Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago, Limited (TSTT) is upgrading and expanding its wireless infrastructure with advanced third generation (3G) wireless solutions from Nortel (NYSE:NT) (TSX:NT). The project is expected to significantly expand coverage and improve quality of wireless voice and data services.
Under the terms of an agreement estimated at more than US$50 million over two years, Nortel will expand and upgrade TSTT's GSM/GPRS wireless network, deploying both core and access equipment, including base stations and switching. Nortel will also deploy an EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) solution from Nortel that will boost capacity for TSTT, and enable its subscribers to access a range of advanced, wireless services, including high-speed wireless Internet access, e-mail, corporate databases, mobile commerce (m-commerce) applications and multimedia messaging."The demand for sophisticated services in Trinidad and Tobago continues to drive our efforts to offer the most advanced service options to our subscribers," said Carlos Espinal, chief executive officer of TSTT. "Nortel has always provided us with industry leading solutions and support to build the kind of networks that can help us be successful. Their expertise in the deployment of GSM is critical in this upgrade of our wireless infrastructure in order to face new competition."
"It's a pleasure to work with such innovative operators like TSTT," said Kevin Taylor, vice president, Wireless Networks for Nortel in the Caribbean and Latin America. "The selection of our R4 and EDGE solutions will enable TSTT to enhance the communication experience of its subscribers by improving coverage, the overall quality and reliability of the network, as well as offering those advanced 3G services its customers are demanding."
The network upgrade also includes the addition of Nortel distributed Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) technology that builds on the next generation of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) Release 4 standards, commonly known as R4.
R4 networks enable more efficient use of transmission capacity. This is achieved by switching traffic locally at a media gateway removing the need for backhaul or by the packet transport of already compressed voice traffic when traffic is not local. Unlike traditional circuit-switched MSCs, Nortel R4 technology makes use of Call Servers and Media Gateways that separate the call control software and the physical ports carrying the voice calls. In addition to lowering the cost of switching and transporting calls, the Nortel R4 solution will also provide TSTT with advanced software features that will allow the operator to improve voice quality for subscribers.
Nortel's R4 solution provides the highest capacity and highest density wireless packet voice equipment available by leveraging Nortel's five years experience in Wireline packet voice technology.
EDGE is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved 3G radio access standard. EDGE is designed to deliver packet data over 400 kilobits per second -- an average of up to three times faster than currently available on GPRS -- for Web browsing, streaming audio and video, multimedia messaging, location-based services, m-commerce, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other wireless services.
Nortel EDGE technology allows GSM operators to offer high-speed data services to end users, serve more wireless customers, and free up GSM network capacity to accommodate additional voice traffic. Nortel EDGE solution is built upon the same powerful Packet Core Network as GPRS. No changes are needed on the Packet Core Network to benefit from EDGE improvements. In addition, Nortel EDGE solution improves network performance with its power amplifier advantage that increases the speed of downloading data. Nortel EDGE technology also provides larger EDGE coverage area from the base station transceivers (BTS) with the same quality of service compared to competitor products.
Nortel has worked with TSTT since the early 1980s. Most recently (February 2004), Nortel and TSTT announced the deployment of a Voice over IP network for the delivery of broadband voice, data and multimedia services. Nortel is the primary provider of wireless solutions for TSTT's network.
Nortel has designed, installed and launched more than 300 wireless networks in over 70 countries. Nortel was the industry's first supplier with wireless networks operating in all advanced radio technologies (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO, UMTS and WLAN), and is the only end-to-end provider of all next generation wireless solutions.
About TSTT
Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited is the sole licensed provider of telephone services in Trinidad and Tobago. The company is jointly owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (51%) and Cable & Wireless (49%). Services provided include basic telephony, mobile (GSM & TDMA), Internet, lease lines and data services. The switching and transport infrastructure are both 100% digital. The transport network comprises primarily fibre optic based systems supported by microwave radio systems. Key customers include banking and insurance, petroleum and energy based industries, government and tourism.
