TOKYO-NEC do Brazil, a subsidiary of NEC Corp., won a total of 50 billion yen (US$466 million) in communications contracts from major Brazilian carriers and has started shipping them, the company announced Sept. 15.
Including the deal, NEC is expected to win a total of 90 billion yen (US$839 million) in orders in Brazil. NEC is targeting to win 150 billion yen (US$1.4 billion) in contracts in communications equipment in fiscal year 2003 in the country.
NEC do Brazil won a total of 41 billion yen (US$382 million) in switching systems for 4 million wired lines from three major Brazilian carriers, including Telemar and Brazil Telecom. The win could have major implications for future wireless contracts, because the wireline carriers are considering bidding for Band C cellular licenses later this year.
NEC will ship half the ordered equipment by the end of March 2001 and ship the rest by early 2002.
Separately, NEC won an order for a satellite communications system for 3.1 billion yen (US$28.9 million) from Telemar.
There are 5 million Internet users in Brazil, and the number of Internet users is expected to be 10 million by 2003. Many wireless carriers in Brazil began offering wireless Internet services this year. NEC is targeting to win the largest market share in communications equipment in Brazil.
