MUMBAI, India, August 29, 2000 - Mumbai's BPL Mobile has awarded Motorola Inc (NYSE:MOT) a contract for the deployment of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) high speed mobile data on the BPL Mobile GSM network. BPL Mobile, along with Motorola, will bring the first GPRS service to India's growing wireless market.
The BPL Mobile commercial GPRS service is expected to be available in the near future, enabled by Motorola 's Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS) and strategic alliance partner Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO). The value of the contract was not disclosed.
The 'always on, always connected', high-speed mobile data service will deliver a wide range of Internet services to mobile devices, and opens up the mobile market to a wealth of data applications, including e-commerce, email, and data transfer. BPL Mobile will launch its GPRS service with Motorola's Timeport p7389i GPRS phones* - the world's first GPRS handsets.
"BPL Mobile wants to give its customers the latest in wireless technology. It knows what GPRS can do for its customers and that Motorola and Cisco can bring these new opportunities to them. We are pleased to continue our strong relationship with BPL Mobile as we forge ahead in the world of wireless," said Pramod Saxena, Executive Director & General Manager of Motorola India Ltd.
Girish Rangan, CEO, BPL Mobile Communications Ltd said: "Motorola's proven success in GSM and GPRS made it easy for BPL Mobile to choose who would help us lead the way to 3G in India. We believe that success in GPRS will bring future success in 3G. We are proud to build on the past five years together with Motorola and offer our subscribers the practical, state-of-the-art capabilities of GPRS."
Motorola, through its alliance with Cisco, is the only supplier worldwide with complete end-to-end GPRS network solutions in commercial service. Both BT Cellnet in the UK and T-Mobil in Germany launched their GPRS services in June, and Telsim in Turkey launched this month, enabled by the Motorola/Cisco GPRS solution and Motorola's GPRS handsets.
Motorola has supplied BPL Mobile GSM system solutions since 1995.
The Motorola/Cisco GPRS architecture can be implemented over an existing GSM network, giving operators investment protection over existing infrastructure. Motorola's GSM infrastructure systems are GPRS-ready, requiring only a software load and PCU addition, with no modifications to existing hardware. Offering controlled evolution to third generation mobile communications, the Motorola/Cisco GPRS data solution enables operators to take advantage of many new revenue opportunities. Cisco and Motorola are driving market growth and developing applications and value-added services to provide operators with innovative and competitive offerings for their subscriber base.
