Europe/
Middle East : Saudi Telecom (STC) has selected Ericsson as the prime
supplier for its new HSPA network, which will enable STC to introduce
a wide range of premium quality multimedia and high-speed data services
to the Saudi users.
Under the agreement Ericsson will deliver packet core, radio access
and transmission for the new network in the central and western provinces
of Saudi Arabia.
The contract also includes a nationwide network upgrade based on Ericsson's
market-leading mobile softswitch solution. The system rollout has
already started.
Ericsson's HSPA will enable the operator to introduce a new generation
of services, such as mobile triple play - a combination of voice,
high-speed data and TV on the mobile phone. The packet core solution
will assure that the new IP based services will be delivered cost
efficiently with telecom quality.
Saud Al Daweesh, CEO Saudi Telecom, says: "Ericsson's UMTS/HSPA
technology will provide us with the advanced equipment available.
The decision was based on Ericsson's performance and the quality of
its UMTS equipment as well as their roll-out expertise in major network
expansions like this one."
Bo-Erik Dahlström, President of Ericsson Middle East, says: "We
are pleased to provide STC with our advanced HSPA technology. STC's
early launch of HSDPA underlines their innovative profile and will
gear their western province network with the most advanced functionalities
and services."
Ericsson's HSPA solution will enable peak download speeds of up to
14.4 Mbps. The advanced technology offers operators more than double
the system capacity and makes response times for interactive services
faster. On average, users will be able to download four times faster
than the current 3G connection using existing 1.8 Mbps PC-cards and
even 20 times faster than using GSM/GPRS.
