Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that it has been selected by China Unicom, a leading fixed and mobile service provider in China, to deploy 3G W-CDMA networks in 14 Chinese provinces. This major contract, secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell (ASB), Alcatel-Lucent’s flagship company in China, will enable the operator to provide its end users with new, advanced 3G mobile services including media streaming, ring back tones, video sharing and high-speed internet access.
Initial network deployments in the cities of Tianjin, Baoding, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Guiyang and Guilin are expected to be completed in May, 2009.
Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will provide its end-to-end industry-leading and future proof 3G/W-CDMA solutions, including about 11000 Node B (Base stations), Home Location Register (HLR) data base system as well network maintenance and optimization in 14 provinces -- Hebei, Fujian Guangxi, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Guangdong, Hunan, Shandong and Xinjiang.
By achieving a strategic breakthrough in the four provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, and Jiangsu, Alcatel-Lucent has substantially expanded its position with China Unicom, adding 4 new 3G markets in addition to its existing 2G GSM base.
All the equipments supplied are ready to sustain the rapid increase of voice and data traffic and to smoothly evolve towards 3G/HSPA+ and 4G/LTE. Thanks to Alcatel-Lucent's multi-standard radio access solutions China Unicom will be able to significantly reduce the total cost of ownership of its networks. Furthermore, Alcatel-Lucent’s converged radio access solution will help China Unicom evolve rapidly from 2G to 3G networks and offer new generation services.
“China Unicom’s selection of our solutions in 14 provinces further highlights Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in the W-CDMA market”, said Olivia Qiu, head of Alcatel-Lucent in East Asia and President of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell. “Alcatel-Lucent is committed to partner with China Unicom and worldwide operators to deploy leading-edge next generation networks enabling advanced multimedia and Web services.”
With 56 commercial networks worldwide in 37 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a leading player in the W-CDMA infrastructure market. Known for its excellent reliability and quality, Alcatel-Lucent serves one out of every four networks worldwide, covering all regions and deployed in a wide variety of markets. The company is also a world leader in the provision of sophisticated project management, consulting and design services, applications and software integration and the design, deployment and maintenance of next-generation networks.
