MOSCOW (WiMAX Day). Russian WiMAX network operator Synterra announced last week a strategic partnership with Alcatel-Lucent. Synterra issued a tender bid in May for companies to deliver substantial WiMAX infrastructure based on 802.16e standards.

Alcatel-Lucent was chosen in the tender to be a “preferred supplier” in a project that Synterra calls Mini-WiMAX. Synterra is not planning to build a network outside of major cities, but rather will create partnerships with local operators to help the company deploy networks in over 1,000 cities and towns that cover the expansive Russian Federation.

In this scheme, Synterra provides local partners with access to its national 2.5 GHz spectrum, preferred supply of equipment from Alcatel-Lucent, and its best practices for building a network. In turn, the local partner must invest in building the local network. Synterra says that Mini-WiMAX “is designed to create long-term partnerships between regional operators and Synterra.”

The average cost for building a regional network Synterra estimate at US$29,000.

“Regional infrastructure development is a pressing task for [Russia’s] telecommunications market,” said Vitaly Slizen, Managing Director of Synterra. “We are confident that our programme of Mini-WiMAX will enable regional operators to implement effective investment, and ensure rapid development of their business.”

Synterra announced its ambitious plan earlier this year, and intends to have it fully deployed by the end of 2008. Deployment of networks will be focussed on small towns and cities with an average population of 100,000 people. The first regional network is said to be operational by the end of 2007.

Winning the Synterra tender is a major win for Alcatel-Lucent. The company presently has 70 WiMAX trials and deployments worldwide and 11 commercial contracts, and Russia could be the largest.

According to a company press release, Synterra selected Alcatel-Lucent “because its solution is available now and it is flexible, easy-to-deploy and scalable, which will help our partners to bring these services to market more quickly. We see Universal WiMAX as a key technology to support our plan to expand broadband coverage throughout Russia.”