MOSCOW-Nortel Networks Ltd. said it won three contracts in Russia for wireless broadband equipment in the 450 MHz band. The value of the deals was not disclosed.
Nortel has been selected by Russian wireless operators CJSC UralWestcom, OJSC Apex and CJSC Saratov System Cellular Communications to extend advanced wireless services to the estimated 12 million people in the Ural and Volga regions of Russia.
Construction of the networks is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2005. Nortel will deploy a complete CDMA2000 1x network in the 450 MHz band in Yekaterinburg and the cities of Sverlovskaya oblast, Chelyabinsk and Saratov.
Nortel said CDMA 450 MHz technology is ideal for providing affordable services in sparsely populated regions because it allows cost-effective coverage of remote and rural areas with fewer base stations than other technologies.
