Ericsson signs GPRS contract with Telfort

Ericsson signs GPRS contract with Telfort Ericsson and Dutch operator, Telfort, have signed a contract including Ericsson's packet-based GPRS system. Ericsson will continue as sole supplier of the Telfort GSM network and further evolve the infrastructure to include Ericsson's GPRS. The contract, valued at several hundred million guilders, confirms Ericsson's market leadership position in GPRS and wireless Internet accessibility. Telfort, in signing the agreement, becomes the first Dutch operator to purchase General Packet Radio Services (GPRS). Ericsson has already completed work on the first phase of the Telfort mobile network. The contract covers the next expansion phase, Ericsson's GPRS system, including an IP-based core network. Networks enhanced with GPRS make wireless Internet and other datacom services significantly faster and more efficient. Users are always connected and always on-line. The Ericsson GPRS solution is an open standard solution, enabling multi-vendor interoperability. Ericsson's GPRS boosts speeds of current mobile networks more than ten-fold, making it possible for operators to offer packet-switched IP services, wireless access to Internet and intranet, and other multimedia services at speeds up to 115 kbps. With Ericsson's GPRS bringing packet switching to mobile networks, operators are also taking an important step forward in the evolution to 3G (third- generation) mobile networks. GPRS is a common step for both GSM and TDMA networks to handle higher data speeds and offer 3G packet capabilities. With this common technology, GPRS, combined with Ericsson's speed-increasing radio access solution, EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution), forms a major step in the convergence of the two standards, enabling users accessibility to services in both networks. Ericsson is the leading provider in the new telecoms world, with communications solutions that combine telecom and datacom technologies with freedom of mobility for the user. With more than 100,000 employees in 140 countries, Ericsson simplifies communications for its customers - network operators, service providers, enterprises and consumers - the world over. Please visit Ericsson's Press Room at: http://www.ericsson.se/pressroom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Per Nordlöf, General Manager, Packet Switching Systems Ericsson Business Unit GSM Systems Phone: +46 8 764 1011; E-mail: per.nordlof@era.ericsson.se Johan Wiklund, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@lme.ericsson.se Monique Mols, Press Officer Ericsson Telecommunications B.V Phone: +31-161-249873; E-mail: Monique.Mols@etm.ericsson.se Company Information Telfort is the telecom joint venture of BT (British Telecom) and the NS (Dutch Railways). The company is the provider of national and international telecom services in the Netherlands to the business and consumer market. Currently, the company has 1,800 employees. Among its clients are Shell, Philips, Unilever, Akzo Nobel, KPMG and NS.