Orange snubs mobile giants for UK startup

UK mobile operator Orange has recruited a Cambridge-based startup to develop devices for accessing its high-speed wireless data services.

Orange has chosen Ubinetics, a subsidiary of PA Consulting, in a multi-million dollar deal to develop products supporting two emerging systems: high speed circuit switched data (HSCSD) and general packet radio services (GPRS).

Both systems are a way of making fast data transfers to mobile devices. Orange is the only UK operator offering HSCSD, which increases mobile data rates from 9.6Kbps to 28.8Kbps. All four networks plan to roll out GPRS.

Ubinetics will develop a dual mode HSCSD/GPRS wireless modem, which will support mobile data rates of up to 57.6Kbps. Other products will include a range of clip-on modem devices for personal digital assistants (PDAs) and embedded modules based on the technologies.

The fact Orange has partnered with a relative unknown in the telecoms field, instead of giants such as Nokia, Ericsson or Motorola, is surprising. Orange announced last year that its HSCSD PC card would be manufactured by Nokia. But the product is still not widely available. Moreover, this is the second time that Nokia has been slow delivering products for Orange. Last year, the Nokia 7110e Wap phone reached the market several months after Orange had wanted.

Orange refuted suggestions that it has joined forces with Ubinetics because of Nokia's poor recent track record. A spokesman for Orange admitted that Nokia had been slow to deliver its HSCSD terminals, but said this was not the reason it had chosen Ubinetics.

"We work with the companies that deliver the best solutions. Nokia has been slow to ship our first HSCSD products, but we will still be working with Nokia on other devices," said the spokesman.

But Nokia is clearly out of favour with the UK operator. Earlier this year, Orange announced that it has chosen Ericsson to provide equipment for its GPRS service, rather than Nokia, which supplies for the rest of its GSM network.

It is widely expected that Orange's HSCSD service will be quickly replaced by packet-based GPRS. Researcher Durlacher predicts the opportunity window for the technology to be limited as GPRS services come into operation by the end of this year.