Ericsson to supply GSM 1800 to Retevision

Ericsson has received a Letter of Intent from Retevisión Móvil, Spain's third mobile operator, for the delivery and roll-out of the major part of a turn-key project for a nation wide GSM 1800 network. The value of Ericsson supplies is estimated to more than USD 340 million (SEK 2,700 million) over a period of more than 2 years. The new network, designed by Retevisión Móvil due to go live before year-end, will cover the Spanish cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Zaragoza and Bilbao. Service coverage is expected to reach 95% of the territory by December year 2000. The Letter of Intent includes 100% of the mobile switching equipment, 50% of the radio base station equipment, microwave radio transport equipment, service solutions and other project services. With this deal, Ericsson now serves all three GSM operators on the Spanish market, strengthening the company's leading position as supplier of mobile networks in Spain. "This has been possible thanks to Ericsson's customer oriented organization, our superior technology and our proven experience on fast roll-out of high quality mobile networks throughout the world," explained Raimo Lindgren, President of Ericsson in Spain. Retevisión Móvil became the third Spanish mobile operator after winning the license last June. Among its main shareholders are Retevisión, the second fixed network operator in Spain, and network operator Telecom Italia of Italy. Ericsson's local companies in Spain, has more than 3,300 employees. Its turnover in 1997 was USD 1,190 million (SEK 9,500 million). GSM is the world's most widely deployed digital wireless communications standard. Ericsson is the market leader in GSM world wide, with almost half of the world's 98 million GSM subscribers connected by Ericsson systems. Nearly 120 network operators in some 65 countries around the world rely on Ericsson GSM systems. Ericsson´s 100,000 employees are active in more than 130 countries. Their combined expertise in fixed and mobile networks, mobile phones and infocom systems makes Ericsson a world-leading supplier in telecommunications. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Antonio Cordón, Communications Director Ericsson in Spain Phone: +34 91 339 19 05 Ingemar Naeve, Vice President, Business Management, New Accounts - GSM, Ericsson Radio Systems Phone: +46 70 583 2348 Johan Wiklund, Press Relations Manager Ericsson Business Area Mobile Systems Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@era.ericsson.se