[London, ENGLAND] Nokia announced Friday a
three-year agreement to supply full 3G network
solutions to mobile operator Orange, now owned by
France Telecom.
As part of the deal, Nokia will supply 3G packet core
elements and its 3G Mobile Switching Centres (3G MSC)
as intermediate steps to an all-IP core network solution.
Orange will also get everything it needs for a complete
3G radio access network, with support for advanced
mobile protocols.
Dr. J.T. Bergqvist, senior vice president, Nokia Networks,
said the deal was further proof that Nokia’s 3G solution
was competitive and he called it “another major milestone
agreement for us.”
“Nokia’s 3G technology gives operators such as Orange a
head start in launching a true Mobile Internet network,”
claimed Bergqvist.
The agreement with Orange covers Nokia’s 3G services and
systems integration expertise, plus network development and
integration. It will lead, say the partners, to a “unique,
standards compliant, end-to-end 3G enabled system.”
The huge Orange network in Europe is not, however, dealing
exclusively with Nokia. Swiss GSM operator Orange Switzerland
this week announced that it will be using the Singularit.e
suite of operational support system (OSS) solutions from
broadband enabler ADC to analyze its network performance.
ADC has been supplying other Orange networks in Europe
with similar products, according to David Heaps, senior
vice president and general manager at ADC.
With the ADC product, Orange Switzerland will have access
to all its network performance data via a standard Web
browser interface.
