Microwave Journal
www.microwavejournal.com/articles/7323-alcatel-lucent-upgrades-china-telecom-s-cdma-network

Alcatel-Lucent Upgrades China Telecom’s CDMA Network

December 9, 2008

Alcatel-Lucent has been selected by China Telecom to provide an end-to-end communication solution and increase the capacity and coverage of its mobile voice and data network throughout the country. The contract was secured through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent’s Chinese flagship company.

With this $230 M contract, Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide its end-to-end CDMA wireless networking solutions for China Telecom in 56 cities of nine provinces in China. The deployment is currently underway and the expanded network will begin providing commercial services by the end of 2008.

For the deployment, Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide a robust infrastructure incorporating a range of base stations designed to fit a wide variety of deployment scenarios, from those designed to serve usage-heavy urban areas to those suited to providing coverage in more rural areas where populations are more dispersed. These bases stations all use many common hardware and software elements, allowing for easier maintenance and lower operating costs, and can be readily upgraded to support 3G services in the future.

Olivia Qiu, president of Alcatel Shanghai Bell, said, “This agreement builds on our longstanding collaboration with China Telecom and our commitment to ensure that they have a state-of-the-art network that supports their business goals and strategy. The agreement with China Telecom further confirms Alcatel-Lucent’s leading position in the CDMA market in China and worldwide.”