Nortel, QUALCOMM and Orange have successfully completed UMTS and HSDPA calls in the 900 MHz band, a spectrum capable of delivering wireless broadband such as mobile TV, video-on-demand, video telephony and DSL-like services to rural areas.

W-CDMA (UMTS) in the 900 MHz band is a cost effective way to deliver nationwide high-speed wireless coverage. It achieves a 60 percent reduction in cell sites required to serve rural areas and delivers improved Quality of Service in urban areas by enhancing in-building penetration by 25 percent, when compared to the technology using the 2100 MHz band.

The HSDPA, using the 16 QAM Modulation and reaching 3.6Mbps data rate, were completed using Nortel's commercial infrastructure equipment, mobile handsets based on QUALCOMM's Mobile Station Modem MSM6280 chipset solution and Orange's 900 MHz spectrum.

The three companies plan to publicly demonstrate this capability during the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February.