A Russian operator has begun a trial of CDMA2000 1X technology at 450 MHz using equipment from Nortel Networks Ltd. The trial is being conducted in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city, by UralWestcom, a joint venture between Russian Telecommunications Development Corp. and Ural Svyza Inform. The trial should be complete in the fourth quarter, Nortel said. The companies plan to demonstrate Internet browsing, e-mail, virtual private networking, multimedia messaging and other services.
CHINA
Siemens AG said it has won a contract worth $84 million to supply GSM equipment to the networks of China Unicom in Beijing, Shangdong, Liaoning and Jilin. Siemens said the project will be completed by the end of this year. “This contract marks the biggest GSM network expansion project in the history of Beijing Unicom, the branch of China Unicom that covers the densely populated area around the Chinese capital,” said Siemens.
THE NETHERLANDS
Lucent Technologies Inc. said it has won a contract to supply ATM infrastructure and software for KPN Mobile’s third-generation network in the Netherlands. “Lucent will deliver equipment and services for a core ATM backbone network that will enable KPN Mobile to efficiently manage large increases in network traffic as customers subscribe to new 3G UMTS services,” said Lucent.
UNITED KINGDOM
Fresh off media reports that it will not play in the Wi-Fi arena, Vodafone U.K. said it signed an agreement with British Telecommunications plc that will allow Vodafone customers to access BT Openzone’s public wireless local area network. The deal is the first such Wi-Fi agreement for Vodafone U.K. Vodafone U.K. said the deal will complement its existing wireless offerings by allowing its customers to access the Web and corporate LANs through BT’s network of hot spots. The operator plans to introduce the service early next year.
