ERICSSON SIGNS LARGEST CONTRACT IN CHINA TO DATE
Ericsson has signed a contract with Guangdong Mobile Communications
Corporation (GMCC) for expansion of their GSM 900 network. The
contract, valued at USD 369 million (SEK 2,950 million), is the
largest contract Ericsson has signed in China to date.
The contract is also the first major network expansion for GMCC
since it became a fully owned subsidiary of China Telecom (Hong
Kong) Ltd. last year. The expansion will be implemented during the
first half of 1998.
Equipment and services to be supplied under the contract will allow
GMCC to increase its network subscriber capacity to over 4 million
subscribers, while increasing subscriber satisfaction even further
with better network coverage and quality.
"This contract not only continues GMCC's status as China's largest
mobile operator, but also includes a number of network enhancements
designed to assist GMCC in using the available frequency spectrum
more efficiently and deriving more revenue from its investment,"
says John Gilbertson, President of Ericsson (China) Company Ltd. "We
are proud that GMCC has again shown confidence in Ericsson as its
strategic business partner."
Ericsson is the sole supplier of digital GSM and analog TACS mobile
network infrastructure to GMCC. The relationship with GMCC began in
1987, with the first contract for TACS network equipment. GMCC
currently has over 2.5 million subscribers in its analog and digital
networks.
Ericsson China has more than 3,000 employees in 19 offices and 8
joint ventures providing a full range of communications solutions
and services.
GSM is the world's most widely deployed digital wireless
communications standard. Ericsson is the market leader in GSM
worldwide. Almost half the world's 65 million GSM subscribers are
connected by Ericsson systems. Ericsson helped pioneer the GSM
standard and was first to market with GSM in both the 1800 MHz and
1900 MHz bands and continues its commanding lead by implementing
innovative new GSM features such as frequency hopping, Enhanced Full
Rate voice quality, and high-speed datacom services. |
