Ericsson Wins 4-Year 3G Upgrade Contract in Turkey

Turkish operator Avea has signed a four year contract with Ericsson for a WCDMA/HSPA upgrade. Under the agreement, Ericsson will be one of the main suppliers and will integrate and deploy WCDMA/HSPA radio access and packet core networks, as well as a complete mobile-backhaul solution based on microwave transmission and optical transport.

Additionally, Ericsson will expand and upgrade the speed and capacity of Avea's existing GSM network.

Ericsson will also be responsible for network deployment, systems integration and support including spare-parts management. Deployment and integration work has already started.

Cüneyt Türktan, General Manager of Avea, says: "With Ericsson's leading HSPA technology, we can position ourselves in the dynamic and competitive Turkish market, and ensure our subscribers enjoy a richer communications experience, including high-speed mobile broadband that enables anytime-anywhere access."

Financial details were not disclosed.

According to figures from the Mobile World subscriber database, Avea ended last year with 12.2 million customers, which represented a market share of 18.5%.

Posted to the site on 6th April 2009