MADRID, Spain-Nortel Networks was selected by Airtel Movil S.A. to supply a wireless/wireline packet network valued at about $50 million during the next two years. The converged network will be deployed across Spain’s 50 provinces, including the islands, and will provide Internet telephony and wireless Internet services.
To position itself to take advantage of second- and third-generation mobile services, Airtel is currently transitioning its wireless networks from a circuit to a packet infrastructure optimized for advanced Internet offerings.
The contract includes Nortel’s newly released Passport 8780 Packet Voice Gateway ATM switch, which provides Internet services over an asynchronous transfer mode network and is a gateway linking an ATM network and a Global System for Mobile communications wireless network. The product employs AAL2, a 3G wireless Internet standard.
Airtel, the second-largest wireless carrier in Spain, has more than 3.8 million customers.
