CDMA450 Upgrade for Russia

Russia's Sky Link says that it is increasing the voice capacity of the Sky Link network in Krasnodar and enhancing it with CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology. Krasnodar Cellular Network, the regional Sky Link operator, and Lucent are upgrading existing Lucent base stations with CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology and installing new equipment that will enable the operator's Sky Turbo service, which provides data speeds of up to 2.4 Megabits per second. The project is beginning in the cities of Krasnodar, Sochi, and Novorossisk.

"Sky Turbo brings new, profitable multimedia services to the region and will help grow Sky Link's reputation as a full-service 3G operator," said Alexandr Piotrovsky, deputy general director of strategic marketing and sales for Sky Link. "The high data speeds enabled by CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - the main advantage of CDMA450 compared to the 2G standards - enables the proliferation of 3G services in the regional markets."

Within the project's framework, existing Lucent base stations are being upgraded with CDMA2000 1xEV-DO channel cards and software. The Lucent Radio Network Controller (RNC) is being deployed to ensure a flexible and scalable management of the network's RF (radio frequency) resources. Lucent Worldwide Services is providing installation and integration services.

The Sky Link network is based on the IMT-MC-450 standard (CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO technology deployed in the 450 MHz frequency range).

The Mobile World statistics database reports that Sky-Link is estimated to have ended Q1 '06 with 385,000 subscribers."

Posted to the site on 4th September 2006