ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe has selected Ericsson as the sole supplier for the company’s Core network upgrade programme.
BUSINESS REPORTER
In a statement yesterday, Ericsson said the collaboration would allow Econet’s customers faster and more reliable mobile services.
Econet wants to upgrade its network to the latest systems and technologies.
“The deal will see the companies working together to simplify and upgrade the existing 2G/3G/4G/LTE networks, future proofing it for the rapid mobile expansion in the country,” the company said.
Econet Wireless group chief technology officer Bernard Fernandes: “We have chosen our trusted long-term partner Ericsson to accompany us on this journey and look forward to the ability to launch new products and quality services to our customers.”
Ericsson said building on the company’s existing long-term partnership, the new scope would rationalise and upgrade the Core network as well as introduce the latest Ericsson network architecture.
“Econet is the market leader in Zimbabwe and this project will give them one of the most advanced Core networks on the continent, providing them far more capacity to manage and scale their network,” Ericsson Zimbabwe, country manager Pieter Goosen said.
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The agreement include a complete multi-access Evolved Packet Core with Evolved Packet Gateway on SSR 8020, SGSN-MME and Service-Aware Policy Controller as well as Mobile Switching Centre and Media Gateway.
The deal also include close integration between policy and charging functions, which would enable Econet to reduce time-to-market for new offerings and increased personalisation capabilities.
“In the Harare area, which currently carries more than half of all traffic on the network, the project will also upgrade the radio access network (RAN) to include Ericsson’s multi-standard RBS 6000 family of base stations for macro and small cell networks,” the company said.
Econet is the largest telecommunication company in Zimbabwe with 9,2 million registered subscribers.
