Alcatel-Lucent announced its role in two new LTE deployments this week as well as supporting VoLTE and optical networking upgrades.
In Taiwan, the vendor is working with telecom provider Asia Pacific Telecom (APT), to build an LTE overlay network that is aimed at making APT the first in Taiwan to offer Voice over LTE. The deployment will initially take place in the first part of this year in metro areas in the country’s northern, central and southern regions, with deployment expected to be complete by the end of 2014.
“While other service providers in Taiwan hold VoLTE licenses, APT is the first to announce actual deployment plans,” said Tony Zee, CTO of APT, in a statement. “Not only will our customers have the best quality of voice, but they will also be able to seamlessly and simultaneously access data as well while having voice conversations over their devices. Our new LTE network and VoLTE service are perfectly aligned with APT’s vision enabling simultaneous conversation experiences over any device, webpage and application whether it be voice, video or data.”
Meanwhile, ALU is expanding its relationship with French telecom operator Bouygues Telecom for mobile and fixed broadband. Bouyges chose Alcatel-Lucent to update one of its main transport arteries to 100Gbps in 2013, as well as to manage its French optical network backbone and other projects. In 2014, the two companies have agreed to three major projects:
- deployment of an LTE-based mobile network core to support voice and video including VoLTE, reusing several functions from the company’s fixed IMS network core.
- deploying new session border controller equipment for mobile and fixed IP interconnection security
- renovating Bouyges’ IP-MPLS backbone that is used to transport all of its 2G/3G/4G mobile traffic with IP equipment core and edge routers.
Both companies say they “are convinced that these technologies will open up new opportunities for digital users and provide benefits for both fixed and mobile customers.”
Bouyges has 11.1 million mobile customers and 2 million fixed broadband customers.
ALU also said it is working with Altice subsidiary Outremer Telecom to deploy LTE in French Guiana, on the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the French West Indies and the islands of Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. The company said this is a first-ever project in France to combine LTE services and cable.
