Nokia and Omnitel to work together in the development of UMTS applications in Italy

Omnitel, one of the largest operators in Europe, and Nokia have signed an agreement to begin joint activities to develop 3rd Generation mobile networks and applications in Italy.

The Memorandum of Understanding includes co-operation on the definition and creation of future 3G and mobile IP services. The two companies will also work together on the network technology development, to lay the ground for early introduction of standards-compliant 3rd Generation services in Omnitel's network.

A fully functional 3G Demo Network will be deployed in Italy and used by Omnitel to enable full evaluation, development and demonstration of end to end mobile multimedia applications in a completely live working environment.

As the early development of 3G applications becomes more important for the early introduction of true mobile third generation and Internet applications for customers, Omnitel and Nokia will collaborate on establishing a Service Creation Center, to develop cutting-edge applications for Omnitel's network. A team of Nokia application developers will work with Omnitel to create innovative services.

"The signing of 3G development MoU marks a major step in the migration to next-generation mobile communications services in Italy, which Omnitel aims to be at the forefront of," says Professor Valerio Zingarelli, Omnitel Chief Technology Officer. "This is key to our future service planning for our future mobile networks. With Nokia, we will be able to develop services that make mobile IP a reality."

"3G will be driven by lifestyle needs and vendors and operators alike who understand this will create the future and become the recognized leaders in the Mobile Information Society. We see this as an important step in our long relationship with Omnitel." Says Giorgio Pucci Managing Director Nokia Networks, Nokia Italia S.p.A. "Nokia shall continue working with operators across the globe, providing them with the capability to introduce 3G services when the markets are ready."

Omnitel is the second largest mobile operator in Europe. It started its commercial service in December 1995 and during the first half of 2000 reached over 12,5 million customers. Omnitel bases its success on outstanding customer care and a great attention to innovation and to network and service quality. Omnitel focuses on the market through two divisions dedicated to the personal market and to the corporate one, and now a special group of people is committed to the new strategic sector which combines speech recognition, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and Internet. The company has been a Nokia customer since December 1994. Omnitel employs over 8.500 people of which around 4.500 are dedicated to the customer care service. The GSM Omnitel network covers over 97% of the landmass and over 99% of the population.

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 60.000 people.

Further information:
Communications Department, Nokia Networks
Tel. + 358 9 5113 8193, Fax + 358 9 5113 8199
Email nokia.networks@nokia.com
www.nokia.com

www.omnitel.it