IP platform will enable the Japanese firm to manage increasing data demand
French telecom equipment provider Alcatel-Lucent plans to deploy its IP core/edge routing platform – the 7950 Extensible Routing System – for Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo. The deployment is said to enable the Japanese operator to manage rapidly rising data demand and increase the operational performance of its mobile network while reducing the cost of operations.
“Customer demand for data continues to accelerate and we are committed to providing the best service experience for every one of our subscribers. Alcatel-Lucent has proven the performance of its IP routing technologies and its IP core/edge router will allow us to increase performance even as that demand continues in the future,” said Kazuo Sugiyama, managing director of NTT DoCoMo’s core network development department.
Alcatel-Lucent’s 7950 XRS is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s Service Router Operating System and supports the move to network virtualization and enables the network automatization.
NTT DoCoMo serves more than 68 million mobile customers in Japan. The carrier is working on the future development of a “5G” network, which it expects to deploy in Japan by 2020. The telco also offers network functions virtualization, NFC infrastructure and services and emerging “Internet of Things” solutions.
France ends 2015 with 20,474 LTE sites in service
France ended 2015 with 20,474 LTE base stations in service across the country, according to French spectrum agency ANFR.
In December 2015, new LTE sites coming online expanded by 4.4% compared to 2% the previous month. Sites supporting the 2.6 GHz spectrum band grew 4.8% in December compared to the previous month, while LTE sites supporting the 800 MHz band grew by 10.2% versus November.
According to the regulator, there were 23,070 sites authorized for LTE at the start of 2016, including 14,080 for the 800 MHz band, 8,779 sites for the 1800 MHz band and 16,252 in the 2.6 GHz band.
Telecoms operator Orange had 8,348 authorized LTE sites, followed by Free Mobile with 5,636, Numericable-SFR with 4,587 sites, and Bouygues Telecom with 3,038.
