RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Just a day after announcing an alliance with Microsoft, Nortel said Wednesday it would supply Verizon Wireless with equipment to upgrade the carrier’s data network capabilities later this year.
Nortel (NYSE: NT) will equip Verizon with gear that will increase substantially the speed at which data is transmitted over Verizon’s wireless broadband service.
Verizon is currently conducting a trial of new applications, such as push-to-talk and Voice over Internet Protocol, using Nortel technology.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Verizon will use EV-DO, or evolution data only, technology that increases the speed of code division multiple access (CDMA) networks. Nortel calls its solution EV-DO Rev. A.
According to Nortel, its equipment will up data speeds to 3.1 megabits per second for downloads and 1.8 Mbps per second for uploads. Conventional CDMA networks deliver data at much slower speeds. Current wireless networks deliver data between 400-700 Kbps.
“Nortel’s EV-DO Rev. A solution allows Verizon Wireless to introduce new, real-time services such as video and other streaming media that rely on quality of services capabilities,” explained Doug Wolff, vice president and general manager, CDMA, Nortel. “These new services provide a very powerful end-user experience that increase customer loyalty.”
Nortel and Verizon collaborated on EV-DO technology to launch high-speed wireless broadband in San Diego in 2003.
“Successful trials of EV-DO Rev. A have demonstrated the technology’s potential for taking the Verizon Wireless broadband experience to new heights,” said Ed Salas, vice president of network planning for Verizon Wireless, in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to bring new services to the market based on our enhanced network capabilities.”
Nortel has provided gear to Verizon for more than 10 years.
On Tuesday, Nortel announced an alliance with Microsoft to push development of software products for telecommunications.
Nortel: www.nortel.com
