Japan's KDDI is to deploy a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) overlay on its CDMA network, using a core networking solution from Hitachi collaborating with Nortel. Hitachi Communication Technologies, a fully owned subsidiary of Hitachi, will take a major role of solution development with Nortel.

"We chose Hitachi and Nortel to collaborate with us on this journey because of their proven technology leadership, their experience, expertise in delivering differentiated solutions and time to market advantage which allows us to launch services quickly," said Masahiro Inoue, associate senior vice president, KDDI. "Nortel has demonstrated clear technology leadership in early LTE trials with industry-firsts in high-speed mobility handover and in LTE interworking with CDMA which is the base of our current network. Nortel also offers an open standards approach and proof of true multi-vendor compatibility - all of which are essential to KDDI's needs. Adding the global experience of Nortel to the proven track record of our existing core network supplier Hitachi gives us the perfect team to drive our network to the next level."

The tender award of KDDI's LTE core network includes the deployment of a new Evolved Packet Core (EPC) from Hitachi, featuring Nortel's new ATCA-based Access Gateway as a Mobility Management Entity (MME) as well as an evolution to KDDI's existing operation, management and provisioning system to ensure a seamless upgrade path to the new network.

Source:cellular-news