The agreements build on Ericsson's and MTN's ten year relationship and experience in meeting the demands of mobile phone users in the sub-Saharan region. The agreement moves the relationship to a new level aimed at evolving and growing the MTN business.

The agreement for equipment supply and delivery covers pre-defined solutions for mobile core and radio access network, ensuring an efficient supply chain and scalability across all MTN markets.

The agreement for provisioning of services includes business and technology consulting, network and systems design, deployment and integration, and support and training. Under the agreement MTN locally can choose different service levels depending on the operator's local capability, giving MTN a very high degree of flexibility in their operations.

"The agreement is a result of Ericsson's continuous drive to optimize MTN's investment in network equipment, our partnering approach and our on-going efforts to assist in achieving our customers strategic business objectives," says Jan Embro, Vice President and General Manager of Ericsson Market Unit sub-Saharan Africa.

"With their technology leadership and market presence as well as their comprehensive services portfolio Ericsson is a key part of evolving our business. With these agreements we can focus on the provisioning of telecommunications services to our subscribers," says Mr. Phuthuma Nhleko, MTN Group CEO.

MTN is the leading operator in sub-Saharan Africa with more than nine million subscribers across six countries. The past 10 years have strengthened the relationship between Ericsson and MTN through the roll-out of networks in Swaziland, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon and Nigeria, as well as South Africa.