Lucent Technologies and Novatel Wireless to supply 3G UMTS PC card modems to Poland's PTC for mobile high-speed data services.

Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU) and Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ:NVTL) have announced that the two companies are supplying Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa Sp. z o.o. (PTC), operator of the ERA mobile network, with Merlin U530 Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) PC Card Modems, jointly developed by Lucent and Novatel Wireless. PTC has already received initial shipments of the Merlin U530, which are being used on Poland's first UMTS network; service became available to users in Warsaw and its surroundings in late August.

Lucent and Novatel Wireless will continue to supply PTC Merlin U520 cards to support PTC's commercial UMTS network. Lucent also will supply connectivity software for the ERA mobile network.

"PTC, as the market leader, is the first service provider in Poland to put a UMTS network into service. Adding 3G functionality onto PTC's ERA network has provided valuable feedback into how to enhance the customer experience. It is also a significant contribution to building the information society in Poland," said Boguslaw Kulakowski, PTC's president of the board. "Users of the Merlin U530 card in the ERA network can already make use of international roaming with other UMTS networks in Europe and worldwide, as well as of GPRS transmission where no UMTS coverage is available."

The Merlin U530 cards will enable PTC to offer their customers enhanced services such as secure wireless access to information--stored behind corporate firewalls--at data transfer speeds of up to 384 kilobits per second (Kbps). The Merlin U530 also supports roaming onto Global Packet Radio Access (GPRS) networks. Customers using the ERA mobile network will be able to access enterprise applications and stay in touch with clients while away from the office, ultimately providing companies with a critical competitive advantage.

"We are pleased to support PTC as they introduce innovative mobile high-speed data services on their UMTS network," said Stan Szuder, customer group leader, Central and Eastern Europe for Lucent Technologies. "These services are particularly attractive to business customers, and will give PTC a competitive advantage in meeting the demands of the enterprise market segment."

Lucent has conducted substantial primary research on the market for mobile high-speed data services, sponsoring a series of in-depth market studies that revealed substantial demand for 3G mobile data access among businesses, particularly for mobile office applications such as emails with data-heavy attachments, and corporate Intranet and Internet access.

"This represents our first customer deployment in Eastern Europe, and we are pleased to expand our market reach into this important region," said Rob Hadley, vice president of sales for Novatel Wireless. "This agreement further cements our leadership position as a global supplier of 3G UMTS data solutions."

Lucent and Novatel Wireless are the world's leading providers of 3G UMTS (WCDMA) wireless PC Card modems to support mobile high-speed data services. The two companies are currently supplying more than 12 mobile operators in 16 countries worldwide.