Moscow and London, 30 August 2013 - NEC Corporation today announced a new deal between NEC Neva Communications Systems and Russian mobile operator Scartel (Brand;Yota), which will see LTE microcell base stations used to provide commercial services in Russia for the first time(*1). NEC's LTE microcell base stations have begun operating in Scartel's LTE network across major cities, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar and Sochi.

In order to facilitate the efficient spread and expansion of LTE and effectively utilize frequencies in Russia, mobile operators are interested in supporting the MOCN (Multi-Operator Core Network) that makes it possible for multiple operators to provide services while sharing the same base station. NEC's base station is equipped with this function and by incorporating its own unique technology of radio resource management, it contributes to lower LTE equipment investment and operation costs for operators.

Installing the microcell base stations in urban areas - where data traffic is notoriously heavy and commercial services have already been launched - will enable Scartel to increase network capacity and provide stable LTE services to its customers.

Raymond Armes, Managing Director of NEC Neva, underlined the effectiveness of NEC's solution: "Our microcell base stations have demonstrated excellent results in terms of automation and energy saving, which consequently helps operators using our technology to reduce both CAPEX and OPEX. This latest partnership will enable us to expand our contributions to Scartel's network."

In addition to MCON base RAN sharing capabilities, NEC's LTE base stations are equipped with a Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) function enabling base stations with different radii of coverage to work in unison, as well as a Self-Organizing Network (SON) function facilitating the coexistence of products manufactured by multiple vendors within the same network, thereby making it compatible with equipment produced by various manufactures.