Press Release

Wiener Neustadt is the Orange Future Town

- Orange makes Wiener Neustadt the testing location for the latest mobile communications technology 
- Transmission rates of up to 42 megabit per second soon in live operation
- “All IP“ for even more efficient use of capacities

Wiener Neustadt gets one of the best mobile communications connections in Austria. “Effective immediately Wiener Neustadt is the Austrian testing location for the latest Orange technologies, which enable even better quality, faster data transmission as well as new offers“, explains Orange CEO Michael Krammer.

42 megabit per second shortly available in live operation
A live operation with data transmission rates of 14 megabit per second downloading and 5.8 mbit/s uploading has been running for almost four weeks already. In September Orange will upgrade the Wiener Neustadt network 21 mbit/s. To double the bandwidth once more (42 mbit/s downloading, 12 mbit/s uploading) is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. Transmission rates of 80-160 mbit/s will follow in the coming years.

In addition, in Wiener Neustadt for the first time in Austria a dynamic “All IP“ network is being used enabling an even more efficient use of capacities. While the capacities are always reserved in the old TDM network even if no data are transmitted, in the “All IP“ network capacities are only reserved when required. If no capacity is required, it is at the disposal of other base stations. “All IP“ will be gradually rolled out in autumn in the entire Orange network.
“While others demonstrate future technologies in lab environments, we show within the live network what is currently reality and will shortly be available in the entire Orange network“, says Orange CTO Elmar Grasser. “Innovation for the sake of innovation does not make sense. Orange comes up with innovations which are relevant for the customer and enhance quality.“

Strenthening the region
„With its launch in 2008 Orange already decided not only to further promote mobile broadband roll-out in the Austrian capital, but also its regions. For this reason we were looking all over Austria to find the perfect location for our Future Town. We opted for Wiener Neustadt because the city is one of the most up and coming economic and educational locations of the country“, emphasizes CEO Krammer.

“Above all the Technical College, the RIZ and the technology centre as well as numerous high-tech companies are our figureheads. As trend setting location in mobile communications Wiener Neustadt further underscores its position as technology capital of Lower Austria“, says the Mayor of Wiener Neustadt Bernhard Müller. The Technical College of Wiener Neustadt is also a valuable partner for mobile communications tests. Orange and the Technical College mutually benefit. “The importance of the education center is thus also enhanced“, says Mayor Müller.

“Owing to the active technology policy pursued by the province of Lower Austria, Wiener Neustadt has developed from a traditional industrial city to an internationally recognised economic and research location. By establishing the technopoly of Wiener Neustadt the perfect environment for technology-oriented companies has been created. In the Technology and Research Centre alone 32 million euros have been invested. We are delighted that Wiener Neustadt is now also being turned into a model location for mobile communications“, explained the Chairman of the People’s Party of Lower Austria, Klaus Schneeberger.

Orange is an important employer in the region. Since 2001 the company has been operating a second Customer Care Centre in Wiener Neustadt. About one hundred employees take care of approximately 3,000 customer requests a day. Twelve Orange shops in Lower Austria offer sales and service for customers. A total of 320,000 people in Lower Austria make their mobile calls with Orange, 10 percent more than compared to the same period last year.