News
A-L at a Turning Point?
(08 Nov 2010, BWCS Staff)
Franco-US mobile equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent has reportedly signed a major development pact with America’s largest mobile operator, Verizon Wireless. The US$4 billion deal will see the pair collaborate in network development. One of the major parts of the agreement is said to be that Alcatel-Lucent will support the mobile company’s 3G network expansion as well as its roll out of so-called 4G, LTE networks.
According to Ben Verwaayen, A-L’s CEO, the company has now reached a “turning point” after it also clinched deals with three major operators in China, worth a further US$1.7 billion. The Paris-based manufacturer announced the contracts at the same time as it reported its first profitable quarter of the year. For the last three months to the end of September 2010, A-L recorded net profits of €25 million (US$35.3 million). This compared to a loss of €182 million for the same period last year.
Verwaayen described the agreements with Verizon Wireless and the three biggest mobile carriers in China as “massive” for the company, which has struggled to get back on track following the merger of the French outfit with Lucent Technologies.
The CTO of Verizon, Tony Melone, commented in a statement “Network reliability is a top reason business and consumers choose and stay with us. With Alcatel-Lucent's strong support, we continue to optimise our networks and will remain the most reliable in the nation for years to come.” The French/American vendor will provide infrastructure solutions as well as professional and network integration services. Verizon Wireless currently has over 92 million customers.
Back