Under the terms of the three-year managed services hosting agreement, Ericsson will have end-to-end responsibility for the consumer push e-mail service. This includes systems integration and management, as well as operation and maintenance.  Integration of the service has already begun, and commercial launch is scheduled for the second quarter of 2008.

Ericsson's consumer push e-mail service is based on SMS/MMS messaging and enables users to send and receive e-mails from POP3 e-mail accounts to their mobile phones. Thanks to its tailor-made consumer market features, such as multi-account capability, and the fact that there's no need for subscribers to download and install a client to their phone, the service has great potential for mass adoption.

Rohit Chandra, Executive Director at Aircel, says: "Keeping the subscriber engaged with value-added services is increasingly becoming a focus area for all operators. Creating and launching such innovative initiatives across the network is essential to drive mass market engagement and help capitalize first mover advantage. Ericsson is a long-standing partner and its expertise and clear understanding of our needs makes it the right choice for this project."

Mats Granryd, President of Ericsson India, says: "This deal marks a worldwide first for Ericsson, and we are proud to be working with Aircel. It also sets the stage for further hosting deployments that deliver value added services. We are confident that the launch of innovative services such as the consumer push e-mail will help Aircel maintain its leadership position in its markets."

Hosting is part of Ericsson's Managed Services offering and gives operators quick, easy and cost-efficient access to best in class services, allowing them to focus on their core business.

 

 

 

Ericsson Media Relations

Phone: +46 8 719 69 92

E-mail: press.relations@ericsson.com

Press backgrounder - Global Services
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/facts_figures/doc/global_services.pdf

 

 

Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business support systems, to hosting service applications and content, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 managed services contracts with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 185 million subscribers worldwide.

 

Aircel, now part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of more than 9.5 million and is the fastest growing mobile operator in the country. Aircel is present in nine telecom circles (Assam, Bihar, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) and, with licenses secured for the remaining 14 of the 23 telecom circles in India, the company is on track to become a pan-India operator.