The €750 million deal will see Alcatel-Lucent upgrade China Mobile’s existing infrastructure over the course of a year, in a bid to prepare the operator for future technologies such as network functions virtualisation (NFV) and cloud-based services.
“This is a significant achievement for Alcatel-Lucent and essentially makes us a key technology provider in virtually every aspect of China Mobile’s growing mobile ultra-broadband network,” said Michel Combes, CEO at Alcatel-Lucent.
“We have worked side-by-side with China Mobile throughout many developments in mobile technology and are continuing that close collaboration as China Mobile moves to the next-level of ultra-broadband through NFV supporting future cloud applications and services,” Combes added.
The two companies demonstrated an NFV solution at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February this year, and today’s deal marks the 30th anniversary of Alcatel-Lucent operating as a major player in the Chinese telecoms market.
The deal also coincides with Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to France to celebrate the 50th anniversary of French-Chinese diplomatic relations.
In December, Alcatel-Lucent signed four agreements with China Mobile and rival China Telecom for the trial of 4G LTE services in the country.
