14 DAY TRIAL // Alcatel-Lucent announced recently that it had managed to settle two deals with China Mobile and China Telecom, for a total value of US$1.7 billion. According to the agreements, Alcatel-Lucent will provide the two carriers with network upgrades, as well as with integration and maintenance services during the ongoing year. The company also announced that the new contracts were secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, the company's Chinese subsidiary.
The deal with China Mobile is valued at around US$1 billion and implies that Alcatel-Lucent will supply the carrier with GSM/EDGE solutions, TD-SCDMA wireless networking equipment, as well as optical, microwave and IP transmission offerings, IP service routers, application platforms and related services.
The agreement with China Telecom, which is valued at almost US$700 million, states that the company will support the deployment of the operator's 3G wireless broadband network by delivering 3G CDMA/EV-DO networking equipment, as well as its application platforms, optical and IP transmission platforms, IP service routers and network maintenance services.
“We are honoured to have been selected as a major provider of cutting-edge solutions for China Mobile and China Telecom. Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell is fully committed to supporting their rapid transformation to 3G, and their smooth evolution to LTE/4G in the future,” said Olivia Qiu, head of Alcatel-Lucent activities in East Asia and President of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell. “The agreements also set the stage for future collaboration with these customers on the ongoing improvement of their networks.”
Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell and Datang Mobile managed to secure at the end of 2008 the largest share in China Mobile's tender for the second phase of its TD-SCDMA mobile network trial. Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell was also selected back in 2008 for a US$230 million upgrade of China Telecom's CDMA mobile network. In addition to that, China Unicom, the third wireless carrier in the country, also selected Alcatel-Lucent for the deployment of its 3G W-CDMA networks in 14 Chinese provinces.