Ericsson to expand Etisalat Misr mobile network in Egypt

Ericsson has signed an agreement to expand Etisalat Misr’s GSM/WCDMA/HSPA network in Egypt bringing Etisalat Misr’s total investment with Ericsson equipment and services to more than EUR 200 mln to date.

Ericsson will deliver a complete turnkey buildout of the mobile network, including GSM and WCDMA/HSPA radio access equipment, microwave transmission and a core network including Mobile Softswitch, and is also contracted to expand the Convergent Charging and Billing solution. The turnkey solution includes site acquisition, civil works, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and integration services.

This further enhances Etisalat Misr as one of the first operators in Northern Africa to deploy GSM and WCDMA/HSPA technologies in its network, providing the highest capacity and data rates for new user applications, powered by Ericsson’s equipment and solutions.

“The Egyptian market is considered one of the most appealing within the emerging markets, heavily backed up by the government’s policies and plans,” said Björn Hemstad, Chairman of Ericsson’s Central Europe Middle East and Africa (CEMA) Region. “The support of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technologies goes in line with government commitment to speeding up the liberalization of the Egyptian marketplace and creating new job opportunities.”

Etisalat has been the telecom service provider in the UAE since 1976, and has built up a modern telecom infrastructure and established itself as an innovative and reliable operator. In 1982 Etisalat was the first telecom operator in the region to introduce a mobile phone service, and was one of the early adopters of GSM technology, introducing it to customers in 1994. Since then it has established itself as a regional pioneer by introducing both 3G and MMS in 2003.

Etisalat Misr launched commercial 2G and 3G service on May 1, 2007, and is making its presence felt in the mobile market by reaching more than 3.5 mln subscribers in less than seven months. In November 2007, Etisalat Misr upgraded to 3.75G, which is the marketing term for High Speed Uplink Packet Access.