Ericsson selected as sole supplier for wireless broadband access by Skanova

Ericsson has been awarded a contract by Telia Group company, Skanova, for delivery of a wireless broadband access network for Telia. Skanova is the first operator in Sweden to select a supplier for an LMDS wireless broadband network, following December 2001 award of licenses for the spectrum in Sweden. Deployment of the network begins in the first quarter of 2002.

The 2 year frame agreement covers supply of Ericsson’s Wireless Broadband Access, MINI-LINK. Skanova will offer both high capacity services and more refined services for data communication, telephony and Internet at user speeds up to 20 Mbit/s.

LMDS is a microwave-based access or transmission technology used by operators to address enterprises, buildings or mobile base stations with services, or to offer wholesale to other operators. LMDS is a complementary technology to xDSL and fiber. Advantages for the operator are that fiber-like services and capacities can be offered at installation speeds dramatically shorter than with alternative technologies.

“We have chosen the supplier that has the best combination of technical performance, quality, first-class support and development competence,” said Ove Alm, Marketing Director at Skanova. “We have positive experiences with Ericsson’s radio technology through previous projects and our choice of supplier will enable a rapid introduction of our products on the market.”

The contract leverages Ericsson’s global market leadership in microwave access systems in which it holds a 40 percent market share. This is more than twice as much as its closest competitor.

“We are proud to have obtained this strategic win from a firmly established operator,” said Karl Thedeen, Key Account Director for Skanova, at Ericsson Nordic and Baltics. “Scandinavia is regarded as a very important reference market by the whole LMDS industry. This win demonstrates Ericsson’s competence and the competitiveness of our solutions.”

Ericsson has already delivered more than 45 commercial LMDS systems worldwide and its proven MINI-LINK point-to-point solution is deployed in more than 110 countries

Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/press

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Ole Selchau, Press Manager, Ericsson Nordic & Baltics
Phone: +45 23 32 12 16, E-mail: ole.selchau@ericsson.dk

About Skanova

Skanova is a wholesale network provider within the Telia Group of companies. Skanova operates Sweden's largest network for telecom-, internet- and broadbandservices, and offers its customers full network access, services and support. The goal is to meet the growing need for top quality services. The challenge lies in enhancing the competitiveness of the customers with ground-breaking, sometimes unexpected, solutions. Number of employees amounts to 2,700 employees, and a turnover of approx. SEK 21,8 billion.

About LMDS 

Local Multipoint Distribution Services - is a generic name for services over wireless access networks operating in frequency bands between 24 to 31 GHz. Many countries globally are currently licensing LMDS spectrum. Here, microwave technology is deployed to provide wireless broadband access to other networks. Commonly this term is also used in the industry as a broader term for such systems.

About MINI-LINK 

With Ericsson’s MINI_LINK system, operators can install broadband services to new customers in just hours after signing up. Ericsson has unmatched capabilities to support operators with its complete end-to-end LMDS solutions - coupled with its industry-unique production capacity. This allows Ericsson to smoothly handle rapid volume build-outs needed by operators to assure that they can quickly establish market share and achieve return on their investment.

For more information about Ericsson’s wireless broadband access - LMDS, see: http://www.ericsson.com/transmission/wba/