CDMA Network Launched in Moscow

Lucent Technologies says that it has deployed a new 450MHz CDMA2000 1X network for Moscow Cellular Communications (MCC), a mobile operator serving Moscow and the greater Moscow region. The commercial launch of this new network is part of the SKYLINK initiative to create a single Russian national network based on the IMT-MC 450 standard. On Nov. 1, MCC will begin connecting Moscow subscribers to the SKYLINK network. SKYLINK users will be able to seamlessly roam in the Northwest region and Byelorussia, where other IMT-MC 450 networks are available.

To help MCC deploy the commercial network, Lucent provided advanced Flexent CDMA2000 1X base stations, along with Lucent PacketStar PSAX Multiservice Media Gateways and its next-generation SDH optical products, the Metropolis ADM MultiService Mux together with Metropolis AM, to help MCC more efficiently transport voice and data traffic. Lucent Worldwide Services (LWS) provided installation support, network integration, and other services to help accelerate the launch of the commercial network. Together with MCC experts, LWS also helped plan and optimise the network to achieve optimal performance.

The Lucent IMT-MC 450 solution makes efficient use of MCC's spectrum, enabling the operator to continue to operate the NMT-450 network in the allocated frequency band, while maintaining national roaming within the Federal Network, SOTEL.

"Being the first to market with an IMT-MC 450 network solution, we are glad to see that the technology is being aggressively deployed. Based on our experience in Saint Petersburg, we are confident that it will be widely accepted. We also continue to develop further enhancements, one of which will enable service providers to offer rich data services at speeds exceeding two Megabits per second in the near future," said Dmitry Kamensky, general director of Lucent Technologies in Russia and CIS."

Posted to the site on 31st October 2003