Ericsson has signed framework agreements with two Chinese telecom operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, to provide 2G/3G mobile communication equipment and related services. The agreements are valued at $1 billion and $0.7 billion, respectively.
China Mobile and China Unicom said that they have received 3G licenses of TD-SCDMA and WCDMA standards, respectively, at the beginning of 2009.
The newly signed 2009 framework agreements are expected to allow both operators to further improve the capacity and performance of their 2G networks and the initial build-up of their 3G networks.
Ericsson said that, under the framework agreement signed with China Mobile, it will continue to offer ‘green’ services to support China Mobile’s network energy optimisation and CO2 emission reduction target. Ericsson will also expand GSM/GPRS network coverage and capacity in 18 provinces in China with related services.
In addition, Ericsson is expected to support China Mobile’s 3G network build-out by providing a range of TD-SCDMA products and services.
Ericsson further said that, under the framework agreement signed with China Unicom, it will upgrade China Unicom’s GSM networks in 10 provinces and also provide the operator with GSM/WCDMA core network and/or wireless access system in 15 provinces, including transmission, IP and value-added service platform.