Tata Teleservices has awarded a contract worth nearly $30 million to Lucent Technologies to help in the CDMA network expansion of Tata Teleservices in Andhra Pradesh.

Lucent will provide equipment, software and services to increase the coverage and capacity of Tata Teleservices' network in the state.

According to a Lucent press release, the agreement will see Lucent supply Tata Teleservices with Lucent Flexent(tm) base stations, which support 3G CDMA2000 1X service. Lucent will also provide upgrades for Tata Teleservices' mobile switching centres.

The deployment of Lucent equipment is expected to increase voice capacity on the network and enable Tata Teleservices to deliver a variety of value-added mobile high-speed data services such as video streaming and high-speed Internet access to more customers.

"This contract highlights Lucent's leadership in the CDMA market in India and underscores its strong relationship with Tata Teleservices," Cindy Christy, president of Lucent's mobility solutions group, said in a press release put up on its website.

"We appreciate the opportunity to support Tata Teleservices' CDMA network expansion, and are pleased to be able to help them deliver compelling new 3G services to their business and consumer customers," she said.

Lucent has been working with Tata Teleservices on the development of its CDMA network since 1997.