re: Ericsson Nigerian GSM deals
>> Ericsson Set To Dominate With Nigerian GSM Network Wins
Anne Young
Total Telecom
August 21, 2001
Swedish communications equipment vendor Ericsson said Tuesday it has been appointed the sole GSM infrastructure supplier for two of Nigeria's three GSM mobile operators, and the main supplier for the other.
A spokesman for the vendor said Ericsson will be the sole GSM supplier for Nitel and MTN, while it will be the main supplier for Econet Wireless Nigeria. He added that U.S.-based Motorola is providing part of Econet's radio access network.
Ericsson is installing turnkey GSM 1800/900 solutions, including the core and radio networks, switching technology, handsets, and service packages.
The company has not released details about the value of the five-year contracts, but a spokesman said all three operators are building networks with capacity for 5 million to 10 million subscribers.
However, Reuters reported on 9 July that Ericsson won a US$139 million contract to roll out Nitel's GSM network with a five-month deadline to complete the project.
A spokeswoman for Ericsson South Africa said both MTN and Econet have launched their post-paid GSM services, while each has yet to launch pre-paid services. Ericsson is supplying the technology to enable pre-paid. Nitel is expected to launch its first services later in the year.
The spokesman said Ericsson expects to see strong growth in Nigeria, given the fact that the country has a very poor fixed-line infrastructure. The vendor believes Nigeria has the potential to be the largest mobile market in Africa, with 125 million inhabitants and 5 million to 10 million subscribers projected over the next five years.
The race to provide GSM services in Nigeria has been well documented, with each operator striving to be the first to launch services. Nitel has fallen well behind in the race, however, and missed the 9 August deadline to roll out initial services. The operator was, nevertheless, allowed to keep its GSM license.
Even the awarding of the licenses has been fraught: Communications Investment Ltd. (CIL) lost its GSM license after it failed to pay the $285 million license fee on time. Nigeria has previously said the right to buy the country's fourth GSM license was reserved for whoever wins the license to become Nigeria's second national carrier after Nitel is privatized. <<
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