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Nokia has been awarded USD 105 million contract to supply complete GSM network in Venezuela
August 31, 1998
First GSM network for Nokia in South America
Nokia and Corporacion Digitel C.A. have signed an agreement for the supply of a turnkey GSM 900 network in Venezuela. The multi-year contract is valued at USD 105 million. Nokia will supply the network and deliveries will begin immediately.
Nokia will provide Digitel with a complete GSM 900 network including Nokia Mobile Switching Centres (MSC), Home Location Registers (HLR), base station systems and the Nokia NMS network management system. An extensive range of services will also be supplied covering installation, implementation and maintenance.
Corporacion Digitel serves Venezuela in the central region of Venezuela, covering 8 states, including Caracas, Valencia and Maracay areas. Their network, covering a population of over 10 million people, will launch in two stages. Digitel will begin providing fixed telephone service in November in seven rural locations and mobile services in the capital area in March.
"We are pleased to have entered this joint effort with an established, innovative infrastructure provider such as Nokia," said Roberto Smith-Perera, President, Corporacion Digitel. "Our customers will benefit from a high quality network that will provide telecommunications infrastructure to serve thousands of subscribers situated along the central region with seamless coverage."
"This contract is of major significance for Nokia, marking a new GSM customer and country for us, strengthening our position as a GSM mobile systems supplier in South America," says Jyrki Salo, Vice President of Nokia's infrastructure business group in the Americas. "We are proud that Digitel has the confidence in Nokia to select us as their GSM supplier."
Digitel is a Venezuelan company developing rural and metropolitan telecommunications infrastructure in the central region of Venezuela. Their license was awarded and signed in January of 1998. Under this concession, Digitel will provide telephony service in the following areas: fixed access, mobile networking, national and international long distance, multimedia, private networking and others. Digitel's investment program aims at installing more than 700,000 subscribers over a 10 year period for a total investment of more than USD 600 million.
With this co-operation, the number of operators to which Nokia supplies GSM technology increases to 74 operators in 37 countries. Nokia ranks as the world's largest supplier of GSM 1800 networks and one of the two largest in GSM 900.
Nokia is a broad-scope communications company supplying mobile phones, mobile and fixed telecommunications networks, wireless data communications solutions, multimedia terminals and computer monitors. In 1997, net sales totaled FIM 52.6 billion ($9.8 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the NYSE (NOK.A), has sales in 130 countries and employs more than 41,000 people worldwide.
Contact information:
Ms Arja Suominen, Vice President, Communications
Nokia Telecommunications
Tel. (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8193
Fax (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8199
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