'We’ll make Reliance’s network up and running in record time'

Scott K Erickson, senior V-P, mobility segment (marketing and sales), Lucent
Technologies, is an industry expert with more than 25 years of experience in
telecommunications. He is responsible for accelerating Lucent’s growing
presence in the wireless arena. In an exclusive interview at ITU Telecom Asia
2002, in Hong Kong, Erickson spoke to VOICE&DATA on Reliance Infocomm’s
order and the Indian market. Excerpts of the interview:

What do you feel about the Indian market? You have done pretty well on the
private sector front but not too well in the government sector ...

The Indian market is a strong market for us. We have strong relationship
with Reliance and Tata, and in spite of fierce competition we manage to have a
healthy relationship. We have 100 percent CDMA operations for both Tata and
Reliance. There has been a modest growth in Shyam’s network for Rajasthan. In
the public sector, ITI is our partner and we try to interface with government
companies through ITI.

Recently, you have bagged a large order from Reliance Infocomm for CDMA
wireless infrastructure. What is the order value?

We have bagged Reliance Infocomm order for the first two phases of
deployment. The deployment has already begun and will continue till December
2003. The Reliance CDMA order is approximately $400 million. We have supplied
the order in phases. Recently, we supplied 800 base-transmission stations (BTS),
and have so far shipped around 1,600 BTS to Reliance Infocomm.

The deployment at Reliance Infocomm will be the largest aggressive
deployment, excluding China Unicom where all the cities are being deployed
simultaneously across all states in the country. If one visits any of the
deployment sites, one will have a hard time distinguishing between Lucent and
Reliance employees as everybody is putting their entire effort. We will be able
to complete Reliance’s network in record time and with highest quality.

Lucent has also bagged a big order from Tata Teleservices. How big is the
order in terms of value and volume?

We have bagged TTL’s CDMA network order for four circles. The order is
specifically for 3G 1X, which will provide high-speed data services in addition
to voice.

How do you compare the two wireless technologies–GSM and CDMA?

Wireless technologies have a great opportunity in India. The CDMA technology
like 3G 1X provides better utilization of spectrum and also provides service at
a much lower cost. We will provide 3G data service when the market and
applications are there in India. GSM does not have a path to 3G, as it is still
evolving.

Does the AnyMedia Line Access Gateway platform for broadband and voice
access, launched at ITU, target the Indian market?

I don’t see it being deployed in India, at least for one year, as the
Indian market has not matured for that.

Pravin Prashant