14 DAY TRIAL // On Monday, October 6, T-Mobile and 3 UK signed through their joint venture company Mobile Broadband Network Ltd (MBNL) a five-year solution agreement with BT to provide high speed next generation connections.
BT will have to link and connect 7,500 base station sites in the consolidated 3G infrastructure that the MBNL already has in the UK. This will improve the 3G network coverage for both mobile operators, accelerating the delivery of high-speed bandwidth. The new contract will replace the original contracts that the two companies have previously signed with BT.
“We are now moving ahead with the large scale consolidation of cell sites with the objective of achieving scale and integrating quickly and smoothly. This agreement with BT will make sure backhaul is not a constraint now or in the future at a time when T-Mobile is experiencing strong growth in mobile broadband and other mobile data services. It will help ensure we continue to deliver a superior mobile broadband experience to our customers.” said Technology Director at T-Mobile UK, Emin Gurdenli.
MBNL's aim is to establish the most extensive 3G network in the UK by 2010, providing almost complete population coverage and increased in-building coverage.
Chief Technology Officer at 3 UK, Graham Baxter said, “This contract forms a vital element of our work to build the UK’s best mobile broadband network. Given the massive growth in the use of data on our network, the BT agreement brings us the scalability we will require in a critical element of the network consolidation.”
“The commitment from MBNL to expand upon our initial agreements with T-Mobile and 3 underlines the value our managed network services deliver to customers. BT now supports the base station connectivity requirements of four of the five mobile players in the UK market, bringing our economies of scale to a hugely important element of the communications marketplace,“ said Brian Fitzpatrick, managing director of BT Wholesale Markets.