Mobilink Selects Alcatel-Lucent to Deploy Pakistan's first WiMAX Rev-e Network

(Business News & Technology News, 21 Sep 2007)

Alcatel-Lucent and Pakistan Mobile Communications Ltd, the leading mobile operator in Pakistan and a wholly owned subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding, have signed a contract to participate in deploying Pakistan's first live network based on the Universal 802.16e-2005 WiMAX solution. The network will cover major cities in Pakistan, including Karachi, the nation's financial capital and the major business center.

Based on the latest IEEE 802.16e-2005 standards (also called Rev-e), the new WiMAX network will be deployed in the 3.5GHz spectrum enabling rapid implementation of broadband services available in fixed and nomadic environments. It will deliver high-speed internet access, enabling the delivery of advanced broadband multimedia services, such as video streaming, through a variety of end-user devices including laptops, desktop computers, modems and WiMAX terminals.

"The deployment of WiMAX will enable our subsidiaries to complement their GSM offering with broadband services," said Tamer El Mahdi, CTO of Orascom Telecom Holding.

"The introduction of WiMAX will help us address the needs of our corporate and residential subscribers in Pakistan who want the ability to access wireless broadband services everywhere and at anytime," said Marwan Hayek, CTO of Mobilink.

Alcatel-Lucent will supply its Universal WiMAX end-to-end solution, including base stations, wireless access controllers, an operation and maintenance center (OMC) as well as customer premise equipment (CPE), and network integration services. The new network leverages equipment already installed in Mobilink's GSM network, helping to reduce deployment cost.

To ensure that Mobilink's customers benefit from state-of-the-art WiMAX devices that comply with the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard, Alcatel-Lucent will propose fixed and nomadic terminals from various CPE partners in a global end-to-end offering. This is part of Alcatel-Lucent's Open CPE program, which is designed to promote an open device ecosystem and ensure customers have a wide range of interoperable end-user devices.

According to Olivier Picard, President of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in the Europe and South region, this new contract confirms WiMAX technology's growing momentum worldwide and strengthens Alcatel-Lucent's presence and leadership position in the Middle East and South Asia.

"This contract builds on our long-standing relationship with Mobilink and Orascom, and it confirms the market readiness of Alcatel-Lucent's WiMAX solution today," Picard said. "It highlights Alcatel-Lucent's unique ability to deliver the most advanced Universal WiMAX solution to its customers and further proves Mobilink's confidence in our technology and solutions."

Alcatel-Lucent's Universal WiMAX solution integrates the latest technological innovations, such as "beam forming" and MIMO. Beam forming enables a service provider to dramatically reduce the number of radio sites needed to provide coverage—in some instances by as much as 40 percent—while reducing interference and ensuring better indoor penetration of the radio signal. MIMO helps make radio links more robust, nearly doubling the capacity delivered in dense urban environments.

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