FCC, UL certifications make Nortel's PCS 1900 first commercially available PCS network equipment in US

June 6, 1995

WASHINGTON - Northern Telecom (Nortel) is the first manufacturer to obtain full certification of 1.9 GHz Personal Communications Services (PCS) network equipment from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the company announced today.

Nortel's PCS 1900 radio base station equipment is now certified as compliant with Part 15, Part 24, and Part 68 of FCC rules governing operation of radio frequency (RF) equipment - a requirement for commercial sale in the US.

UL has also listed Nortel's PCS 1900 radio equipment as fully compliant under UL 1950 - "Safety of Information Technology Equipment, Including Electrical Business Equipment."

"With FCC and UL certification, Nortel is rapidly moving PCS in the US from experimental status to commercial reality," said David Twyver, president, Wireless Networks, Nortel.

Personal Communications Services, operating in the new 1.9 GHz radio spectrum recently allocated by the FCC, are expected to stimulate continued, rapid growth in subscriber demand for mobile voice, data, facsimile, and messaging capabilities by offering these and other new services to business and residential users at lower cost than today's cellular telephone service.

"Consumers are telling us in record numbers... they want the convenience, security, and productivity of mobile communications," Twyver said. "We're ramping up our new PCS radio manufacturing facility in Raleigh, North Carolina to meet the tremendous demand for networks to provide these services."

"The emerging PCS industry in the US is a good news story for consumers and for the economy," said congressman David Funderburk (R-NC).

"It promises not only new services and greater availability for a broader range of users, but also new job creation by service providers, and by manufacturers like Nortel," Funderburk said. "I'm pleased to see this new industry emerging at such a rapid pace, and particularly gratified to see the positive impact it's having on the State of North Carolina."

Nortel is one of the world's most broadly diversified developers of communications products, systems, and networks in three key market segments - Enterprise Networks, Wireless Networks, and Carrier Networks (switching, broadband, and network applications solutions). Nortel provides equipment, services, and network solutions for information, entertainment, and communications networks operated by telephone companies, personal and mobile telecommunications companies, cable TV companies, corporations, governments, universities, and other institutions worldwide.

Nortel had 1994 revenues of $US 8.9 billion, and employs approximately 57,000 people worldwide.