RComm may soon sign deal with Alcatel-Lucent

Telephony major Reliance Communications is close to signing a $300-400 million agreement with global cellular equipment vendor Alcatel-Lucent that would help it speed-up the rollout of its telecom infrastructure in the country.

This is in addition to the $1-billion contract the Indian company is close to finalising with the Chinese vendor, Huawei Technologies. According to industry sources, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company is in advanced levels of talks with Alcatel-Lucent and the deal is expected to be closed "soon".

Reliance Communications is planning to acquire around 8,000 base transceiver systems (BTS) from the global major that would be deployed in the country. The company is looking at placing orders for GSM and CDMA telephony equipment, while it is believed to be in talks for 3G services and infrastructure.

Spokespersons of both the companies declined to comment.

Alcatel, a GSM equipment provider, had earlier acquired CDMA service provider Lucent for $11 billion. In India also, Alcatel is concentrating on GSM equipment and services, while Lucent would look at providing CDMA equipment.

Reliance Communications was believed to have short-listed Chinese telecom vendor major Huawei Technologies for the rollout of its 30 million new mobile lines. Huawei is said to have outbid other equipment service providers such as Ericsson and Nortel for the $1 billion equipment contract.

Reliance Communications had earlier earmarked $2.5 billion for its network expansion plans including both CDMA and GSM operations. It provides GSM services through a subsidiary, Reliance Telecom.

The company had added over 1.2 million subscribers in March, increasing its total user base to 30 million subscribers.