TAIPEI, Taiwan-Nortel Networks Ltd. landed a mobile WiMAX network supply deal with Chungwa Telecom in Taiwan.
Nortel said a countywide WiMAX network will be built in Northeastern Taiwan in Yilan County as part of the country’s Mobile-Taiwan initiative. The initiative is aimed at boosting economic development by providing ubiquitous wireless broadband access to about 80 percent of Taiwan’s residents.
“The people of Yilan will now be able to take the Internet with them wherever they go, and enjoy high-speed mobile access using virtually any wireless-enabled device,” said Jackson Wu, president of Nortel’s China efforts.
Nortel said it is providing Chunghwa Telecom with 802.16e-2005 Wave 2 base stations, which contain the company’s Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output antenna technology. Nortel said it is also supplying Chungwa with Access Service Network Gateways, customer-premises equipment and network management capabilities, as well as network integration and optimization services.
Separately, Nortel announced that it is working on mobile WiMAX trial with Toshiba Corp. to support Japan’s National Broadband Connectivity by 2010 program. Nortel’s base stations and terminals from its WiMAX portfolio are being used for the trial along with engineering services, while Toshiba is handling system integration and field tests.
Trials involving Nortel’s mobile WiMAX solutions are also taking place in Germany, Canada, Greece, Russia and Mexico.
Bruce Gustafson, director of WiMAX marketing at Nortel, told RCR Wireless News that Nortel expects to win several more WiMAX contracts in 2007 in mature markets as well as in emerging markets in South America, Eastern Europe and Asia. And although Nortel wasn’t named as one of Sprint Nextel Corp.’s WiMAX equipment suppliers, Gustafson said that, based on the quality of Nortel’s WiMAX gear and its relationship with the carrier, Nortel fully expects to be working with Sprint Nextel soon.
Nortel launched its WiMAX portfolio in October at the WiMAX World trade show.
“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement at Nortel,” commented Gustafson. “It’s been a long time since Nortel has moved into a new space, into an emerging technology market.”
