Ericsson supports Vodafone network

By Staff Writer for Ericsson
Johannesburg, 19 Mar 2009

Vodafone UK and Ericsson have signed a seven-year agreement, which will see Ericsson provide maintenance and operations for Vodafone UK's 2G and 3G radio access networks.

According to a press statement released by Ericsson, the contract includes the transfer of approximately 350 employees from Vodafone to Ericsson, scheduled for the beginning of May.

Jeni Mundy, CTO of Vodafone UK, says: "We see this as a strategic long-term relationship, offering real operational and financial benefits, allowing us, over time, to reinvest savings in delivering new products and services for customers. Ericsson is the specialist in this area and will be critical in helping maintain our high quality network - which customers expect from Vodafone."

Mats Granryd, MD of Ericsson UK, says Ericsson's experience in managed services and its skilled staff will benefit Vodafone with improved quality and cost structure.

“In this contract, we are ideally positioned to deliver value to Vodafone UK, and it also offers us the opportunity to build on our strong relationship and develop our collaboration further to deliver future business benefits."

Through economies of scale, best practice tools, methods, processes and efficient resource allocation, Ericsson's managed services supports its partners to improve network performance and end-user experience, while reducing operational costs, the company says.