Lucent signs US$780 million German 3G deal
By Reuters staff
05 December 2000
Lucent, the world's largest telecoms equipment maker, said on Tuesday it signed an agreement worth up to $780 million
to help Telefonica Moviles and Sonera build a wireless network in Germany.
Lucent Technologies Inc. said it will provide financing for the six-year, non-exclusive deal to supply third-generation
wireless network equipment and services. Financing terms were not disclosed.
The deal between Lucent and the Marabu consortium, which includes Telefonica and Sonera, remains subject to
definitive execution of a contract, the company said.
This agreement could lead to further collaboration with Telefonica in Austria, Italy and Spain, where the Spanish
telephone company is in consortiums that won 3G licenses, a Lucent executive said in Hong Kong on the sidelines of a
telecoms conference.
The Marabu consortium paid about $7.06 billion in an August auction to provide UMTS service, or Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System, in Germany.
Lucent will provide equipment supporting the so-called W-CDMA, or wideband code division multiple access, standard
in Germany, the company said.
Lucent has suffered through a tough year that has seen its shares tumble as it missed profit growth targets and fired its
chairman. Lucent shares closed on Monday at $15.31, nearly 82 percent off a 52-week high of $84.18. |
