Telcel Selects Ericsson's Microwave-Transmission Links for Mobile Broadband

Mexico's mobile operator, Telcel, a subsidiary of América Móvil, has signed an agreement with Ericsson (News - Alert) for high-speed mobile broadband via Ericsson’s microwave-transmission links.

 

According to the agreement, Ericsson will provide Telcel (News - Alert) with microwave-transmission links for 2G and 3G/HSPA (high speed packet access) based on the Ericsson MINI-LINK TN solution. High-speed packet access (HSPA) is a collection of mobile telephony protocols that extend and improve the performance of existing UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) protocols.

 

Ericsson MINI-LINK TN is a comprehensive microwave solution that provides high-performance radio links for fixed or mobile applications. Officials say that the solution mainly provides cost-effective single hops to complete managed microwave networks supporting fixed and mobile broadband. The solution includes higher order modulation schemes; support for 6-38GHz frequencies; dual polarization antenna; advanced integrated traffic handling along with the ability to handle PDH (plesiochronous digital hierarchy), SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy), TDM (time division multiplexing), Ethernet and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) all in the same node over the same hop.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will be providing complete capacity requirements and as well as customer, equipment and field support to Telcel’s existing 2G/3G-HSPA network.

 

Lars Lindén, president of Ericsson Mexico, said, "This is our largest microwave contract to date in Latin America. It shows that MINI-LINK TN is the best-in-class microwave platform from both a commercial and technical point of view. It provides Telcel with all PDH/SDH and IP capacity requirements for a true high-speed mobile broadband network."

 

According a report entitled, “2007 Latin American Mobile Communications and Mobile Data Market,” mobile penetration in Mexico is growing at a yearly rate of about 22 percent and reached an estimated 53 percent in 2007. This rapid growth has forced many Mexican mobile operators to upgrade their networks to offer high-capacity and high-speed data services.

 

Ericsson's MINI-LINK TN microwave solution will improve the transmission capacity of Telcel's 2G and 3G networks, thereby enabling the provision of high-speed mobile broadband based on HSPA, said the company. This will also increase Telcel’s network coverage and subscriber base as well as reduce operating expenses.

 

Ericsson's MINI-LINK TN microwave solution also facilitates Telcel with faster rollout capabilities and provides an option to expand Telcel's capacity along with the support for smooth migration to an all-IP network in the future.

 

Telcel officials said that the company has plans to gradually migrate its whole network to IP, in order to provide its customers with fast mobile broadband speed.

 

Ericsson officials said that the rollout of the project will begin in the third quarter of 2008 and the first phase of the contract extends through the end of 2008.

 

Ericsson’s microwave transmission portfolio consists of the MINI-LINK family with the support of Marconi LH trunk radio. All products of the microwave transmission portfolio are managed by ServiceOn common management system.

 

Ericsson is a provider of 2G and 3G mobile technologies and supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 195 million subscribers. The company portfolio includes mobile and fixed network infrastructure and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers.