Nokia, the world's largest cell phone manufacturer has carried out the first WCDMA/HSDPA data call on the 900 MHz band of Finnish telecom operator Elisa on Monday.

The call demonstrates a new possibility of enhancing existing WDCDMA 3G networks by utilizing the 900 MHz spectrum. Signals traveling at this frequency can provide 2-4 times larger coverage area than the most commonly used 2 GHz band, reducing network deployment costs significantly especially in the rural areas.

Building rural 3G coverage in a cost-efficient way is very important for us, and offering our customers HSPA services at 900 MHz band is an interesting possibility to complement our existing HSPA services at 2100 MHz, said says Matti Vikkula, Executive Vice President, at Elisa Corporation.

Nokia supported Elisa in launching the first HSDPA network in the Nordic Countries in April 2006.