Ericsson bags RCom's network management deal

Ericsson to manage field maintenance, network operations & operational planning of RCom's 2G, CDMA and 3G wireless networks

Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericson, on Friday, said it has signed a contract with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications (RCom) to manage its network across India for the next seven years.

"We have been managing their networks in North and West and are now pleased to extend this support to all 22 circles," Ericsson Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit (Global Services) Magnus Mandersson said in a statement.

Under the agreement, Ericsson would manage field maintenance, network operations and operational planning of RCom's 2G, CDMA and 3G wireless networks, as well as its wireline network.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed in the statement.

"We are happy to announce our partnership with Ericsson to manage our wireline and wireless network on a pan-India basis," said RCom Head of Commercial Suresh Rangachar.

The agreement also includes operation and management of Reliance Communications' wireline network by Ericsson.

According to its statement, Ericsson will streamline RCom's operations by bringing all aspects of fiber, mobile networks and wireline access networks to Reliance Communications' wireless and Global Enterprise Business, across differentiated product lines.

RCom's infrastructure covers over 150,000 km of fiber, 2G, 3G and CDMA mobile network, wireline access and enterprise network across 22 telecom zones in the country, and includes 21,000 towns and 400,000 villages to which it offers converged services including voice, data and video.