Bell Canada International: Sao Paulo State Local
Exchange Carrier Signs Network Supply Contract With
Lucent Technologies/5-Year Contract Worth an
Estimated US$470 Million
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1999-- Bell Canada International Inc.
(NASDAQ:BCICF)(ME:BI.)(TSE:BI.) today announced that its Brazilian affiliate,
Vesper (Sao Paolo) S.A. ("Vesper" - formerly Megatel do Brasil S.A.), has signed a
five year contract with Lucent Technologies ("Lucent") to supply Vesper with wireless
telephony products and related services. The contract is worth an estimated US$470
million. Vesper and Lucent have also signed a commitment letter for vendor financing.
Lucent will supply 1.9 GHz Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) infrastructure
technology to Vesper for its new high-speed telecommunication system throughout
the state of Sao Paulo. During the initial stage of installation, Lucent will supply and
construct approximately 200 fixed wireless base stations and eight switching
facilities, in addition to providing technical support. Another 100 base stations will be
installed by December 2001.
The initial phase of the Vesper network will provide fixed voice and data services to
residential and business customers in 27 Sao Paulo State cities with a combined
population exceeding 20 million. Service is expected to launch in 15 cities by
December of this year.
Vesper is a consortium composed of BCI, Qualcomm Inc., and VeloCom Inc.
(formerly WLL International Inc.) of the United States. A consortium involving the
same partners secured a second competitive local exchange carrier license for the
Northeast region of Brazil, creating contiguous territories with a combined population
of 125 million, including the three largest Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
and Belo Horizonte. Both local exchange carriers plan to market their services under
the Vesper name.
Bell Canada International is in the business of building and developing world-class
communications companies in markets outside Canada, with a focus on Latin
America and the Asia-Pacific region. The company's affiliated operations provide a
range of high quality and innovative services to over 4.5 million subscribers in eight
countries, primarily via digital, wireless networks. A subsidiary of BCE Inc., Canada's
largest communications company, BCI is listed on the Montreal and Toronto stock
exchanges under the symbol BI, and on the NASDAQ national market under the
symbol BCICF.
Visit our web site at www.bci.ca
CONTACT: Bell Canada International Inc.
Peter Burn (Media Enquiries), 514/392-2357
peter.burn@bci.ca
or
Bell Canada International Inc.
Anne Duprat (Investor Enquiries), 514/392-2273
anne.duprat@bci.ca
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