Alcatel-Lucent has been selected by China Telecom to upgrade the service provider’s CDMA network in 56 cities across nine provinces. The contract will help the operator to expand the capacity and coverage of its wireless network and address the increasing demand for 3G mobile services. The deployment - which was secured through Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent’s Chinese flagship company - will be completed by the end of 2010.

Alcatel-Lucent will provide its converged radio access network (RAN) solution, including its newly-designed, ultra-compact, indoor 9916 Macro Base Station. The base station’s green design is claimed to reduce energy consumption by up to 24 percent, which is a weighted average of the expected OPEX savings of the 9916, which uses an innovative new integrated radio and amplifier multi-sector transmit/receive unit (MS-TRU) that is optimized to minimize power consumption.

It helps to protect wireless service providers’ investments when transitioning to next-generation LTE technology - through maximum equipment re-use. Alcatel-Lucent also provides an Ethernet backhaul capable RAN solution to cost effectively meet the ever-increasing bandwidth demands of 3G mobile services delivery.

Romano Valussi, President of Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell and Head of Alcatel-Lucent’s China regional business unit, stated, “This contract further confirms Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in the CDMA market – both in China and in the rest of the world. Alcatel-Lucent’s solution not only supports China Telecom’s daily business goals, but also helps it reduce the power consumption of its network, thus contributing to a ‘greener’ society.”