Alcatel-Lucent and Corporacion Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CNT) announced the deployment of a new 3G mobile broadband network in Ecuador. This will enable CNT to be the first in the country to offer its customers ‘converged’ services that can be accessed from both fixed and mobile devices and the network will also be ‘LTE and lightRadio™-ready’, another first for Ecuador.

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will design and deploy a complete end-to-end 3G W-CDMA network in the Pacific coastal and Southern area of Ecuador. The company will also provide maintenance and network optimization services to help ensure a trouble-free network.

Osvaldo Di Campli, president of Alcatel-Lucent activities in Latin America, said: “Our leading 3G mobile broadband solution offers a great way to connect people with the information and services the Internet has to offer, and will improve the customers’ experience both with basic services like traditional voice calling and text, as well as with more advanced applications made possible by the network. Our extensive 3G experience and expertise, coupled with our longstanding relationship with CNT, puts us in an ideal position to help CNT deliver competitive, efficient and high-performance wireless services to Ecuadorians.”

Cesar Regalado, CNT EP general manager, said that CNT’s decision to deploy its own network was based on market needs, technology trends and a commitment to offer competitive services to Ecuadorians. He commented, “Based on this platform, we will deliver differentiated voice, value added and mobile broadband Internet services. Additionally, we’ll offer converged packages from our fixed and mobile networks providing our customers with a wide array of options. This network will support the new services portfolio from our commercial plans.”