Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced its selection by Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the leading service provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to launch the first 4G LTE (long-term evolution) wireless network in the country, bringing subscribers true broadband services to their mobile devices.
The introduction of LTE technology will give STC's mobile broadband subscribers access to a huge volume of data applications on their smartphones, tablets and laptops. The increased speeds and quality of experience will allow activities such as the download and transfer of high-definition video and real-time gaming, on the move.
As a key innovator, STC will be the first in the region to launch major commercial LTE services to cover 11 key cities in Saudi Arabia as the first phase to provide enhanced mobile broadband services using 4G LTE technology, with dramatic improvements anticipated in the speed and quality of connections. Alcatel-Lucent was selected to support STC's LTE network deployment in the Northern Region of the Kingdom, following a successful trial of the technology. Alcatel-Lucent, through the ngConnect programme, is also helping STC build an ecosystem of leading companies to provide content, applications and innovative services to meet needs of subscribers in Saudi Arabia.
Dr Zeyad Al-Etaibi, CTO of STC Group, said: “STC is committed to delivering innovative services to its subscribers and, together with Alcatel-Lucent, we are confident we will enrich our customers' lives by offering a variety of services for consumers and businesses. Our customers will enjoy the benefits of 4G LTE through an enhanced mobile experience that is unmatched in the industry.”
Abdulrahman Al-Azzam, Country Senior Officer of Alcatel-Lucent in Saudi Arabia, said: “This is a big win for Alcatel-Lucent in the Saudi market, and Alcatel-Lucent is committed to providing STC with the most advanced LTE solution, addressing the need to scale and manage network capacity to meet increasing bandwidth demands while delivering differentiated, revenue-generating services at a lower overall cost”. He added: “This LTE deal with STC includes managed services of all sites Alcatel-Lucent will deploy.”
Alcatel-Lucent and 4G LTE
With more than 20 LTE contracts for commercial deployments, including two of the largest LTE network rollouts, and engagement in more than 70 LTE trials worldwide, Alcatel-Lucent has established a strong global leadership position in 4G LTE.
More information about Alcatel-Lucent's End-to-End 4G LTE Solution can be found here: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/lte.
Find out more about Alcatel-Lucent's ngConnect programme, bringing together leading industry players to develop innovative services that can be accessed by an array of devices.
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Saudi Telecom
STC (Saudi Telecom) is the leading national telecommunications services provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. STC provides four key services: home services, which include PSTN, broadband DSL; personal services, which include mobile telephone services and value-added services; enterprise services, which provide advanced business data solutions to enterprises; and wholesale services, which provide network services to other local operators. In the recent years, STC grew beyond its local borders and went global, forming a network of business and investments in various Gulf countries, Asia and Africa. The company is present in Kuwait, Bahrain, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and South Africa, enabling it to provide services to a bigger customer base and increasing its total number of customers externally by studying and evaluating investment opportunities. For more information, visit STC on the Internet: http://www.stc.com.sa/.
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU)
The long-trusted partner of service providers, enterprises, strategic industries and governments around the world, Alcatel-Lucent is a leader in mobile, fixed, IP and optics technologies, and a pioneer in applications and services. Alcatel-Lucent includes Bell Labs, one of the world's foremost centres of research and innovation in communications technology.
With operations in more than 130 countries and one of the most experienced global services organisations in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach.
The company achieved revenues of EUR16 billion in 2010 and is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.
For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog, and follow the company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.
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