CAMPINAS, Brazil-Telesp Cellular, a subsidiary of Portugal Telecom, and Lucent Technologies Inc. have signed a $130 million contract to upgrade Telesp’s mobile network in Brazil to third-generation technology.
Lucent will offer its 3G-ready Flexent network switches, base stations and software, enabling high-speed instant messaging, wireless Web browsing and streaming video services. Telesp will power the network with CDMA2000 technology. Lucent also will build a new wireless network to run alongside Telesp’s existing wireless network, covering critical markets in Sao Paulo and the port of Santos, as part of the contract.
Despite this news, shares of Lucent took a 6.43 percent dip in the stock market following a report from French newspaper La Tibune that Alcatel has cut its offer for Lucent’s fiber-optic cable unit down to $3 billion from its original $4 billion proposal. Analysts originally estimated the value of the unit to be $7 billion.
