Solaris Mobile Announce Corporate Partnership with Europcar

DUBLIN--Solaris Mobile Ltd, the Dublin based operator of new hybrid satellite and terrestrial wireless networks across Europe today announced a major new partnership with Europcar.

“The partnership with Europcar gives Solaris Mobile the opportunity to showcase the potential of delivering next generation broadband and broadcast services to people on the move. Solaris Mobile’s new hybrid network enables video, data downloads and ubiquitous voice services, services which have previously only been available to fixed line services”

The new corporate partnership is another in the long list of Pan-European businesses that are now working with the Irish company to evolve broadband services and develop superior quality mobile television, radio and broadband services.

Yet again at the forefront of innovation both in terms of technology and new services made available to their customers, Europcar will showcase next generation communication services installed by Solaris Mobile in a small selection of cars in Paris. In a first instance, Europcar will be equipping a handful of cars with TV and radio services either via devices located in the vehicles or directly in the embedded car multimedia systems. In addition, Europcar vehicles currently driven by Solaris Mobile employees have also been equipped with the system.

Commenting on the announcement of the partnership, Steve Maine, CEO, Solaris Mobile, said; “The partnership with Europcar gives Solaris Mobile the opportunity to showcase the potential of delivering next generation broadband and broadcast services to people on the move. Solaris Mobile’s new hybrid network enables video, data downloads and ubiquitous voice services, services which have previously only been available to fixed line services”.

Eric de Saint-Louvent, Director of Sales & Marketing Europcar France added: “Europcar as N°1 Car Rental Company is always looking for ways to innovate its product offering and improve its customer rental experience. This partnership with Solaris is a perfect opportunity for Europcar to be at the forefront of technology, and trial these new services for & with our customers”.

A demonstration of the newly equipped cars and their communication capabilities will be available at the Solaris Mobile stand in The App Planet, Hall 7, Stand 7G4 at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (Barcelona, 15-18 February 2010.

Solaris Mobile, a joint venture between Eutelsat and SES-Astra was set up in 2008 to develop next generation mobile communication services. The company intends to deploy a hybrid satellite and terrestrial network enabling the provision of mobile television, radio and data channels as well as broadband and voice communication services to be delivered to mobile phones, portable terminals and in-vehicle devices.

In May 2009, the European Commission awarded Solaris Mobile the right to operate satellite & terrestrial services in S-Band in all 27 EU member states. S-Band is spectrum residing in the 2GHz band and is adjacent to UMTS used by mobile 3G operators.

At present, Solaris Mobile is carrying out trials in Paris, demonstrating the broadcast of TV and radio services to phones, other handheld devices and cars – across the city and surrounding areas.

For more information log onto www.solarismobile.com