June 14, 2006 Paris, France -- Alcatel announced that it has been selected by India's Tata Group to expand the latter's existing optical multi-service network, thus enhancing the delivery of mobile and broadband services throughout the country. Extending Tata's existing network coverage to additional regions in the country, this $20 million project will deliver one of the largest network deployments in India.
The new Alcatel equipment will enable Tata to further enhance the roll out of CDMA mobile services, as well as to support new broadband services and Ethernet applications throughout the states of Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Additionally, it will provide a platform for the backhaul of traffic over Tata's existing mobile network.
The expanded optical transport network will meet 70% of the transmission requirements of Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTSL), a private telecom operator in India; Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd., an international telecommunications service provider; and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd., a telecom services provider in Maharashtra. All three companies are all part of the Tata Group.
"Alcatel's optical multi-service transport solution will help us significantly enhance the transport network infrastructure in India to offer freedom of service accessibility and further create value to our subscribers," said Darryl Green, CEO of Tata Teleservices Ltd.
"India is a rapidly evolving telecom market with diversified customer requirements," said Romano Valussi, president of Alcatel's optical networking activities. "The capabilities offered by Alcatel's OMSNs and WDM equipment allow Tata to cope with the new service needs of its growing subscriber base."
The award follows the contracts signed in 2004 for the deployment of the existing optical transport network. Alcatel will supply its data-aware Optical Multi-Service Node (OMSN) systems and 1696 MS DWDM equipment, both managed by the 1350 management suite. Alcatel will be also responsible for the complete project management, engineering, installation, service activation, and commissioning.