Alcatel-Lucent Lands Celcom Deal to Widen GSM Network

ALCATEL-LUCENT said it has won a multi-million euro contract to expand the GSM mobile network of Malaysian telecommunications service provider, Celcom.

With the expansion, Celcom’s network is expected to cover 90 per cent of the northern, southern and eastern parts of peninsular Malaysia.

The expansion project is the latest in a series of mobile solution deployments undertaken by Celcom and Alcatel-Lucent and highlights Alcatel-Lucent’s position as Celcom’s leading partner for wireless solutions.

Under the latest agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will deliver its industry-leading, end-to-end GSM/GPRS/EDGE solutions.

This includes the Twin TRX, a recent addition to the Alcatel- Lucent portfolio that doubles base-station capacity to meet the requirements of users in high-density urban environments and offers a wider coverage range making it well suited for less populated rural environments. The Twin TRX also reduces power consumption by up to 30 per cent.

“Celcom wants to provide its customers access to useful wireless service no matter where they live in Malaysia, and the solution Alcatel-Lucent has developed for them will extend their reach and their ability to handle the high traffic areas of Malaysia’s major cities,” said Pierre Cheyron, country senior officer and managing director of Alcatel-Lucent Malaysia in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Alcatel-Lucent is a major player in the GSM/EDGE market with more than 170 customers in more than 90 countries.

The company is also the global leader in the development and deployment of third-generation (3G) networks, having deployed commercial 3G (UMTS/HSPA and CDMA/EV-DO) systems for more than 70 operators worldwide.

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