Alcatel bags $150mn contract from Unitech

NEW DELHI, INDIA: French telecom infrastructure firm Alcatel-Lucent said that it had bagged a $150 million contract from Unitech Wireless to support its launch of GSM operations.

Unitech Wireless is a joint venture between real estate major Unitech Ltd and Norwegian telecom giant Telenor.

Under the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will build Unitech Wireless' network and offer a range of services including project management, network design, integration, testing and installation, a joint statement issued by the companies said.

The French firm will also deploy and maintain its multi-standard GSM/EDGE radio access solution for a period of five years.

Unitech Wireless has licences to operate in all 22 circles in India. The company is yet to launch its services.

Rohit Chandra, chief operating officer, Unitech Wireless, said: 'We look forward to launching our services in Kerala and Orissa and meeting the growing demand for mobile services in India. We are confidence that their solution and local services capabilities make Alcatel-Lucent a good choice for Unitech."

Earlier, Unitech had given the Indian arm of Chinese telecom network equipment major Huawei Technologies a contract worth about $400 million to deploy the end-to-end telecom network in three circles in southern India - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.