Millicom & Ericsson announce USD 140 million TDMA expansions in Latin America

Millicom and Ericsson announce USD 140 million TDMA expansions in Latin America Ericsson has been awarded four contracts by MIC (Millicom International) to upgrade mobile networks in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay to the latest TDMA digital wireless specification. The contracts are valued at USD 140 million (SEK 1,135 million) in total. Ericsson will upgrade networks for the operator Telecel in Paraguay and Bolivia, for Telemovil in El Salvador and for Comcel in Guatemala. Together, these operators have around 800,000 customers, covering a population area of some 30 million inhabitants. Migration of the existing analog AMPS networks to digital TDMA technology will allow new services and features to be introduced. First among the new services is likely to be text messaging over mobile phones (known as SMS, Short Message Service). In the longer term, the TDMA networks will provide a foundation for the introduction of the 3G (third generation), enabling services like high- speed Mobile Internet access. "TDMA is the digital wireless standard that dominates the Latin American mobile communications scene," says Björn Olsson, Executive Vice President at the TDMA Systems Business Unit at Ericsson. "These latest contracts have further strengthened our relationship with Millicom, and make Ericsson the main supplier of AMPS and TDMA wireless technology to Millicom. Not only in Latin America, but globally." The conversion of the existing analog networks to digital will also expand the capacity of the networks to accommodate larger numbers of customers without requiring additional frequency spectrum. This is because digital radio technology makes more efficient use of the available radio spectrum. Capacity is becoming an important issue, with subscriber numbers growing rapidly, often driven largely by new market demand for prepaid phone services. Ericsson's digitization of the mobile networks in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay will involve a mixture of analog-to-digital substitution, and overlay digital 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 Johan Wiklund, Ericsson Corporate Communications Phone: +46 70 560 0134; E-mail: johan.wiklund@lme.ericsson.se Fredrik Näslund, Director, Business Management Ericsson Business Unit TDMA Systems Phone: +46 8 757 0513; E-mail: fredrik.naslund@era.ericsson.se Freddy Meirsman, Network Operators Director, Ericsson Nv/Sa Phone: +32 495 509375 About TDMA There are more than 100 million subscribers using TDMA/AMPS wireless networks in more than 95 countries worldwide. More than 25 million of these subscribers in 36 countries are already using TDMA (IS-136) digital services. TDMA (IS-136) already delivers over 85 percent of ITU's IMT-2000 functionality and is being further enhanced to deliver all IMT-2000 capabilities in the existing 800 and 1900 MHz frequency bands and in the new 2 GHz band. About MIC MIC is a leading developer and operator of cellular telephone services worldwide with operations in Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. MIC also operates the world's largest GSM clearing house called MACH and has fixed line interests through its 35 percent interest in Société Européenne de Communication ("SEC"), a leading alternative European telecommunications company. MIC also has a 6.64 percent interest in NetCom Systems AB, the Swedish alternative telecommunications provider. Other interests of the Group include Tele2 (UK) Limited ("Tele2") which holds a fixed license in the UK for the transmission of data. The Company's shares are traded on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol MICC.