The network will be rolled out for a staged commercial launch end 2002 /early 2003, and the contract price is A$830 million, to be paid over four years.
The long standing relationship between Motorola and Hutchison provided the necessary confidence for Ericsson Australia to include Motorola Australia to provide its radio access network for the Sydney and Brisbane licence areas.
CEO for Hutchison Telecoms, Barry Roberts-Thomson said: Hutchison is a global leader in 3G, with licences covering over 170 million people worldwide. Here in Australia our spectrum footprint covers over 13 million people. We are very confident that 3G will revolutionise the way people live with the introduction of new, powerful and exciting services, which will rapidly overtake conventional mobile services. We are positioning ourselves to be a significant operator in this new market.
Partnering with Ericsson and Motorola in Australia ensures we have the technological strength to build our network in the fastest and most capital and cost efficient way. This then allows us to bring globally competitive products and services to market of the highest quality and in a timely manner.
Ericsson will provide a Wideband CDMA radio access network, IP core network and transmission technologies, advanced network management systems, network operations and a number of key network platforms to enable high quality 3G services. The base network design will utilise 2100 Mhz spectrum technology and Ericsson has also committed to working with HTAL on the future delivery of an 1800 MHz capability in network infrastructure and dual mode terminals.
In addition to the supply, commissioning and integration of network equipment, the contract includes training, civil works and one year network operations and maintenance.
Ericsson and Motorola have also committed to supply terminals in accordance with set technical specifications and in sufficient quantities to meet expected requirements for a reasonable period following commercial launch.
Commenting on the agreement, Ericsson Australia’s Managing Director, Karl Sundstrom said, Hutchison Whampoa has been instrumental in defining the global 3G environment by being one of the first carriers to embrace the market potential of 3G and as such, Ericsson is honoured to be chosen as the principal supplier for HTAL to realise its vision in Australia, Ericsson and HTAL have formed a strong alliance and we are delighted to be working so closely with them to realise the potential of 3G.
The fixed price of A$830.3 million excludes discretionary items for civil works, defined optional network platforms and features, and handsets and terminals. Terms spread payments over a four year period and are aligned with delivery and acceptance obligations.
Funding for the network will be underpinned by the cash equity of $1 billion to be provided by Hutchison Telecoms and Telecom Corporation of New Zealand through their recent alliance. Project financing from the Company’s bankers will be put in place in due course. Both Ericsson and Motorola have indicated they will assist in this syndicated funding process.
Gene Delaney, Senior Vice President, GTSS Motorola said, Providing the best technology and solutions for our customers often requires collaboration with other companies whose expertise complements our decades of experience and success in radio access technologies, networking infrastructure systems integration and end-to-end solutions.
This 3G contract leads the way for further interoperability between network vendors on our products in order to produce the best solutions and time to market for our operator customers, said Delaney.
