Alcatel providing EDGE network for Samara

Alcatel  today announced  the  signature  of  a  contract  with SMARTS, a leading regional mobile  operator  in  Russia,  for the deployment of an EDGE (Enhanced Data rate  for GSM Evolution) network throughout the city of Samara, a city with over one million inhabitants in the Russian Federation

Under  the terms of the contract, Alcatel will EDGE-enable the Evolium 900 and  1800  MHz  base  stations  already installed in the operator’s network using  the multi-standard  GSM/EDGE/WCDMA capability of its industry leading
Evolium  solution. The  EDGE technology, embedded in the Alcatel Evolium radio  access solution and already installed in the SMARTS network, will be deployed  thanks to a simple software activation. Alcatel will also add new base  stations to the operator’s network, guaranteeing full coverage of the
whole  territory  where  the  SMARTS  group  of  companies  provide  mobile services, and providing an optimal quality of services.

This  project will enable SMARTS to deliver, to its customers in Samara and the  Povolzhie region,  new broadband mobile applications and services such as  video  streaming, MMS, high-speed access to the Internet and electronic messaging service.

The  Alcatel  solution  will be delivered in several phases, with the first phase  scheduled  for  completion by the third quarter of 2004 and the last phase  by  end  of  first  quarter  2005.   The  commercial service will be operational by the fourth quarter 2004.

Gennady Kirushin, general director of SMARTS, commented: “We have partnered with  Alcatel  for  several  years already developing GSM infrastructure in Povolzhie  region. This  contract indicates a new step in our cooperation. The  decision  we  made in favor of Alcatel’s Evolium ? EDGE-ready solution
was  the  right one allowing us to offer our customers the latest broadband services with minimum investments.”

Marc  Rouanne,  chief  operating  officer  of  Alcatel’s mobile activities, added:  “This  is  our  second  project  in  Russia for the deployment of a commercial  EDGE  network. It   demonstrates  the  growing  demand  for new broadband  user-centric  services in the fast-developing Russian market. We are glad to partner with SMARTS on the deployment of a leading EDGE network in Russia.”

External Links

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Alcatel