Tokyo, January 17, 2008 - NEC Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation
have signed a framework contract with Italian mobile phone operator
Wind for the supply of NEC's advanced point-to-point wireless access
systems, PASOLINK NEO(R).
Italy has a prime mobile phone market, boasting a total of 80.3
million mobile customers, with market penetration of 136%. Wind is
one of the leading fixed-line, mobile and internet operators in this
market, with more than 15 million mobile customers and more than 18%
market share.
One of the advantageous features of NEC's PASOLINK NEO, as compared
with other wireless access systems, is its ability to handle different
transmission speeds and interfaces with the same platform. This
flexibility allows easier and more cost efficient expansion of
networks when operators need to increase capacity. Furthermore, NEC's
ability to carry out full development, from purchasing of raw
materials to mass production, ensures a highly reliable system of
superior quality, which achieves an average failure rate of less than
once every hundred years.
"NEC's virtually fail-safe class of reliability is why carriers
worldwide are choosing NEC as their supplier of choice for wireless
access systems," said Mr. Raffaele Brevetti, President and CEO,
NEC Italia S.r.l. "NEC and Sumitomo have won this framework contract
as a result of the positive reaction of current PASOLINK(R) customers.
" "NEC has been chosen by Wind, based on the quality and resilience
of the equipment, and we are looking forward to a successful
implementation," said Mr. Philip Tohme, Chief Technology Officer, Wind
Telecomunicazioni S.p.a.
NEC was recently named the leading microwave communication-system
company by industry analysts (1) with a global market share of 31% in
the third quarter of the CY2007.
With the accelerating global expansion of mobile subscribers and
mobile internet services, demand for microwave communication systems
is expected to see substantial growth, as these systems enable quick
installation of telecommunication infrastructure. The rapid growth of
NEC's PASOLINK business can be attributed to NEC's long-standing
experience, competence, advanced and high-quality technologies, and
its leading position in the global microwave communication systems
market.
NEC will continue to drive its advantageous position in the mobile and
wireless communication systems market to expand its growth and
business operations worldwide.
PASOLINK is a trademark of NEC Corporation.
(1) Source: Sky Light Research
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of Internet,
broadband network and enterprise business solutions dedicated to
meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of
customers. NEC delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of
computer, networking and electron devices, by integrating its
technical strengths in IT and Networks, and by providing advanced
semiconductor solutions through NEC Electronics Corporation.
The NEC Group employs more than 150,000 people worldwide. For addition
al information,
please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com
Newsroom: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/
About Sumitomo Corporation
Through its worldwide network, the Sumitomo Corporation Group
engages in diverse business activities. These include various domestic
and overseas transactions and import and export of a wide range of
goods and commodities, and also providing a wide range of services and
investing, in the fields of, such as metals, transportation and
construction systems, machinery and electricity, media, electronics
and network, chemicals, mineral resources and energy, consumer goods
and services, materials and real estate, and finance and logistics.
http://www.sumitomocorp.co.jp/english/index.htm
About Wind
Established in 1997, Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA is one of the few
European telecom operators to offer integrated fixed, mobile and
Internet services. In Italy, Wind is the third-largest mobile operator,
with a market share of more than 18% and more than 15 million
customers. It is the leading alternative operator in fixed-line
services. Libero.it is the top Italian web portal. http://www.wind.it