Etisalat to deploy Alcatel-Lucent LTE solution to expand 4G coverage in UAE

Etisalat, a telecom operator in United Arab Emirates, will deploy Alcatel-Lucent LTE solution to expand its 4G coverage.

This is part of an earlier agreement signed in 2012.

Also read: Alcatel-Lucent partners with STC and Etisalat for LTE roll outs

Earlier, Etisalat Sri Lanka selected Alcatel-Lucent for 4G / LTE network. Etisalat Sri Lanka will implement Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio solution to deliver 4G LTE-FDD services to Etisalat’s subscribers. Etisalat — with its dual carrier HSPA+ strategy, recently surpassed 4 million subscribers, it said in February 2013.

Also read: Etisalat Sri Lanka picks Alcatel-Lucent for 4G / LTE

Alcatel-Lucent said the expanded network also paves the way for the introduction of advanced cloud services and evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) in 2014, as well as supporting Etisalat’s Smart City and EXPO2020 initiatives.

Etisalat is also upgrading existing 3G-2G infrastructure for future LTE service.

Alcatel-Lucent’s technology will support Etisalat’s plan to cover 99 percent of populated areas in the UAE with LTE service by 2015 – including buildings, shopping malls, stadiums, airports and other densely populated areas.

Haitham Abdulrazzak, CTO of Etisalat UAE, said: “This additional business collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent will enable our customers in the UAE to continue to experience broadband connectivity in terms of mobile broadband internet access, mobile TV applications, video streaming and video calls.”

Etisalat has annual revenues of over $9 billion. Etisalat has operations in 15 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Nearly 42,000 people are directly employed by the company.

editor@telecomlead.com