Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERICY) has been awarded a USD 150 million GSM network expansion contract by Shandong Mobile Communication Company (Shandong Mobile).
Under the contract, Ericsson will supply Shandong Mobile with system equipment and telecom services to support Shandong Mobile's endeavors to upgrade the capacity and service quality of their GSM network. Ericsson will also introduce the latest AXE810 switching platform and relevant software to the current GSM network expansion, to enable a smoother migration into a third generation mobile communications network.
Planned to be finished by December this year, the expansion will help Shandong Mobile to achieve a total capacity of 18 million users for their network by the time of completion.
The co-operation between Ericsson and Shandong Mobile dates back to 1995, when Ericsson was selected to build Shandong Mobile's first GSM network. Ericsson built Shandong Mobile's initial GSM900/1800 and GPRS network systems, and has remained the sole system supplier of Shandong Mobile's GSM900 network. The two parties have also cooperated in other areas such as IP backbone networks, WLAN, LMDS, microwave transmission, and complete professional telecom services.