Romanian Operator Rolls Out WCDMA Coverage to 15 Cities
Romanian operator, Zapp says that it has completed its WCDMA network roll out in fifteen of the nineteen cities that will benefit from 3G coverage by end of June 2008: Brasov, Braila, Sibiu, Arad, Bacau, Satu Mare, Baia Mare, Constanta, Craiova, Ploiesti, Targu Mures, Cluj Napoca, Timisoara, Galati and Pitesti.
Zapp won a licence for 3G services in the 2.1Ghz bands in 2006 and last month, Chris Bataillard, CEO of Zapp announced the decision to use UMTS/HSDPA technology for its network as opposed to CDMA2000 which the company already uses for its 450Mhz network.
Commercial services are expected to be available on the new network in early autumn 2008, while network build completion is scheduled for 2011.
The contract to build Zapp’s 3G network in Romania was awarded to ZTE.
Zapp at this time provides download data speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps through its EV-DO network, and speed are expected to increase to 3.1 Mbps by end of July when Zapp will launch an EV-DO Rev A upgrade.
Posted to the site on 20th May 2008