Verizon Wireless taps AlcaLu for backhaul equipment

Verizon Wireless, which aims to roll out 25 to 30 LTE markets this year, announced it will deploy Alcatel-Lucent equipment in its backhaul network to move traffic between cell sites and its core network. The operator will deploy Alcatel-Lucent's 7750 service router, 7705 service aggregation router and its 5620 service aware manager.

According to Light Reading Mobile, Verizon Wireless is just one of many wireless operators that have opted to leverage Alcatel-Lucent's gear for their respective LTE-based wireless network deployments. "It's not just Verizon Wireless that's taken the 7750 and 7705--NTT DoCoMo Inc.. has taken the 1850 TSS, while one of the leading LTE carriers in Europe is also using Alcatel-Lucent equipment in the backhaul," said Patrick Donegan, senior analyst with Heavy Reading.

While Verizon Wireless is leveraging its wireline wholesale counterpart Verizon Global Wholesale for fiber to the cell connectivity for 3,500 cell sites across 25 states, it is also leveraging several other wholesale providers for backhaul solutions.

Outside of the Verizon wireline region, Verizon Wireless is leveraging fiber and microwave-based links from a host of alternative carriers in various regions including: CenturyLink (Nevada), Conterra Broadband (North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia), Duke Net (Southeast), FiberTower (Ohio and Michigan), PalmettoNet (Carolinas), Paradigm Telecom (South),  Qwest (Western markets), Telecom Transport Management (Minnesota), and USCarrier (Georgia and Alabama).

For more:
- see the Verizon LTE release
- read this Light Reading Mobile article

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