Motorola Lands $18 Million Cellular Contract, Plans to Add 1,400 Positions
Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola has landed an $18 million contract from Telefonica del Peru. Under the pact, Motorola will expand Telefonica del Peru's CDMA network.
Telefonica in Peru is a subsidiary of Telefonica Internacional S.A., the international arm of Telefonica Holding S.A. Telefonica provides several telecommunication services throughout Peru including cellular, paging, cable, a standard telephone service. It also has interests in Spain and Puerto Rico, plus several other countries in Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela.
Under the contract, Motorola will provide Telefonica del Peru with its SC 614 base station transceiver system (BTS) and EMX 500 digital switches. Network expansion will begin immediately and is expected to finish in November. Once the expansion is complete, Telefonica del Peru's CDMA network will support 250,000 subscribers.
Hiring frenzy
In a second release, Motorola's Network Solutions Sector (NSS), which designs cellular infrastructure and integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) systems, announced it will hire 1400 R&D engineers.
"NSS's vision is to be the global leader of end-to-end wireless network solutions to operators and service providers worldwide for all their telecom needs,"' says Dan Coombes, senior vice president and general manager of Motorola NSS's Network Systems Group. "This further investment in people will enable our customers to benefit from a wealth of innovation."
Motorola NSS will recruit skilled engineers to fill R&D positions in the areas of CDMA, GSM, wireless local loop (WLL), iDEN, and IP technologies. Positions will also focus on 2.5 and third-generation (3G) wireless solutions, including the general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS), and cdma2000.
Motorola NSS has been working on its IP-based architecture for more than a year and plans to be one of the first manufacturers to deploy internet-based wireless networks. With an IP-based network, a network operator can create and generate new revenue streams with value-added services. When available, network operators will have the ability to offer wireless subscribers applications and next-generation services, such as Internet access, messaging, video conferencing, and data services.
Plans for Motorola NSS's IP-based network will enable a network operator to include data, voice, and video services over a single wireless network. These services will provide users with access to voicemail, e-mail, fax, and video conferencing capabilities.