South Korea’s mobile service provider, SK Telecom  has selected Alcatel-Lucent's packet optical transport solution to upgrade the operator’s nationwide wireless data network. The project is currently being deployed, according to Alcatel-Lucent's announcement.

Due to rapid propagation of smartphones and the increase of mobile Internet utilization in Korea, SK Telecom is expanding its mobile data networks so that end users can utilize the services in a more convenient and reliable way. The new backhaul network will help SK Telecom to increase its network capacity for the delivery of its WiFi and WiBro services. In addition, it will support its WCDMA traffic and lay a solid foundation for SK Telecom’s future Long Term Evolution (LTE)-based services.

“With our innovation leadership in optical transport and wireless network solutions, we are committed to support our Korean customers smooth evolution to the LTE era,” said Rajeev Singh-Molares, president of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in Asia-Pacific. 

Alcatel-Lucent’s packet optical transport solution is based on its 1850 Transport Service Switch (TSS) and is managed by its 1350 Optical Management Suite (OMS). TSS also provides a evolution path to packet backhaul in support of all mobile generation from 2G/3G to LTE-based 4G. 

According to company statement, major global service providers, including BT, China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo have selected this solution for their mobile backhaul and transport networks.