Ericsson and Russian mobile operator VimpelCom have announced a deal under which Ericsson will supply a GSM/GPRS/EDGE network in Ukraine. This agreement, valued at USD 200 million, is part of an overall USD 500 million deal for VimpelCom Group, including the purchase of Ericsson equipment and services valued at an additional USD 300 million.
Immediately following VimpelCom’s acquisition of local Ukrainian operator URS, Ericsson signed an agreement to swap out URS’s existing equipment.
Under the agreement, URS will purchase USD 200 million worth of equipment from Ericsson to build out its network over the next three years. Ericsson will pay approximately USD 52.6 million in cash for URS’s existing equipment.
Ericsson will supply radio and switching components as well as installation and rollout services. The advanced high-tech network will support GSM, GPRS and EDGE standards, provide a wide range of services, such as MMS, and include an Intellectual Network (IN) platform to support the latest version of the PrePaid system.
Zoran Lukovic, vice president, Ericsson Eastern Europe and Central Asia, says: ‘We are honored to build an advanced, high-tech and competitive turnkey network for our partner VimpelCom as it enters the Ukrainian market.We are ready to support VimpelCom in the successful realization of its strategy of dynamic development both in Russia and in other countries. We will do our outmost to justify VimpelCom’s trust .’
Alexander Izosimov, general director, VimpelCom, adds: ‘We are also happy to expand our partnership with Ericsson into Ukraine. As a result of this agreement, we will be able to upgrade the network with state-of-the-art equipment and have significantly reduced the original investment budget required to build out the URS network through 2007.‘
2005-11-16
Em Foco – Produto