During the Shanghai Unicom EGPRS Data Service Press Conference, Shanghai Unicom promised a broad group of new services.

"EGPRS will bring new and exciting, high quality services to end-users, in particular higher bandwidth services," said Zhang Jian, General Manager, Shanghai Unicom. "With Nokia's advanced EGPRS solutions and the optimization experience of both companies, we can also bring higher capacity to the network, better utilize our network resources, and reduce operation costs."

A range of advanced data services based on Nokia's EGPRS solution, including Near Field Communication (NFC), push email, vCard, and WAP browsing, were demonstrated at the event. It marks China Unicom's first public EGPRS service demonstration.

Nokia's EGPRS solutions, which include its advanced core and radio network system equipments, will provide a platform to enhance Shanghai Unicom's data services and drive business innovation. Nokia's EGPRS enabled S60 mobile devices Nokia N91, Nokia N70, Nokia E61, Nokia 3250, and Nokia 3220 were used in the public demonstration, providing an enhanced experience of voice and data services.

EGPRS is a form of Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE) which enables data connections at a speed up to 474 kbps. EGPRS opens up a lot of possibilities for connecting to data networks on mobile phones, making it faster and more convenient to stream video and download larger files. With Nokia's EGPRS solutions, Shanghai Unicom will be able to offer a broader range of innovative data services to its subscribers.