Sydney, Australia -24 November, 2006, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei"), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, today announced that it has signed a GSM/GPRS/EDGE agreement with the Federated States of Micronesia Telecommunications Corporation (FSMTC), to replace and upgrade its existing GSM network to a GSM/GPRS/EDGE network with high speed packet data service capabilities.
Under the agreement, Huawei will provide FSMTC with a total EDGE network solution from basic call services, packet data services, through to Intelligent Network capability, including value added services like short messages, voice mails and prepaid. In the mean time, Huawei will deploy Mobile Softswitch solution based on the advanced R4 architecture to satisfy FSMTC's network expansion requirements, and enable the telecom service provider to evolve into 3G smoothly in the future.
Mr. Joseph Zhou, Managing Director of Huawei Australia said: "Huawei has extensive experience in the development of network solutions and rich experience in telecoms industry worldwide. We are extremely pleased to be partnering with FSMTC to expand and upgrade their system with Huawei's more advanced EDGE solution."
The network rollout is to be deployed in three stages across the four major islands, which are Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, and Kosrae in Micronesia. This project starts immediately and is likely to be completed by January 2008.
Mr. Takuro Akinaga (CEO) from FSMTC said: "Micronesia has a unique environment where we need to construct a network across four islands. Each of the four groups of islands present its own network coverage challenges. We recognize the limitations on our current network and appreciate how we would like to continue to upgrade our services so it was important for us to choose a supplier who not only had reliable and future proof technology but also has the flexibility to increase our network capacity quicker. In the end, we chose Huawei because of their proven technological expertise and their vast experience around the globe in building reliable and high performance networks. This is an exciting time for FSTMC and our partnership with Huawei will allow our valued customers in Micronesia to enjoy state of the art services parallel to those enjoyed in the developed countries like USA or Australia."
FSMTC currently has approximately 20,000 mobile subscriber base. With the construction of the new EDGE network it is envisioned that FSMTC will grow through the ability to offer packet data services, increased performance and advanced value added services.
About Federated States of Micronesia Telecommunications Corporation (FSMTC)
FSM Telecommunications Corporation is a public corporation established under Title 21 of the Code of the Federated States of Micronesia, governed under the laws of the FSM. The vision for FSMTC is best described as "promoting FSM's socio-economic development through provisioning of ubiquitous, affordable, reliable, and cost-effective modern telecommunication services for the benefit of customers and stakeholders." FSMTC's simple principle is to provide the highest quality of service possible with available resources. The corporation provides a wide variety of services including plain old telephony, long distance & IDD, Internet, cellular mobile, and television. For more information, please visit www.telecom.fm.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Fredy Perman
Marketing / Customer Care Manager
FSMTC
frperman@telecom.fm
Tel:+691-320-2740
About Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei") is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world. The company is dedicated to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and potential growth for its customers. Huawei's products and solutions are deployed in over 100 countries and serve 28 of the world's top 50 operators, as well as over one billion users worldwide. For more information, please visit www.huawei.com.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Kevin Crouch
Fleishman - Hillard
Kevin.crouch@fleishman.com
Tel: +61 02 8905 6315
M : +61 04034837429