Alcatel-Lucent to Enhance T-Mobile's GSM Network

Alcatel-Lucent announced it has been awarded a contract by T-Mobile to enhance its GSM network with the latest generation of GSM/EDGE technology, drastically increasing its speed. The upgraded network will be operational by the end of 2007.

EDGE technology enables data rates of up to 220 kbit/s, and the upgrade will significantly increase GPRS data rates, offering data transmission rates of nearly four times that offered by ISDN. This deployment will enable T-Mobile to provide its German mobile subscribers with advanced multimedia services in all areas including expanding the availability of its "Web´n´Walk" mobile Internet service. The latest generation of base stations being deployed also will help T-Mobile reduce its operating costs.

"Our aim is to continue to offer the best quality of any available network, by additionally growing its performance and reliability," said Joachim Horn, CTO at T-Mobile International. "Thanks to the high speed of EDGE technology, T-Mobile will be the only operator in Germany to offer broadband mobile Internet access outside densely populated regions."

As part of the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will replace several thousands existing GSM base stations in T-Mobile's network with its latest 9100 Multi-standard Base Station product line. It will upgrade the existing base stations with EDGE capability and replace several hundred base station controllers with Alcatel-Lucent's latest Advanced-TCA based BSC. Alcatel-Lucent will be responsible for overall project management, including network integration, removing old equipment and installing the new equipment, and subcontractor management.

"This contract is the result of many years of faithful cooperation with T-Mobile, and we are proud to have been selected as the supplier," says Philippe Keryer, President of Alcatel-Lucent's GSM/W-CDMA/WiMAX activities. "We will devote all our efforts to delivering the best-in-class turnkey solution to T-Mobile to help it enhance the high quality of service it insists on providing its subscribers."