SAO PAULO, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 1999--Lucent
Technologies today announced that it has signed contracts totaling
US$340 million with Telesp Celular, which is owned by Portugal
Telecom, to build wireless networks based on code division multiple
access (CDMA) in the state of Sao Paulo.
One phase of the project was completed in a record 40 days in the
Osasco region, where some 150,000 customers have signed up for the
digital services.
In all, the contracts call for the installation of wireless CDMA
networks to support more than 1.5 million subscribers in Greater Sao
Paulo and select areas in the interior of the state, the largest
wireless market in Brazil. The metropolitan Sao Paulo area alone is
being equipped with more than 400 cell sites, a buildout expected to
be completed by June of 1999.
We are putting the weight of all our resources behind these
important projects," said Virgilio Freire, president of Lucent
Technologies Brazil. "Our recently inaugurated manufacturing facility
will be working at full capacity, and we rely on an excellent local
and region-wide network of engineers to support the installations of
wireless networks around Brazil."
Under the terms of these contracts, Lucent Technologies is
providing its flagship 5ESS(R) AnyMedia(TM) switching platform, and
Autoplex(R) System 1000 Series II cell sites, as well as technical
expertise and support services. The digital cell sites for this
project will be manufactured at the Lucent manufacturing facility in
Campinas, Brazil.
As part of a separate agreement, Telesp Celular also is
installing two million voice messaging mailboxes in metropolitan Sao
Paulo with Lucent's advanced IMA-CA (Intelligent Messaging
Architecture-Caller Applications) voice messaging platform. IMA-CA
offers service providers a full feature set including voice paging
support, fax networking and multiple greetings.
Lucent's 5ESS(R) AnyMedia(TM) Switch is a large-scale,
software-based digital switching system that delivers any media from
one platform. This capability allows service providers to offer any
service - local, long distance, voice, data, or video. The 5ESS Switch
currently serves more than 104 million lines and 48 million trunks
from four thousand host switches in more than 50 countries worldwide.
The Autoplex System 1000 Series II cell sites will be equipped
with digital radios using the cdmaOne technology. This wireless
technology, based on the IS-95 CDMA standard, provides increased call
capacity and enhanced call quality that is comparable to landline
service. CDMA reduces the static and cross-talk sometimes heard on
analog systems, and provides a "soft hand-off" capability that makes
call hand-offs between cell sites and mobile switching centers (MSCs)
virtually unnoticeable to customers.
Lucent Technologies is a leading provider of wireless
infrastructure equipment utilizing all of the major interfaces
available in the market today - AMPS, TDMA, CDMA and GSM. An industry
leader in CDMA technology, Lucent has more than 100 CDMA networks
either in commercial operation or under construction for network
operators worldwide.
In the Caribbean and Latin America region, Lucent Technologies is
building CDMA networks in Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Puerto Rico
and the Dominican Republic. In North America, Lucent is the leading
provider of CDMA infrastructure equipment for the largest PCS network
providers - PrimeCo Personal Communications, Sprint PCS and others -
and for cellular carriers such as GTE, AirTouch and Bell Atlantic
Mobile.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of
public and private networks, communications systems and software, data
networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics
components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm of the
company. Further information about Lucent Technologies is available on
the worldwide web at lucent.com.
In the privatization of Telebras in July, Portugal Telecom, S.A.
won the wireless region of Telesp Celular, covering the state of Sao
Paulo, which is the largest cellular market in Brazil. The company
currently manages a network of more than 1.7 million subscribers.
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