Ericsson, along with its partners, was awarded contracts to supply WCDMA core and/or radio access network systems in 15 provinces, including Beijing, Jilin, Jiangsu, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Anhui, Henan, Hainan, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shandong, Guangdong and Hunan.

Mats H Olsson, President of Ericsson Greater China, says: “We are extremely honored to be chosen by China Unicom for the first phase of their WCDMA network deployment in China. The contract further strengthens Ericsson’s position as the leading mobile communications supplier in the Chinese market and demonstrates yet again our long-term strategic partnership with China Unicom. We are confident that our undisputed technology leadership and global experience in WCDMA will contribute to the rapid expansion of China’s 3G market.”

Ericsson will supply the 2G/3G common core platform, WCDMA RAN system, network rollout services, tuning, spare parts and training services over the coming months. Deliveries and deployment have already begun. Up to now, first 3G calls have been successfully made in all the 14 cities supplied by Ericsson for China Unicom’s initial pre-commercial launch scheduled on May 17, the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.

Ericsson has also been awarded contracts to upgrade China Unicom’s GSM networks to support 2G/3G interoperability functions in 10 provinces, including Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Hainan.

Source:C114