The project will run in cooperation with regional telecoms operators to provide WiMAX access throughout the country. Russia's first Universal WiMAX deployment will cover many towns and cities with an average population of 100,000 inhabitants, with the first regional WiMAX networks operational in Q407. Synterra - which holds a national licence - intends to partner with operators in order to cover more than 1,000 Russian cities and towns by end of 2008.
In May Alcatel-Lucent won Synterra's tender for the delivery of WiMAX infrastructure based on the latest IEEE 802.16e-2005 standards (also called Rev-e). The new networks will be deployed by regional operators in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band.
"This new project with innovative service provider Synterra is a tangible sign of the technological and economic benefits of Universal WiMAX in high-growth markets such as Russia, and represents a major step toward the deployment of high-capability wireless broadband solution in the market," claims Johan Vanderplaetse, President of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in the CIS.
Alcatel-Lucent's Universal WiMAX solution is designed to enable rapid VoIP and broadband services such as mobile data, video streaming and virtual private network (VPN) access in fixed, nomadic and mobile environments. WiMAX is described as a flexible technology that enables people to access high-speed, high-quality broadband wireless services wherever they are and wherever they go, providing what its pioneers believe to be truly 'universal' wireless broadband access.
In this project, Alcatel-Lucent's solution is designed to support a wide range of terminals from various customer premises equipment (CPE) partners. This in turn is part of Alcatel-Lucent's Open CPE policy, which is designed to promote an open device ecosystem and ensure customers have the widest possible range of interoperable end-user devices.
Alcatel-Lucent's Universal WiMAX solution integrates the latest technological innovations, including 'beam forming'* which enables a service provider to dramatically reduce the number of radio sites needed to provide coverage - in some instances by as much as 40% - while reducing interference and ensuring better indoor penetration of the radio signal.
Alcatel-Lucent has now conducted 70 WiMAX trials and deployments worldwide and unrolled 11 commercial contracts.
* 'Beam forming' is an Advanced Antenna Technology (AAT) that ensures that radio power is where the WiMAX terminals are, adjusting the beam automatically as the terminals move around the coverage area.
** Synterra Group is a national operator, which includes Synterra, RTComm.RU, Global Teleport, Satcomline and a number of regional operators functioning since 1992. These companies are licensed to deliver local and long-haul telephony services in 22 Russian regions and to provide data communications and connectivity services in the entire Russian territory. Through its own fibre network the Group controls about 45% of Russian Internet access. It can deliver communications services to all Russian cities and towns, including those in remote and hardly accessible areas (via VSAT). The Group employs about 1,000 people with offices are located in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Volgodonsk, Rostov, Novosibirsk, Ufa and Samara.
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