Alcatel Wins Wireless Pact in China [WSJ]
By JETHRO MULLEN
online.wsj.com
PARIS -- Alcatel-Lucent said Monday that it was chosen by China Unicom Ltd. to deploy third-generation mobile networks in 14 Chinese provinces, widening its foothold as a supplier to the Chinese operator.
The contract, obtained via Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, the company's joint-venture with the Chinese government, adds four new provinces to the regions Alcatel-Lucent was serving as a second-generation supplier to China Unicom.
Operators in China, the largest mobile-phone market by users, have just begun to build 3G networks.
Initial deployments of China Unicom's Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, or WCDMA, network in the cities of Tianjin, Baoding, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Guiyang and Guilin are slated to be completed in May, said Alcatel-Lucent. Financial details weren't disclosed, but China Unicom said in August it plans to invest 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) in 3G mobile services from next year through 2010.
Alcatel-Lucent's contract provides more support for the company's decision to stick with its unprofitable WCDMA unit despite calls from analysts in 2007 and 2008 to shed the business.
U.S. operator Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, gave Alcatel-Lucent a boost last month by selecting the company as a key supplier for its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution network. |
