Alcatel-Lucent Sees 4G Network For India

[Karthik R 246]

SEOUL – Alcatel-Lucent expects Asia's first deployment of a 4G wireless network will be India some time in the second quarter of next year.

Alcatel-Lucent Asia-Pacific President Rajeev Singh-Molares, speaking in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday, also said he is optimistic about growth in the company's third-generation mobile network in China next year thanks to surging demand for wireless data traffic and because the Chinese government intends to modernize its existing network.

Franco-U.S. telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel, along with rivals such as market-leader Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, have experienced a surge in demand in recent quarters, driven mainly by the U.S., where operators have invested heavily to prepare networks for increasing mobile data traffic. Growth has now also returned to other markets, notably China, India and Russia.

Alcatel recently announced new contracts with U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless worth $4 billion over four years and three Chinese operators worth a total of €1.18 billion.

In the third quarter, Alcatel swung to a net profit of €25 million, compared with a loss of €182 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to €4.07 billion from €3.69 billion.

It expects its operating margin to rise to between 5%-9% next year from 1%-5% so far for this year.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G-20 Business Summit in Seoul, Mr. Singh-Molares said India looks set to get Asia's first 4G network.

"Where's the first 4G network going to be deployed in Asia? I think probably it's going to be India... it could also be Japan or Korea, it depends on how trials go," he said.

He said that ongoing shortages in electronics components, a drag on the company's business, should ease in the next two quarters.

"Is the problem solved? not yet. But we are aggressively managing the situation, we've made a significant progress over the last three quarters...we are working with our suppliers to improve the situation," said Mr. Singh-Molares.

The gear vendor business has been hit by component constraints and electronics-parts makers have struggled to boost capacity fast enough to meet rising demand.

Mr. Singh-Molares said Alcatel will "absolutely" bid for any possible orders from South Korean mobile carriers for 4G network equipment for the so-called Long-Term Evolution network, a faster, more advanced mobile network technology than conventional third-generation technology.

"We have strong commercial relationships with key Korean customers here. Korea in many ways is probably one of the most advanced markets in terms of mobile infrastructure," said Mr. Singh-Molares. "(It's) pretty clear by next year the LTE network will be deployed in Korea and we fully intend to participate in those requirements."

In order to address soaring demand for high-speed data, South Korea's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, said in July that it will launch the next-generation mobile network service next year, while hometown rival KT Corp. said it will invest 5.1 trillion South Korean won ($4.3 billion) through 2014 to expand its network service, sparked by a sales boom in smart phones and other digital gadgets.

Mr. Singh-Molares also said Sprint Nextel Corp., the No. 3 wireless carrier in the U.S. by subscribers, will soon select a supplier to modernize its existing wireless network. Alcatel-Lucent has bid for the contract.

"We are very confident in the superiority of our technology," Mr. Singh-Molares said.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint will exclude Chinese telecommunications-equipment makers Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. from a contract valued at billions of dollars largely because of national-security concerns in Washington, citing some people familiar with the matter. Telefon LM Ericsson and Samsung Electronics are also in the bid, the people said.

Source : here