage on boosted car kits.

Orange is the largest and fastest-growing digital mobile phone network in the UK, with over 6,900 base stations, and more than 10,000 sites targeted by 2001.

In October 1999, OFTEL, the UK's telecommunications industry regulator, published the results of surveys carried out by the four UK GSM mobile communications networks to assess their relative performance. Orange was shown to be the best performing network, with an average call success rate of 97.3%.

In November 1999, the Consumers' Association's Which? magazine published a survey of its members and concluded: ''Orange was easily the best all round. It consistently came first, or very near the top, for both the quality of its network and customer service.''

Orange was the first network operator to introduce Enhanced Full Rate in February 1998. EFR provides fixed line call quality across the entire Orange network to all customers at no extra charge.

Orange now offers roaming on 194 networks in 93 countries.

The Nokia MetroSite Capacity Solution reduces the investment cost of microcellular networks to a completely new level while enabling smooth evolution to the 3rd generation. A key part of this site solution is the Nokia MetroSite Base Station family, which provides focused voice and data capacity for global GSM, EDGE and WCDMA network operators.

Nokia UltraSite provides a gateway to mobile multimedia in this macrocellular site solution for GSM, EDGE and WCDMA networks. This unique solution was the world's first to combine GSM, EDGE and WCDMA capability inside one "triple-mode" base station.