
Europe
: "Sky Link," a telecommunications holding company established
to develop a nationwide CDMA450 network in Russia, today announced
the deployment of its network in Tver using equipment, software and
services from Lucent Technologies. ZAO Tver Cellular Communications
will operate the new network and provide high-quality, mobile voice
and high-speed data services at speeds of up to 153 kilobits per second,
enabling Sky Link to expand its coverage to include Tver, an important
region located between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
For Sky Link's
network expansion in Tver, Lucent provided an end-to-end solution,
including its Flexent® CDMA450 base stations. Lucent Worldwide
Services provided its expertise to ensure a smooth network deployment
including installation support, network integration, and other services.
"Sky Link
is committed to providing its subscribers with exceptional coverage
and value, and the launch of the network in Tver is an important step
to deliver high-quality voice and high-speed data services to both
Tver residents and the people traveling between St. Petersburg and
Moscow," said Raisa Rozinova, general director of Sky Link. "Tver
Cellular Communications is one of the most experienced operators in
Russia. We are confident that the company will efficiently operate
this new CDMA450 network, which brings us a step closer to a nationwide
CDMA450 network."
"As the world's
leading CDMA450 network infrastructure supplier, we are happy to participate
in the deployment of Sky Link's CDMA450 network in Tver," said
Dmitry Kamensky, managing director of Lucent Technologies Russia and
Commonwealth of Independent States. "We will continue to partner
with Sky Link to help the company reach its goal of introducing advanced
mobile services throughout all the regions of Russia."
Before the end
of 2004, Sky Link plans to launch commercial CDMA450 networks in the
following cities: Izhevsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Voronezh, Omsk, Novosibirsk,
Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Vladikavkaz, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad,
Murmansk, and Saratov. Companies that operated first-generation NMT-450
networks in these regions will launch CDMA450 networks that provide
new, advanced services under the Sky Link brand name. The federal
Sky Link network deployment is expected to be complete before the
end of 2008.
"Our company
always strives to provide our subscribers with the highest quality
services," said Vitaly Kostenko, general director of ZAO Tver
Cellular Communications. "The introduction of the new CDMA450
network in Tver will bring advanced mobile services to our network
coverage area and enables us to participate in the creation of the
Sky Link federal network."
Lucent, the first
to deliver CDMA450 solutions globally, has deployed commercial networks
in 450 MHz spectrum for Delta Telecom and Moscow Cellular Communications
-- both part of the Sky Link initiative in Russia -- Zapp in Romania,
Uzbek Telecom in Uzbekistan and Vietnam Power Telecom, and is conducting
numerous CDMA450 trials with customers around the world.
A global leader
in the development of commercial 3G spread-spectrum solutions, Lucent's
Mobility Solutions Group has deployed CDMA2000, CDMA450, and W-CDMA/UMTS
networks with more than 30 mobile operators on the continents of North
and South America, Asia, Europe and in the Australia/New Zealand region.
Lucent also is collaborating with major UMTS/W-CDMA operators in Asia,
Europe and North America on the development of their 3G networks.
Lucent has deployed more than 90,000 spread-spectrum base stations
for mobile operators worldwide, of which 50,000 are already supporting
3G services.
ZAO Sky Link was
established in June 2003 to implement a federal cellular communications
network based on CDMA450 technology. AFK Systema and RTDC are Sky
Link shareholders. CDMA450 networks under the Sky Link trademark are
now available in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Petrozavodsk, and
Pskov. ZAO Sky Link is a member of International 450 Association (IA-450).
For further information, please visit: www.skylink.ru.
ZAO Tver
Cellular Communication was established in 1993. The company was one
of the first cellular operators in Russia and the first to provide
mobile services in the Tver telecom market. The Tver region occupies
84,100 square kilometers with a population of 1.65 million people.
The company provides network coverage in Tver, Torzhok, Gorodnya,
Rzhev, Vishniy Volochok and Ostashkov.