Ericsson to upgrade mobile backhaul networks of KPN in Germany and Belgium

 

By Telecom Lead Team:
Global wireless infrastructure major Ericsson announced that KPN
International’s subsidiaries E-Plus Group and KPN Group have selected Ericsson
to upgrade their mobile backhaul in Germany and Belgium,
respectively, over the next three years.

As part of the
agreement, Ericsson will install more than 15,000 MINI-LINK transmission
node links in these countries before the end of 2013.

The network upgrade
will ensure efficiency of the mobile networks and meet growing demand from
mobile users. In both Belgium and Germany, there has been a
rapid uptake of mobile internet services such as video and Web 2.0 applications
on smartphones, notebooks and tablet PCs.

Main benefits to the
telecom operators include: lower costs per bit, a smooth migration from Time
Division Multiplex (TDM) to packet transport, and the opportunity to scale
microwave up to gigabit capacities step-by-step.

“To cope with the
continuous rapid growth in data traffic and offer faster mobile access and
backhaul networks, we are upgrading our mobile backhaul with the help of
Ericsson’s MINI-LINK technology. This investment will also allow us to make our
network more cost-effective and future-proof, to the benefit of our broadband
business,” said Gerhard Lüdtke, director Access Network at E-Plus Group.

“Mobile backhaul
is becoming increasingly important due to the rapid increase in consumption of
internet services, which can otherwise put a lot of strain on mobile networks.
This necessitates an upgrade of the transmission network to provide sufficient
capacity for the increased traffic generated at the radio base station sites.
Mobile backhaul provides the link between the core and the radio network, and
we aim to perfect that link,” said Anders Runevad, head of Region Western
& Central Europe at Ericsson.

Ericsson will migrate
the two mobile operators’ TDM-based transmission networks to
packet-based mobile backhaul networks to pave the way for the introduction of
HSPA Evolution and LTE.

Recently, African mobile major MTN
has extended its managed services agreement with Ericsson for its Ghana
operations. MTN has 49 percent market share in Ghana. In 2011, MTN grew by
around 18 percent in the country to serve over 10 million subscribers.

 

MTN extends managed services deal with
Ericsson for Ghana

 


In 2009, MTN signed the first managed services contract with Ericsson for
rolling out its 3G network in Ghana. Under the extension, Ericsson is
responsible for network operations, field maintenance and optimization.

 

MTN will retain full ownership of
the network and responsibility for its strategic direction, while Ericsson will
manage the network operations, optimization and field maintenance for MTN’s 3G
sites.

 

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