OJSC VimpelCom has chosen Alcatel-Lucent's technical solution to support the launch of new services for Beeline subscribers in the North-Western region of Russia based on femtocell technology. This solution extends VimpelCom’s 3G network coverage and capacity into buildings, office blocks and at high-traffic locations where signals provided by the nearest base station tend to be insufficient.

At present, the service is available to VimpelCom's enterprise customers (under the Beeline Business brand) in St. Petersburg. By the end of September 2011, it will become available to Business-to-Business customers of other branches of the company in the North-Western region.

Alexander Tikhonov, Head of Alcatel-Lucent’s business in CIS said, “Because of the wide demand for data applications, mobile networks are under increased pressure. Operators need to maximise the efficiency of their 3G networks to meet this demand and provide customer satisfaction while making the most of their investment. Alcatel-Lucent’s innovative technology such as our easy-to-deploy small cells product family allows us to help operators address these issues both now and in the future."

Under the agreement Alcatel-Lucent has provided VimpelCom with its end-to-end Femto-technology based 9360 Small Cell solution, including the 9361 Home Cell, the 9362 Enterprise Cell, the 9364 Metro Cell for outdoor environments and the 9366 Small Cell Gateway. Alcatel-Lucent is providing full deployment and integration services along with design, installation and commissioning, software integration and project management.

Maxim Vorobiev, CTO, North-West, OJSC VimpelCom, commented, “Femtocell technology helps to provide a high-quality mobile 3G signal, ensuring enough capacity for data services and off-loading from the macro-network. Thus, the technology can be easily used for significant improvement of data rates for a certain group of subscribers.”