LONDON, UK - November 28, 2002 - Cisco Systems today announced that it has been chosen by mm02 as its preferred supplier for the delivery of its IP networking requirements. mm02, a leading provider of advanced mobile data services and products in Western Europe, has been working with Cisco over the last four years developing its IP infrastructure. The formalisation of this relationship will ensure that mm02 continues to develop a coherent IP network that allows consistent delivery of new mobile data services throughout Europe.
Continued evolution of its IP backbone is central to mm02's ability to remain competitive. Cisco's IP infrastructure is key to the development of new revenue generating mobile data services throughout Europe. Through the implementation of a standardised architecture in each of its operating businesses, mm02 will make distinct cost and time savings in the introduction of new services, using a 'design once, deploy anywhere' approach.
"Cisco's unmatched expertise in IP enabling technologies will allow us to deliver the next generation of revenue generating services more quickly to market," said Dave Booth, vice president technology planning, mmO2. "It is this that will differentiate us from our competition as we move forward. We also expect to save on operating expenses due to the consolidation of some of our existing networks onto a single IP core."
This formalisation of the mm02 and Cisco relationship comes after four years of collaboration, during which mm02 developed a premier network architecture for mobile data services. mm02's existing infrastructure incorporates a series of Cisco products including the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series to deliver secure converged network services; the Cisco 7200 Universal Compact Router to address performance and service requirements; and Cisco's MGX8800 for aggregation in the radio network. All of these technologies currently underpin all of mm02's mobile data services, including GPRS.
"Cisco is delighted to enhance its relationship with mmO2," commented Massimo Migliuolo, vice president of mobile sales worldwide, Cisco Systems. "This agreement represents a milestone for our two companies - one that will lead to the new world of advanced multimedia mobile data applications. Cisco's technology will enable many new applications to be launched due to the advanced features that our products deliver."
About mm02
mm02 has 100% ownership of mobile network operators in four countries: the UK , Germany , the Netherlands , and Ireland - as well as a leading internet portal business. All of these businesses are branded as O2. Additionally the company has operations on the Isle of Man (Manx Telecom).
mm02 was the first company in the world to launch and rollout a commerical GPRS (or 2.5G) network and has secured third generation mobile telephony ("3G") licences in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland.
mm02 has approximately 18.3 million customers and some 13,500 employees, with revenues for the year ended 31 March 2002 of #4.276 billion. Data represented 15.6% of total service revenues in the quarter ending 30 September 2002.
