Ericsson will provide VNPT with Ericsson Engine Access Ramp and digital switching platform AXE 810 using the latest software. The Ericsson solution meets both the current requirements of VNPT as well as those of next generation multi-service applications.

The project consists of the rollout of 140,000 new local lines for the remote and low-telephone-penetration areas of Vietnam's 10 central provinces.

When the project is completed in 2005, VNPT will be able to offer people in these areas access to advanced telephone services. Furthermore, the ISDN features in the system will provide VNPT with a platform for service applications such as e-learning and distant healthcare, which are of great use and social benefit for the people in these remote and rural areas.

"We are very honored to have been selected to build this important network for the 10 central provinces," said Gunnar Wenneberg, general manager of Ericsson Vietnam. "With Ericsson's cutting edge technology and our global and local experience, we are fully committed to support VNPT in their mission to bring quality communication services to more and more Vietnamese people, contributing to the industrialization and modernization of Vietnam."

The expansion is being carried out as part of the Central Vietnam Rural Telecom Network project, a communication development project financed by a loan to Vietnam from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).