Reliance Communications Awards $400 Million Nms Contract To Alcatel-lucent

[Arun 795]

11 May, 2008, 2132 hrs IST

Press Trust of India

Telecom infrastructure company Alcatel-Lucent has bagged outsourcing contract for Network Managed Services from Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications (RCom) for both CDMA and GSM networks.

"The deal is estimated at over 400 million dollar," RCom's official said, adding that the deal between the two was signed yesterday.

Under the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent and RCom would form a joint venture company and the network management services would be outsourced to that JV firm.

RCom, who has been given GSM license under the dual technology clause, is likely to start GSM-based nation wide mobile services by the end of current financial year.

Reliance Communications would be the only operator in the country offering mobile services in both CDMA and GSM platforms.

"We are aiming to set up nation wide GSM and CDMA network by fiscal end, which will cover 23,000 towns and six lakh villages serving 97 per cent of the Indian population," RCom President S P Shukla had recently said.

The company has been given start up GSM spectrum (radio frequency) to offer wireless services and also CDMA spectrum in the remaining two circles of North East and Assam.

[srk006 21]

nice.. so we would be getting R-GSM from '09.