"Ericsson is the world leader in telecommunications. We have been in close collaboration for many years and have full confidence in the technological solutions of the company," said Valeriy Grigorievich Stepanenko, Chairman of the Supervision Board, CJSC  Digital Cellular Communication of Ukraine.

To facilitate the network launch, Ericsson is also supplying a range of services, starting from site acquisition and civil works to network rollout, testing and support. Ericsson is also providing network design, transmission and radio planning to support DCC/Astelit in partnership with their majority owner, Turkcell, in developing, deploying and marketing advanced mobile services.

"We are proud that DCC/Astelit has chosen Ericsson as a partner for their new GSM network demonstrating DCC/Astelit's continued confidence in Ericsson's leading technology and our unparalleled position in deploying mobile networks," said Rasmus Nordby, President of Ericsson Ukraine. "The combined experience of Ericsson, DCC and Turkcell in creating a new GSM network will result in a world-class telecommunications solution for Ukraine."

Ericsson's cooperation with DCC/Astelit dates back to 1996 when the company supplied its first TDMA system including infrastructure equipment, base stations and handsets to the Ukrainian operator in the Donetsk region. This deployment was followed by a number of expansions. Currently, DCC's mobile (TDMA) network provides service to 8 regional centers of Ukraine, namely, Kiev, Donetsk, Simferopol, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Odessa, Zaporozhye and Lugansk.