Ericsson has signed an agreement with Lacell SU Burundi to supply a complete turnkey GSM network for the Burundian operator. The agreement with Lacell SU Burundi includes establishing the core network and its associated radio network, together with all related installation, integration and training services.

This first phase of the project is expected to be completed within four months and rollout has already begun.

"We are delighted to be working with the world's leading telecommunications vendor because it gives us a significant competitive advantage in the Burundian market," confirms Bhupendra Bhandari, General Manager for Lacell SU Burundi. "It was also a comparatively easy decision for us to make given that time-to-market was a crucial factor and Ericsson has such an outstanding, proven track record with regards delivering and deploying networks."

No financial details were provided.

Figures from the Mobile World show that Burundi (in Central Africa) has four active phone operators (6 licenses) in a tiny country with a population of just 8.6 million (nearly half of whom are children). The country ended the first quarter of this year with some 265,000 subscribers - which represents a population penetration level of a mere 3.08%.

Africa Cellulaire (Africell) Burundi, a subsidiary of VTEL Holdings awarded a US$20 million contract to Alcatel-Lucent in May for a three year network expansion.

Source:cellular-news