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Nokia Wins Picus Contract to Supply Equipment for 1.1 Million DSL Lines
September 14, 1999
Value of the first phase of deliveries estimated at USD 76 million
Nokia, a leader in the supply of digital subscriber line (DSL) products and services, has been awarded a three year contract with Virginia-based Picus Communications, as its sole supplier of a complete, high-performance DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) broadband network for delivering integrated high-speed data and voice service (VoDSL) to its customers.
Valued at USD 76 million, phase one of the three year contract encompasses an aggressive DSL roll-out in several Mid-Atlantic cities, including Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., Richmond and Norfolk. Service will be available in these markets as early as November 1999. DSL deployment is planned for 165 East Coast cities.
Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will supply Picus Communications, a Competitive Local Exchanger Carrier, with the highly scalable Nokia D50 Speedlink DSLAM (DSL Access Multiplier) solution to deploy up to 1.1 Million DSL lines to small and medium size businesses and to residential users. In addition, Nokia will supply Picus with Voice Gateways, Remote Access Nodes for subscriber management and Integrated Access Devices (IADs). Nokia will also provide project management, implementation of the network and a full package of customer services, training and other competence transfer services.
"Picus is very pleased to be working with Nokia on such a large project involving cutting-edge technology. We feel it is a validation, not only for our business plan, but also of Nokia's position as an industry leader," stated Tom Flake, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Picus Communications.
"We are excited about the opportunity to work with Picus in building this integrated broadband data and voice network. The nature of this contract places Nokia at the forefront of the development of integrated broadband data and voice networks," says Jussi Ilmarinen, President, Nokia High Speed Access Products. "This agreement demonstrates our capability to provide network operators more than just DSLAM solutions, but rather complete network solutions that enable our customers to launch pioneering communication services and applications."
Nokia will provide the entire range of the Nokia D50 Speedlink DSLAM products including full rate ADSL (CAP, DMT), G.Lite, SDSL and IDSL line cards. The DSL offering will enable user access to high-bandwidth applications such as voice and data over DSL, electronic commerce, video conferencing, data warehousing and VPNs.
Picus is a full service international telecommunications company, providing high-speed broadband voice
and data transmission, Internet access, local telephone service, and technical support services. Picus was the first telecommunications company to offer bundled services to its customers, on one bill, including high speed Internet access, local telephone, and long distance telephone service. The US headquarters of Picus are located in Hampton Roads, Virginia while its European headquarters are located in Lugano, Switzerland.
Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. Nokia is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks including related services. It also supplies multimedia terminals and computer displays. In 1998, net sales totaled EUR 13.3 billion (USD 15.7 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 51 000 people.
Contact information:
Ms Arja Suominen, Vice President, Communications
Nokia Telecommunications,
Tel. (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8193
Fax (Int.) + 358 9 5113 8199
Mr. Peter Cousin, Director of Marketing
Picus, LLC
Tel. (Int.) + 1 757 321 4900
Fax (Int.) + 1 757 463 6589
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