Kuwaiti telecoms operator Zain has
signed a $650 million deal to outsource the network of its Iraq unit to telecom
equipment provider Ericsson.
Under the five-year deal, Ericsson will manage Zain Iraq’s mobile network and IT operations and is the next step
towards the operator launching third generation services.
The agreement covers Zain Iraq’s 3,700
network sites, including the Kurdish north where the operator recently launched
commercial services, and will enable it to reduce operating costs and bring
products and services to market quicker. Zain owns a 72 percent stake in Zain
Iraq, which has 12.4 million active subscribers, according to a report in Trade Arabia.
Middle East is a major market for Ericsson
that posted 17 percent increase in group sales at SEK 55.5 billion in Q3 2011
as compared with SEK 47.5 billion in Q3 2011.
Middle East sales increased 34 percent year-over-year. The year-over-year comparison is easy due to a slow
market in Q3 2010 following supply constraints. Mobile broadband sales
continued to develop positively across the region. Operators are looking into
opportunities to reducing their operating expenses, resulting in a positive
development for managed services both year-over-year and sequentially.
Political unrest continues to impact sales development in the region.
Ericsson is also strengthening its presence
in Africa. Recently, Bharti Airtel announced a five year managed services agreement with Ericsson for its Africa operations.
As per the agreement, Ericsson will manage and optimise Airtel’s mobile
networks in Africa in order to provide a superior customer experience. Under a
separate two year agreement, Ericsson will modernize and upgrade Airtel’s
mobile networks in Africa with the latest technology including its multi
standard RBS 6000 base station.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
