NEC Supports O2's Metropolitan 4G Trials

NEC Supports O2's Metropolitan 4G Trials

*** For immediate use December 16, 2011

Tokyo and London, December 16, 2011 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) announced today that it is providing O2 with its flagship microwave backhaul solution, iPASOLINK, in the United Kingdom's largest trial of next generation network LTE (Long-Term Evolution) or 4G.

The modular, flexible, all-in-one converged design of the iPASOLINK incorporates packet, mi-crowave and optical technologies capable of large capacity delivery of gigabits-per-second throughputs. It ensures network operators can deploy high-performance, next-generation net-works including 4G LTE.

In this trial, iPASOLINK supplies a resilient transmission link to LTE sites across London. It supports high-definition streaming video and ultra high-speed data file transfer for a wide range of purposes, including business and entertainment.

"LTE requires high performance and flexibly accessed links. iPASOLINK is helping to ensure a successful trial that will open the door to the next generation of mobile services," said Rob Joyce, Head of LTE for O2.

"We are proud of the role iPASOLINK plays in this trial of next generation mobile networks," said Gary Dodd, head of Transport Networks, NEC Europe Ltd. "This highly evaluated series has already been widely adopted since its launch in September 2010, recently surpassing 125,000 shipments to nearly 119 operators across 63 countries within one year."

Since the launch of PASOLINK in the early 1980s, it has led the industry in high-quality network provision. Today, it continues to lead the way by leveraging NEC's understanding of the evolving requirements and challenges faced by mobile operators. Approximately 1.7 mil-lion PASOLINK microwave communications systems for mobile backhaul have shipped throughout 145 countries.

For more information, visit http://www.nec.com/global/prod/nw/pasolink/

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About O2

• Telefónica UK Limited is a leading communications company for consumers and busi-nesses in the UK, with over 22 million mobile customers and over 700,000 fixed broad-band customers, as at 30 June 2011.
• Telefónica UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc, a business division of Telefónica S.A. which uses O2 as its commercial brand in the UK, Ireland, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic, and has 57.3 million customers across these markets.
• O2 is the naming rights partner of The O2, the world-class entertainment venue.
• O2 employs around 11,000 people in the UK and has 450 retail stores.
• In October 2010 O2 was voted the UK's best mobile network by the readers of both What Mobile and Mobile Choice magazine.
• O2 was ranked highest in customer satisfaction for both UK mobile and fixed broadband customers according to the J.D. Power and Associates UK Mobile and Fixed Broadband Studies 2010.
• O2's UK 2G mobile network provides voice and data services which are available to 99% of the UK's population.
• O2's UK 3G (HSPA+ 900 / 2100 MHz) network currently provides voice and high speed data services of up to 14.4Mbps (21Mbps in the coming months) which are available to over 84% of the UK population.
• O2 was the first UK operator to deploy a 4G/LTE trial network which has demonstrated peak speeds of over 100Mbps to a mobile device.
• Telefónica Europe also owns 50% of Tesco Mobile, which operates in the UK and Ireland, and 50% of Tchibo Mobilfunk in Germany.

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. (C)2011 NEC Corporation.

NEC Press Contacts

Akiko Shikimori
NEC Corporation
+81-(0)3-3798-6511
E-Mail：a-shikimori@ay.jp.nec.com

Shinya Hashizume
NEC Europe
+44-(0)20-8752-2796

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