The Italian wireless operator, Linkem, has contracted Alvarion to expand its WiMAX network to provide wireless broadband coverage to six more regions. The company, which was awarded 13 regional WiMAX licenses in 2008, went live with the country's first commercial WiMAX service in the same year.
According to Linkem, the €5 million WiMAX expansion contract will enable it to provide broadband services to the Italian regions of Lombardia Veneto, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria and Sicilia. Alvarion will supply the radio access network, core network, end user devices and professional services.
"We have an aggressive strategy of expanding our coverage footprint throughout Italy so we can bring quality broadband services to more and more consumers and businesses around the country," said Davide Rota, CEO of Linkem.
Despite this expansion contract with Linkem, Alvarion has reported that its third quarter revenues dropped by 7.5 per cent to US$54 million compared to a year ago. Net losses also widened from US$1 million a year ago to US$6.1 million.
The company attempted to explain these poor numbers by claiming that its Q3/2010 revenue mix contained a high proportion of third-party equipment and subscriber devices.
However, Eran Gorev, president and CEO of Alvarion, remained buoyant saying that he was pleased with the progress the company was making on its strategy to expand its customer relationships by supplying complete turnkey solutions. "For example, after supplying equipment only for its initial deployment, we have now been engaged for a complete turnkey project for Linkem's second phase."
Alvarion management said that it continued to expect a gradual improvement in shipments, but declined to provide detailed guidance for Q4 because the timing of revenue from various projects could be predicted with accuracy.
For more:
- see this Globes article
- see this Cellular News article
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