Ericsson and Far EasTone sign major HSPA expansion deal in Taiwan
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) today announced a new contract with leading Taiwanese operator Far EasTone Telecommunications (Far EasTone) for its HSPA network expansion. The move will give Far EasTone the highest HSPA penetration in Taiwan - up to 95 percent of the population - and allow subscribers to enjoy the fastest mobile broadband speeds available.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will enhance HSPA coverage and also help Far EasTone to expand its transmission network capacity, and to enhance its mobile positioning service solutions. Ericsson will also be responsible for spare parts management service as well as support services. Network deployment and integration have started.
Ericsson's backhaul solution will help Far EasTone to cost-efficiently increase its transmission network capacity, allowing better HSPA service quality and overall network performance. Ericsson's enhanced positioning solution, Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS), offers faster and more accurate positioning services - at a lower power-consumption level - from almost anywhere within base station coverage. This will be a significant benefit to users in urban areas, especially when indoors or surrounded by tall buildings.
Jan Nilsson, Vice Chairman and President of Far EasTone, says: "We are pleased to extend our partnership with Ericsson in expanding the coverage of our HSPA services. We see a clear market demand from our earlier success."
Stefan Johansson, President of Ericsson Taiwan, says: "Following the partnership in launching 3G, HSPA and high-speed mobile broadband services, the expansion contract signals another proof point of customer recognition of Ericsson HSPA technologies. It also emphasizes our commitment to help Far EasTone build a full service broadband network, and meet growing customer demand."
Ericsson has to date supplied 90 out of 185 launched HSPA networks in the world.
Notes to editors:
Ericsson's WCDMA/HSPA reference list:
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/facts_figures/3g_reference.shtml
Ericsson's WCDMA/HSPA reference list:
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/facts_figures/3g_reference.shtml
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 185 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson is advancing its vision of 'communication for all' through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion (SEK 188 billion) in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on the Stockholm, London and NASDAQ stock exchanges.
For more information, visit www.ericsson.com or www.ericsson.mobi.
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About Ericsson's HSPA solution
HSPA stands for High-Speed Packet Access. An inherent advantage of HSPA is that the technology is a natural extension of existing WCDMA/GSM networks, or about 85 percent of the world's existing wireless networks, and therefore has the potential to be readily available to a large number of wireless users, creating a mass market for mobile broadband. By 2010, 71 percent of mobile broadband connections are projected to be HSPA-based. Ericsson's HSPA mobile broadband solution, part of Ericsson's Full Service Broadband offering, today enables download speeds of up to 14.4Mbps and upload speeds of 1.4Mbps. The advanced technology lets operators more than double their system capacity and cuts response times for interactive services. On average, users will be able to download 20 times faster than with a GSM/GPRS connection. Future evolution steps will increase the HSPA download speed to 42Mbps and the upload speed to 12Mbps. Ericsson offers HSPA support on many frequency bands, ranging from 850MHz to 2.6GHz.