Nortel has won a CDMA network upgrade contract from Nigeria based Multi-Links Telecommunications worth US$45 million. The initial phase of the contract has been awarded and will use Nortel's CDMA 1xEV-DO Rev A solution in the metropolitan region of Lagos, the prime economic center of the country.

Lagos is the most populous urban area in Africa with more than eight million people and Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with a population of over 140 million. However, even with large numbers of potential subscribers, the country has an Internet penetration of only 6.75 percent, according to International Telecommunications Union statistics.

"Multi-Links has begun an aggressive rollout program to increase network capacity with plans to provide broadband coverage for 80 percent of the Nigerian population by 2011 and 100 percent of the population by 2013," said Justin Ramayia, CEO, Multi-Links. "We've been working with Nortel since our early beginnings in 1996. With this deployment, Nortel is helping to ensure that Multi-Links can meet growing market demand in Nigeria for reliable voice and broadband services that will strengthen our competitive edge."

The Multi-Links network will include Nortel's Enhanced Base Station Controller, EV-DO Radio Network Controller and suite of base stations that support 1x and 1xEV-DO Rev A.

Source:cellular-news