FULL TEXT-Alamosa amends supply deal with Nortel
DALLAS, March 20 /CNW/ - Alamosa <APCS.O> PCS (NASDAQ: APCS), a Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS) Network Partner, will extend its wireless voice and data services under the Sprint PCS brand into California and Wisconsin under a US$85 million amendment to its supply agreement with Nortel Networks <NT.TO> (NYSE/TSE: NT) for cdmaOne network infrastructure equipment.
This amendment, which includes expansion of existing networks in Arizona and Colorado, will bring Alamosa PCS' three-year investment in Nortel Networks' infrastructure to US$167 million. A US$82 million deal for networks in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona was announced in 1999. Nortel Networks will provide Alamosa PCS with CDMA infrastructure equipment and services, including Nortel Networks' CDMA Metro Cell radio base stations.
"Nortel Networks has been a reliable strategic supplier during our initial launches from El Paso to Laredo and West Texas to Albuquerque," said Don Stull, chief technology officer, Alamosa PCS. "Subscriber penetration continues to exceed our forecasts, but our network has been up to the challenge. This expansion will allow us to offer more than eight million potential subscribers the very latest wireless voice and data services, including access to the Sprint PCS Wireless Web, and from a scalable platform that positions us to deliver more advanced, high-performance Wireless Internet services as early as 2001."
"Nortel Networks' CDMA solutions provide quality, capacity, coverage and performance, enabling operators like Alamosa PCS to successfully penetrate urban and mixed markets while positioning for future Wireless Internet services," said John Vice, vice-president, wireless solutions, Nortel Networks.
Alamosa PCS manages local Sprint PCS Service and Operations in markets throughout the Midwest, West, North Central and Southwest under a management agreement with Sprint PCS. As part of the agreement, Alamosa PCS is building an all-digital, CDMA wireless network, which will operate on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) PCS licenses owned by Sprint PCS. Each company operates and markets the network as Sprint PCS service, leveraging the branding, marketing and distribution programs of Sprint PCS.
In exchange, Sprint PCS Network Partners benefit from Sprint PCS' relationships with key infrastructure and phone manufacturers, and national retail distribution partners. In addition, Sprint PCS Network Partners utilize the PCS network and customer care support assets of Sprint PCS including 24-hour network management and monitoring via the Sprint PCS National Network Operations Control Center; billing, voicemail; and Sprint PCS Customer Care.
Sprint PCS operates the largest 100 percent digital, 100 percent PCS nationwide wireless network in the United States, already serving the majority of the nation's metropolitan areas including more than 4,000 cities and communities across the country. Sprint PCS has licensed PCS coverage of nearly 270 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, visit the Sprint PCS web site at www.sprintpcs.com. Sprint PCS is a wholly owned tracking group of Sprint Corporation trading on the NYSE under the symbol "PCS."
Sprint is a global communications company at the forefront of integrating long distance, local, and wireless communications services and one of the world's largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and operates the US' first nationwide all digital, fiber optic network and is a leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $20 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20 million business and residential customers.
Nortel Networks is a global leader in telephony, data, eBusiness, and wireless solutions for the Internet. The Company had 1999 U.S. GAAP revenues of US$21.3 billion and serves carrier, service provider and enterprise customers globally. Today, Nortel Networks is creating a high-performance Internet that is more reliable and faster than ever before. It is redefining the economics and quality of networking and the Internet through Unified Networks that promise a new era of collaboration, communications and commerce. Visit us at www.nortelnetworks.com.
For further information: Olivier Le Friec, Nortel Networks, +33 (1) 39 44 38 95, olefriec(at)nortelnetworks.com; Tori Van Orden, Springbok Technologies, (972) 480-9458, tvanorden(at)springbok.com; Paul Goyette, Nortel
Networks, (613) 763-1420, goyette1(at)nortelnetworks.com; Archived images on this organization are available through CNW E-Pix at www.newswire.ca. Images are free to members of The Canadian Press./
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