10th November 2004 - Alcatel today announced the
inauguration of its latest born 3G Reality Centre
(3GRC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Brazilian 3G
Reality Centre, powered by Alcatel's industry-leading
Evolium? global mobile solution, will nurture local
apprenticeship and research for innovative 2.5G and
3G end-to-end multimedia solutions, using a fully
open infrastructure independent of technology standards
and based on attractive local content for Latin American
end-users.
This unique facility is part of Alcatel's worldwide
program which offers to operators, content and service
providers as well as terminals manufacturers a live
business environment for service innovation, dedicated
to the development, validation, testing and demonstration
of exciting next generation mobile applications and
services.
Services displayed at Rio's 3GRC focus on audio/video,
messaging and payment, and include such services as
watching your favorite soccer team goals or movie
trailers premières, selecting and booking your hotel,
playing interactively with worldwide players, setting
up a dinner while making reservation in your favorite
restaurant, as well as accessing local street maps
for guidance.
As video streaming is one of the services with higher
growth potential to enrich the end-user experience,
Alcatel has extended to Brazil its partnership with
Universal Mobile, a subsidiary of Universal Music
International responsible for mobile telephony entertainment
services. At Rio's 3GRC, both companies develop a
set of personalized multimedia applications by combining
Alcatel's platform with Universal's content and expertise
for services creation and management.
The music service called Personalized Ring Back Tone
(PRBT) is another new solution available for the Latin
American market and showcased at Alcatel's 3GRC in
Rio.A Personalised RingBack Tone subscriber will be
able to personalize the usual mechanical ring back
tone heard until the call is connected, by selected
music tracks, sound effects or personal messages.
Universal Mobile also offers the best of its content
repertoire for Ring Back Tone application all over
Latin America, with musics and messages in English,
Portuguese and Spanish. In Rio de Janeiro, Alcatel
makes available for all its partners MMS, SMS, WAP
and video platforms for the demonstration and development
of innovative solutions.
Furthermore, forecasting the future of multimedia
mobile services in Latin America, Rio's 3GRC will
also be able to showcase services such as video calls
and videoconference that require higher transmission
speeds. Rio's 3GRC is connected to other centers spread
all over the world
"Until today, operators drew the largest part of
their revenues from network traffic. By opening a
3G Reality Center in Latin America, Alcatel's proposal
is to offer an integration and partnership environment
that broadens our clients' perspective, supporting
their marketing plans for more diversified and flexible
service packages, focused on specific market demands",
analyses Jonio Foigel, President of Alcatel in Brazil.
"For the next years, mobile telephony market growth
will depend on multimedia services development that
generates revenues for all partners. The 3G Reality
Center in Latin America has its doors opened for partners
and operators who want to establish differentials
in their offers to end-users, optimizing at the maximum
the investments made on infrastructure", says Thomas
Labarthe, Alcatel's mobile applications director for
Latin America.
