Network vendors can build a turn key 3G network

No network vendor can supply all equipment and components to the full a 3G network, but quite a few can be a main contractor to build a turn-key 3G network. Normally network vendors can bring in partners like service and applications providers, hand set manufactures, civil work and acquisition companies etc.

Current short list of main vendors for turn-key UMTS networks:

Alcatel Ericsson Lucent Motorola Nokia Nortel Siemens/NEC Current short list of main vendors for turn-key cdma2000 networks: Ericsson LG Electronics Lucent Motorola Nortel Samsung Who much does 3G network cost to build? Good source of information is to contract announcements and annual reports. Those usually tell how much money an operator will spend on infrastructure. In every country each carrier has to spend around same amount of money to build a same size 3G network, so if you see one of the operator's spending figures, all other operators use similar sums of money per subscriber. Sometimes spending figures include services (planning, logistics, commissioning, integration, testing etc.), but almost never civil works on base station sites. Press reports claim that operators in Europe have spend around 650 euro per 3G subscriber for infrastructure + planning services + site civil works, this figure should drop to around 400 euros within couple of years. Infrastructure cost are only small part of total network related cost and operators also have license fees, financing fees, cost of running the organisation, sales and marketing costs etc. [More]