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NEWS
BT wireless' Expidas Officially
Opens its First Facility at Ealing Studios
(August 06, 2001)
Expidas supported by Ericsson, Lucent Technologies,
Marconi, Motorola and Nokia
Expidas, BT wireless' innovative initiative for developers officially opened its
London based satellite operation at Ealing Studios today. Expidas enables
developers to launch their applications on BT wireless' 2G, 2.5G and 3G
networks, across the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands and Germany.
Bob Cummings, new wireless ventures manager at BT wireless said "Ealing
Studios have historically seen many great creative projects come to fruition,
and are now being transformed into an exciting new digital media centre/next
generation studio. This location lends itself to the buzz and ingenuity of these
pioneering developers and we are delighted to be at the heart of this
community."
'Developer pods' are at the crux of the new Expidas site. They provide
developers with the tools necessary to test and integrate their applications in
a considerably reduced timeframe. Developers are supported by technical and
commercial teams, based at Ealing, who have the power to quickly make, and act
upon testing, marketing and launch decisions.
The Ealing Studios site will be supported by a 'technical hub' at Marlow, which
replicates 2G, 2.5G and (in time) 3G networks. The technical hub will allow
applications to be optimised, integrated and hosted in a live environment and
will also be used to trial new service platforms.
Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Marconi, Motorola and Nokia are supporting
Expidas by contributing the infrastructure for the technical hub. BT wireless
has established a partnership with each of these companies and will look to
maximise their individual portfolio of applications and their extended community
of third party application developers through Expidas.
Ealing is the first of many planned BT wireless and partner 'satellite'
application development centres linked to the technical hub.
John Waterfield, head of applications platforms at BT wireless said: "Expidas,
by virtue of its two physical locations, facilitates the opportunity to deliver
new wireless products and services in unprecedented timescales. The technical
hub, a live but isolated environment, will support numerous development
facilities. Ealing Studios is the first example of such a site."
Notes for Editors
Read on for more information about the agreements, the parties involved and
their comments.
Expidas
Expidas is a means for wireless application developers to develop their products
on 2G, 2.5G and (in time) 3G networks, and reach BT wireless customers.
Successful developers will gain access to dedicated facilities at Ealing Studios
in west London, and a technical and commercial team to help get their product
through testing and integration and possibly to commercial launch. Developers
should register their details on the Expidas web site to start the process; this
information could also be shared with Venture Capitalist companies, looking for
funding opportunities. The web site also contains technical data, white papers
and information on training, consultancy and testing connection to GPRS.
www.expidas.com
BT wireless
BT wireless has a European footprint of wholly owned operations in the UK,
Germany (Viag Interkom), The Netherlands (Telfort), The Republic of Ireland (Esat
Digifone), and the Isle of Man (Manx Telecom). BT wireless also includes Genie,
which is one of Europe's leading mobile Internet portals. BT wireless owns third
generation licences to operate 3G mobile services in the UK, Germany and The
Netherlands - all territories where it has already launched GPRS services. The
company expects to apply for a 3G licence in Ireland where the application
process is expected to commence shortly. BT announced on May 10 that it intends
to de-merge BT wireless before the end of this year.
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios, Britain's oldest and most famous film studio, is being rebuilt
as a next-generation studio for traditional film and television, and cutting
edge digital companies. Key to the development is the provision of a state of
the art technology infrastructure and high-speed connectivity, tailored to the
needs of digital media.
Ealing Studios was bought in 2000 by the principals of Fragile Films, The Idea
Factory and The Manhattan Loft Corporation. Under its new management Ealing
Studios is again becoming a production studio, as it was under Michael Balcon in
the 1950s. It will revive its history of film-making with 'The Importance of
Being Earnest', the first production to be made under the Ealing banner since
1959. www.ealingstudios.com
Sean Hinton, Managing Director Ealing Studios, said: "We are delighted to
welcome BT wireless into the Ealing Studios community. The presence of tenants
such as Project Expidas will help us develop a new and unique community of
talent at Ealing Studios, bringing together a variety of disciplines from both
traditional film and television as well as cutting edge media and digital
companies."
Ericsson
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications
through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in
more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful
communication companies in the world. Read more at www.ericsson.com/press
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and
delivers the systems, software and services for next-generation communications
networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and
development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as broadband
and mobile Internet infrastructure; communications software; Web-based
enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional
consulting services.
Lucent Technologies is supporting Project Expidas by contributing an ORiNOCO(TM)
Wireless infrastructure for the development centre hub at Ealing. The
infrastructure will provide technical staff with a secure wireless connection to
their network facilities and enable mobile access across the site.
Marconi plc
Marconi plc is a global company with over 50,000 employees. Marconi has research
and development facilities in 19 countries, manufacturing operations in 16
countries, and serves customers in over 100 countries. It delivers innovative
communications solutions which transform the economics of doing business, for
Networks, Wireless and Enterprise customers. Marconi plc is listed on the London
Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol MONI. Additional information about
Marconi can be found at www.marconi.com.
Marconi is supporting Project Expidas by contributing the underlying
infrastructure supporting the technical hub and interconnect networks.
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated
communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2000 were $37.6
billion. For more information on Motorola, visit www.motorola.com. Under this
agreement, Motorola is supporting Project Expidas by providing BT wireless with
a full GPRS network that replicates the BT Cellnet, Motorola/Cisco supplied
commercial network.
Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience,
innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the
leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP
networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for
companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly
held company with listings on six major exchanges.