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Carnival Cruise Lines Fleetwide Cell Phone Implementation Continues
with LGC Wireless
Three Ships Already Equipped for Cell Phone Service;
Balance of Fleet to be Completed by Early 2007
SAN JOSE, CA, September , 2006—LGC Wireless, the leader
in advanced in-building wireless systems, today announced that
its InterReach™ Unison systems have been installed on three
Carnival Cruise Lines ships as part of the line’s fleetwide
implementation of cell phone service. The installation is on schedule
and will continue at a rate of three ships per month with all 21
ships in the Carnival fleet expected to be completed by early 2007.
Deployments are handled by Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) and
have already been completed on the line’s Carnival Conquest,
Carnival Triumph, and Imagination.
“Cell phone service is just the latest convenient, high-tech
service we’re providing guests sailing aboard the ‘Fun
Ships.’ Guest response to cell phone service has been exceptional
on the three ships already equipped with the technology and we
are looking forward to the fleetwide deployment early next year,” said
Bob Woodry, Carnival’s vice president – hotel commerce. “WMS
and LGC Wireless have given us a state-of-the-art solution that
offers outstanding performance and convenience for our guests.”
The LGC Wireless system supports both CDMA and GSM-based cellular
phone services, allowing the vast majority of the world’s
cellular users to send and receive calls, e-mail, and other services
on their phones while aboard cruise ships. In fact, the CDMA coverage
allows passengers to make and receive calls during cruises throughout
Europe, Asia and other GSM-dominant parts of the world where they
would otherwise have no coverage at all.
A joint venture of Cingular Wireless and Maritime Communications
Network, WMS offers cost-effective roaming coverage for most of
the world’s cellular providers. Carnival and WMS are now
working on plans to upgrade the cellular systems to support higher-speed
EV-DO services sometime next year.
“LGC Wireless provides us with great support in our rollouts
for Carnival Cruise Lines and many other cruise operators,” said
Rob Marjerison, vice president of deployment at WMS. “The
Unison system is easier and more cost-effective to deploy and delivers
better performance than the other systems we considered.”
LGC’s Unison distributed antenna system reduces installation
and operational costs with an active, dual-star architecture that
offers full end-to-end management over standard fiber and Cat 5
cabling. Thanks to its active electronics, the system delivers
consistently high signal strength with low noise at every antenna
point.
“Cellular coverage at sea is a winning proposition for cruise
line operators, wireless carriers, and cellular phone users,” said
John Spindler, vice president of marketing at LGC Wireless. “We
are delighted to be providing this convenience for Carnival Cruise
Lines passengers.”
About Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc
(NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is the largest and most popular cruise
line in the world, with 21 "Fun Ships" operating voyages
ranging from three to 16 days in length to the Bahamas, Caribbean,
Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, New England, Canada, Bermuda, Europe and
the Greek Isles.
The line currently has three new ships on order – the 110,000-ton
Carnival Freedom, scheduled for delivery in February 2007, the
112,000-ton Carnival Splendor, slated to enter service in spring
2008, and an as-yet-unnamed 130,000-ton SuperLiner – to be
the largest "Fun Ship" ever constructed – set to
debut in fall 2009. For additional information on Carnival’s “Fun
Ship” vacations, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL
or visit carnival.com.
About Wireless Maritime Services
Wireless Maritime Services, LLC, (WMS) a joint venture of New
Cingular Wireless Services, Inc. and Maritime Telecommunications
Network, Inc. is the largest maritime cellular service provider
in the world. WMS currently provides service for 8 cruise lines
including Carnival Cruise Lines. WMS has roaming agreements in
place with over 300 carriers in over 180 countries internationally,
and delivers both GSM and CDMA roaming capability to the cruise
industry. For more information on WMS and its services, please
visit the www.cellularatsea.com website.
About LGC Wireless
With more than 5,500 deployments worldwide, LGC Wireless is the
leader in extending scalable, high-performance wireless coverage
inside buildings and public facilities. LGC's products offer low-cost
installation, end-to-end monitoring and management, and easy integration
of emerging wireless technologies. LGC Wireless is based in San
Jose, California USA and is privately held. For more information,
please visit www.lgcwireless.com.
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