Orange To Test MBMS-Based Solution in its UK Unpaired 3G Spectrum

3GSM World Congress, Barcelona, February 15, 2006 - IPWireless announces today that Orange will be the first UMTS operator globally to test IPWireless' recently announced TDtv technology, a mobile TV and multimedia solution based on the 3GPP Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) standard. Orange will launch this technical trial in the UK in its unpaired 3G spectrum, starting mid-2006.

TDtv operates in the universal unpaired 3G spectrum bands that are available across Europe and Asia at 1900MHz and 2010MHz. It allows UMTS operators like Orange to fully utilise their existing spectrum and base stations to offer subscribers attractive mobile TV and multimedia packages without impacting other voice and data 3G services.

TDtv will allow mobile operators to deliver up to 50 channels of TV for standard cell phone screens, or 17 higher quality QVGA channels, in 5MHz of unpaired 1.9GHz spectrum. Unlike current unicast mobile TV services which take additional network bandwidth for every subscriber, TDtv leverages MBMS to allow an unlimited number of customers to watch the same channel or use the same network bandwidth. With TDtv, Orange would also be able to deliver digital audio, multicast, or other IP data cast services to enhance their service offerings.

"Our new TDtv multimedia platform will allow Orange to evaluate the use of its unpaired 1.9GHz spectrum to deliver unparalleled multimedia services for subscribers," said Dr. Bill Jones, chief operating officer at IPWireless. "We believe that the unmatched combination of performance and economics has the potential to put Orange in the lead in the emerging mobile multimedia market."

TDtv, which combines the performance advantages of IPWireless' commercial UMTS TD-CDMA solution and the newly defined 3GPP Release 6 Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Standard (MBMS), offers operators a number of significant strategic, performance and economic advantages over alternative mobile TV solutions.

Because TDtv is based on the 3GPP family of standards, integration of TDtv with WCDMA on both the network and device side should be simplified. TDtv eliminates the need to buy new frequencies or partner with broadcasters, leaving the UMTS operator in full control of customer experience and revenues.

TDtv provides an especially attractive solution for the UMTS operators that have universal spectrum across multiple properties, allowing the sourcing of single devices as well as roaming across all countries.