T-Mobile Chooses Nokia, Ericsson for U.S. 3G Rollout

By Greg Galitzine

Group Editorial Director

 

 

T-Mobile (News - Alert) USA, Inc. has chosen Nokia and Ericsson to supply 3G wireless equipment and services to support T-Mobile’s WCDMA 3G rollout in the U.S.

 

T-Mobile spent roughly $4.2 billion for 120 licenses in an advanced wireless services spectrum auction that concluded in September.

 

At the time, Ironia, NJ-based Probe Financial Associates issued a statement praising the move. “T-Mobile has been an also-ran in the U.S. mobile market,” said Al Boschulte, Chairman of Probe Financial Associates, Inc. “No more. Not only is it evolving into a credible player, it will soon have the ability to launch truly disruptive strategies.”

 

According to company statements, Nokia (News - Alert) will deliver its Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station, while Ericsson (News - Alert) was selected for its turnkey network rollout and to serve as the prime radio provider for WCDMA 3G services in certain markets, including New York City.

 

This announcement marks the first deployment of Nokia’s Flexi WCDMA Base Station in North America. Among the key benefits are the product’s small, modular form factor, which is designed to enable operators to achieve savings in site and operating costs.

 

In a media statement, Nokia’s Ari Lehtoranta, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, hailed the company’s selection by T-Mobile. “Due to its small and modular design, the Nokia Flexi Base Station gives T-Mobile USA adaptable deployment options while delivering full capacity and future evolution capabilities,” said Lehtoranta. “T-Mobile’s selection confirms its confidence in Nokia’s ability to deliver innovative, end-to-end WCDMA 3G solutions.”

 

T-Mobile and Nokia are no strangers. Nokia provides High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) networks to T-Mobile in Europe, and domestically, here in the U.S., Nokia has been a partner with T-Mobile for about a decade.

 

Ericsson and T-Mobile have some history as well. Angel Ruiz, head of Ericsson’s North American operations, said, “Ericsson and T-Mobile have a long, successful history of working together to deliver wireless networking services. Now, with T-Mobile’s 3G deployment, T-Mobile customers will realize the benefits that 3G provides.”

 

Ericsson is expected to deliver a range of services including network planning, civil construction, installation, testing and network optimization.