ALCATEL-LUCENT has won a 750-million-euro (US$1.1 billion) deal from Chinese mobile carriers to expand the capacity and coverage of mobile networks and evolve into 3G networks, the global telecommunications giant said yesterday.

China Mobile and China Unicom, the two mobile service providers with more than 500 million subscribers, signed agreements with Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's Chinese flagship company, yesterday in Beijing.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao took part in the signing ceremony.

Alcatel-Lucent signed a 600-million-euro agreement with China Mobile to provide the world's top carrier with "extensive network expansion" plans, including GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio and core networking equipment, mobile applications, IP routers and optical networking equipment. Meanwhile, Alcatel-Lucent is providing China Mobile equipment for its trial 3G network based on homegrown technology TD-SCDMA (time division-synchronous code division multiple access).

Alcatel-Lucent's agreement with China Unicom, valued at 150 million euros, includes CDMA networking equipment, GSM/GPRS radio and core networking equipment, mobile applications, IP routers, optical networking equipment and related services.

"Alcatel-Lucent has experienced a significant year in China with an increased market share in both fixed and mobile market sectors," said Frederic Rose, president of Alcatel-Lucent's business in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and also president of Alcatel Shanghai Bell.