Alcatel Althsom may not be the first names in the CDMA business, but the French vendor aims for a robust market share in the space. Barely a month after inking a major cooperation deal with Chinese vendor ZTE Corp., Alcatel has been presenting what it describes as its end-to-end CDMA solution to operators.
“Being first is not the most important,” remarked Daniel Collins, vice president of fixed-mobile convergence strategic solutions development. “When it comes to CDMA, what’s important is to be the best.”
The vendor has to do battle with some of the mainstays of the CDMA business-Lucent Technologies Inc., Nortel Networks Ltd., Motorola Inc. and L.M. Ericsson, as well as Huawei Technologies Inc.
Alcatel recently launched its 5020 Spatial Atrium next-generation mobile core network solution. The products span all major air interfaces, including 1xRTT, EV-DO, and CDMA 450. The company’s line of products also covers packet data serving node solution as well as engineering services.
“CDMA is at the center of Alcatel’s mobile strategy for North America,” said Hubert de Pesquidous, chief operating officer of Alcatel in North America. “This new capability builds upon the recent traction we have had providing GSM-based networks to some of the largest mobile providers in North America and is a welcome addition to our already powerful CDMA portfolio, and strongly positions Alcatel for success in the North American CDMA market.”
The company said its product is compliant with the Third Generation Partnership Project 2, which makes it interoperable with the solutions of the major equipment vendors in the market today.
Collins acknowledged that CDMA operators have existing relationships with some of the leading vendors, but added, “It has not stopped us in the past.”
Alcatel was not in Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s core network, or T-Mobile USA Inc.’s network in the early going, Collins said, but the vendor has been able to carve its own business dealings with these GSM-based carriers.
Alcatel’s entrance into CDMA reinforces an industry trend in which vendors are abandoning protocol straitjackets to pursue other technologies. GSM mainstay Nokia Corp., for instance, has begun inroads into the CDMA space in the core network.
“Our value proposition is compelling,” said Collins. “That’s what led us to our success in GSM.”
He said the company is focused on lower operating expenditure, capital expenditure, faster feature development and software upgrade.
Like other vendors, Alcatel also has rolled out its Internet Protocol Multimedia subsystem, which will enable operators to roll out a variety of packet-based applications and services. Its products are based on its softswitch, which it upgrades into IMS.
“We bring a rich suite of applications and proven application servers,” said Collins.
Alcatel’s platform is scalable with a well-managed quality of service offering, Collins said, adding the company is already in discussions with several operators.
Analysts say Alcatel’s deal with ZTE underscores its plans to make inroads into the Chinese market, which has a number of operators in the CDMA business.
