Auckland, New Zealand, September 15, 2011 - Alcatel-Lucent, in conjunction with Telecom, today launched New Zealand’s first LTE Showcase – demonstrating next generation mobile broadband technology and applications that will change the way New Zealanders work, play and use mobiles.

Partners, customers, media and members of New Zealand’s innovation community will be hosted at the LTE Showcase at Telecom Place in Auckland during September and October. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the next generation mobile broadband standard, evolving seamlessly from existing 2G (GSM) and 3G (WCDMA) networks that are widely deployed across the world today.

“Put simply, LTE is blazingly fast mobile technology. It’s going to fuel our digital future by delivering a greater level of innovation, performance and communication. You hit send, it’s gone. You download, it’s there. LTE is that fast,” says Richard Fraser, Alcatel-Lucent’s VP of Solutions and Strategy for New Zealand and Pacific Islands.

With the rise of smartphones and boom in applications, operators around the world are facing a data explosion – global wireless data is expected to grow 30-fold during the next five years and this is driving a need for capacity and speed in the future.

LTE responds to these challenges offering super-fast speeds and low latency. This creates opportunities for enriched wireless broadband services – unlocking new revenue streams, innovating business models and creating competitive advantage.

Telecom Retail CEO, Alan Gourdie says, “We are closely following the evolution of mobile technology internationally, and looking at the many opportunities these new technologies bring. So we’re excited to be working with Alcatel-Lucent to deliver this showcase to demonstrate to New Zealanders what some of the applications over these technologies may look like.

“Our customers are already telling us that XT is the best network for smartphones in New Zealand, and recent independent testing showed XT out-performed the other NZ mobile networks in Auckland.

“We’re committed to giving our customers the best possible mobile experience and will ensure XT maintains its market-leading performance, and continue to be New Zealand’s smartphone network in the short-, medium- and long-term,” Mr Gourdie says.

The LTE Showcase features applications from ng Connect Program partners. Founded by Alcatel-Lucent, this is a unique alliance of global infrastructure, device, application and content companies working together to help develop next generation mobile services and applications. These solution concepts include: Connected Camera, Connected Video, Virtual Venue, Augmented Reality, Virtual Concierge, GameTime Media Table, Media Hot Spot and Next-generation signage.

One of the demonstrations has been created by development company Solta, New Zealand’s first ng Connect Program member. Its application ‘myreplay’ allows event attendees to view live footage of an event on their mobile device, with the ability to choose different camera angles, hear commentary and rewind as needed.

“These innovative solutions are just the start of a new generation of end user applications – fuelling a whole new world of innovation, performance and communication. This is just the start of what’s to come in the long-term future and it’s really exciting,” says Richard Fraser.

Alcatel-Lucent has established a strong LTE leadership position. It has been selected by 17 customers for commercial LTE deployments so far – including two of the world’s largest service providers and is involved in more than 70 trials worldwide.