Smart taps Nokia for supply of 3G equipment

Smart Communications has signed an agreement with Nokia for the supply of third generation (3G) mobile communications network technology equipment and services.

Smart president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno earlier said the company will spend about $60 million to upgrade its system and offer 3G services. The investment will be spread out over the next two years.

It is estimated that the company will invest a total of $300 million to roll out its 3G mobile services in the Philippines. "To cover the major cities and municipalities in the country, the estimated investments will be around $300 million," Rolando Peña, Smart head for network services division, said.

The agreement with Nokia covers the supply of 3G radio access and core network equipment including the Nokia high speed downlink packet access solution, 3G upgrades to the existing circuit and packet switched networks, and related network services.

"Smart is committed to offer the best 3G services in the market. As of today, deliveries of equipment and services are underway. The investments under this contract will allow us to establish quality nationwide 3G coverage in the shortest possible time," Nazareno said.

3G is short for the next generation of mobile communications networks running on the WCDMA (wireless code division multiple access) platform. This technology allows for faster data transmission speeds, making possible high-speed data communications and mobile multimedia services such as video conferencing, audio streaming and mobile Internet.

Nazareno added that Smart has already been testing a number of 3G cellsites and that 3G content such as streaming video clips can already be previewed at demonstrations in selected Smart wireless centers in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

"We are pleased to continue our cooperation with Smart in the 3G sphere, where Nokia’s solutions will benefit Smart’s customers by delivering the higher data transfer rates needed for mobile multimedia services," said Markku Nieminen, account director of Nokia Networks.

For his part, Smart division head for administration and materials management Ramon Fernandez pointed out that this contract will enable Smart to provide a cost-effective 3G coverage and timely network rollout. "Increased system capacity will also be achieved so that our subscribers will get the best 3G experience once we offer commercial 3G services. We continue to pursue our thrust of providing innovative and cutting edge services for our subscribers," he said.

Meanwhile, Peña noted: "As the expectations for 3G are high, this deal ensures that we will be able to keep our market leadership not only in GSM mobile coverage and subscriber count but also in the release of 3G services that will include video streaming, video conferencing, faster Internet browsing, and multi-tasking, among others."

Smart was recently awarded a 3G license by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), garnering the only perfect score of 30 based on the regulatory body’s grading system designed to gauge the capability of aspiring telcos to massively and effectively provide 3G services.