RCS&RDS links up with NSN for national 3G rollout

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has been contracted to deploy a national 3G mobile network for Romanian cableco RCS&RDS, the Business Standard daily reports. RCS&RDS is scheduled to launch commercial W-CDMA services in Bucharest and a further ten to 15 cities by the end of December. The company launched a pilot trial in the northern city of Oradea earlier in the year, after an initial 3G contract award to NSN in March, and is reportedly providing mobile services in the western city of Timisoara. In related news, the commercial manager of RCS&RDS, Ovidiu Gherman, confirmed a report in the Business Standard that the operator will seek a EUR500 million (USD742 million) syndicated loan from a consortium of banks, led by Citibank and ING. The company requires investment of EUR100 million to fulfil the rollout requirements of its 3G licence. ‘Our goal is to launch mobile services initially in cities where we have the largest number of clients,’ Gherman said, adding that there are a total of around 60 cities earmarked for eventual 3G coverage.