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Nokia to Supply American Portable Telecom a Complete PCS Network in USD 200 Million Contract
March 04, 1996
Nokia announces today that it has been selected as the sole supplier for the initial build-out of American Portable Telecom’s (APT) Personal Communications Service network . APT and Nokia have signed a contract valued at up to USD 200 million for the supply of PCS1900 switching equipment, base stations and engineering services. Deliveries will commence immediately as APT plans to launch commercial service in early 1997.
APT is the fifth largest PCS license holder in the United States, with the potential to serve a population of 27.3 million in the Columbus, Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis-St. Paul , Pittsburgh, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Orlando areas.
Jyrki Salo, President of Nokia Telecommunications Inc., said: "We are very pleased to be in partnership with APT on launching their PCS service. They are one of the leading PCS carriers in the United States. The Nokia PCS1900 system will enable APT to offer the functionalities and features of a world-class digital network including data."
"We chose Nokia due to their worldwide leadership in GSM development, and due to their strong commitment to the US market. This commitment includes extensive research and development, local manufacturing, and active participation in PCS1900 standardization." said Don Warkentin, President & CEO of American Portable Telecom, Inc. "We were especially impressed by the features and technical innovation of the Nokia DX200 Mobile Switch as well as with the fourth generation base station, PrimeSiteTM."
PCS1900 is based on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and has been accepted by the American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") as a North American standard for 1.9 GHz mobile telephone service. Nokia has supplied GSM based systems to 42 operators in 27 countries. Close to 15 million subscribers in over 100 countries use GSM systems today for their wireless communications, making it the most widely deployed of all digital wireless technologies.
APT is a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Chicago-based telecommunications company with established cellular, local telephone and radio paging services to more than 1.9 million customers in 38 states and the District of Columbia through its subsidiaries, United States Cellular Corporation, TDS Telecommunications Corporation and American Paging, Inc.
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