Wind Italy chooses Nokia for 3G turnkey solution

Nokia and Italian operator Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. have signed a three-year frame agreement for the turnkey supply of a WCDMA 3G radio network solution and a range of other services.

The modular, high capacity Nokia Flexi WCDMA Base Station will enable Wind to make more efficient use of its existing base station sites, leading to significant site cost savings through reduced site construction work, quick base station installation, and decreased power consumption. Wind’s network will be supported by the multivendor, multitechnology Nokia NetAct network and service management system.

In the turnkey contract, Nokia will provide under managed services model to Wind maintenance services and project management, along with site acquisition, site construction, network planning, implementation, commissioning, and network optimization services.

“We are going to deploy Nokia’s WCDMA 3G solution in 9 out of the 20 regions in Italy, and we are confident that cooperation with a reliable supplier like Nokia will further strengthen our competitive position in the Italian market place,” says Jere Calmes, Chief Operating Officer, Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.

“Wind is now part of a global telecoms group, Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), so this deal marks the beginning of cooperation between Nokia and OTH,” says Pertti Melamies, Vice President, Networks, Nokia.

Founded in 1997, Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA is one of the few European telecom operator which offers integrated fixed, mobile and Internet services. In Italy, Wind is the third mobile operator with a market share of 20% and the first alternative fixed operator, Libero. It is the first Italian Internet Portal and is among the major Italian Internet service providers (ISPs).