First LMDS network deployment in Southern Africa
Paris, 27 May, 2003 - Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA), the world leader in wireless transmission, announced today the signature of a contract with Telecom Namibia, the national telecommunications operator, to deliver its high-performance Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) solution and high-capacity urban microwave radio systems. The project will allow Telecom Namibia's end users to access high-speed broadband services.
The comprehensive Alcatel LMDS solution offers service providers a fully controlled, multi-service broadband wireless network that can be deployed incrementally as demand increases. Alcatel's LMDS network will enable Telecom Namibia to deliver a variety of new revenue generating services - such as high-speed Internet access and leased lines. By minimizing up-front investment, LMDS allows service providers to quickly capture new markets and begin generating revenue, therefore benefiting from a rapid return on investment.
Alcatel will also supply its high-capacity microwave radio systems, Alcatel 9600 USY based on SDH technology to link the LMDS base stations to the point of presence of the Telecom Namibia nationwide fiber-optic network. Suitable for deployment in urban as well as in rural areas, Alcatel's 9600 USY microwave systems cover the frequency range 6GHz to 38GHz. The systems enable the best possible utilization of the frequency spectrum through 128 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The Alcatel solution also includes a powerful end-to-end network management system providing efficient control and routing throughout the network.
"Our choice to select Alcatel was led by both its state of the art technology and long-term commitment to the broadband access segment," declared Frans Ndoroma, managing director of Telecom Namibia. "We believe Alcatel's wireless equipment is a proven and efficient broadband access solution that will allow us to offer the fast, reliable and advanced services our customers want, and to install the first commercially available LMDS service delivery network in Southern Africa. "
"Our high-performance LMDS solution has established Alcatel as the worldwide leader in the design and delivery of fixed wireless solutions," said Gianni Jones, President of Alcatel's wireless transmission activities. "The Alcatel wireless solution supports a wide range of services, bundling voice and data, allowing operators such as Telecom Namibia to extend their offer to a wide variety of customers."
About Telecom Namibia
Telecom Namibia Limited is the national telecommunications operator, established in August 1992 and wholly owned by the Government of the Republic of Namibia, and is functioning as a commercialised company and as a subsidiary of its parent company, Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings Limited.
Telecom Namibia is serving more than 121,000 customers, with 1 503 employees and annual revenue of more than N$ 895.8 Million. It is a profitable, customer driven company that adapts its telecommunication products and services to the demand of its customers. Today customers want fast, reliable and advance services and Telecom Namibia is there to make that possible.
Telecom Namibia owns and operates the largest Digital Telecommunication Network in Namibia, and is a leading supplier of voice, text, data and video solutions, sales and support of quality electronic voice, date-, image-, and text services of competitive rates.
Telecom Namibia's mission is to anticipate and understand the telecommunication/information needs and wants of its customers through the development of solutions, sales and support of quality electronic voice, date, image and text services at competitive rates.
Telecom Namibia has contributed substantially to the community by creating employment opportunities and by providing training and bursaries to a large number of Namibians, and is committed to providing services to under developed areas within Namibia.
About Alcatel's LMDS Solution
The comprehensive Alcatel LMDS solution is a multi service broadband wireless network comprising of base stations and customer premises equipment, as well as network and service management. A base station, consisting of digital modulation equipment with optional switching capabilities and point-to-multipoint transmitters and receivers, is the central location that collects all traffic to and from customers within a given wireless coverage area. The base station is also the linking point between the customer and the network backbone. Customer premises equipment includes radio termination (RT) transceivers and network termination (NT) units, which support a full range of services.
About Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is a method of combining two amplitude-modulated signals into a single channel. In a QAM signal, there are two carriers, each having the same frequency. The two modulated carriers are combined at source of transmission. At the destination, the carriers are separated, the data extracted from each and then combined into the original information. The use of this method enables operators and service providers to increase the robustness of the radio signal transmitted along their networks.
About Alcatel
Alcatel provides end-to-end communications solutions, enabling carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver content to any type of user, anywhere in the world. Leveraging its long-term leadership in telecommunications networks equipment as well as its expertise in applications and network services, Alcatel enables its customers to focus on optimizing their service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of EURO 16.5 billion in 2002, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.
About Alcatel's wireless transmission activities
Alcatel offers a comprehensive product portfolio for point-to-point microwave and point-to-multipoint wireless transmission. In point-to-point microwave radio transmission, Alcatel's full-range catalogue comprises of high, low and medium capacity microwave systems - based on PDH, SDH and North American standard (SONET) technologies - for mobile and fixed broadband distribution, private and utilities network applications, voice and data (IP, ATM, Fast Ethernet) traffic. A natural complement to optical fiber transmission, it supports a full range of frequency bands, spectrum efficiency and network/radio configurations. In point-to-multipoint wireless transmission, Alcatel provides a multi service broadband wireless network comprised of base station and customer premises equipment. The mentioned equipment can be managed by Alcatel's unified and fully integrated network management platform, as well as through the simplified network management protocol, and in all cases provide integration facilities with external management systems in multi-vendor fix or mobile environment. In the last five years, Alcatel has installed more than 300,000 microwave radios in more than 150 countries, while more than 100 customers have deployed Alcatel's point-to-multipoint wireless systems worldwide. | |
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