Ericsson announced it has been selected by Claro, a company in the América Móvil Group, to implement a commercial network based on 3G/HSDPA technology in the metropolitan regions of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre.

Under the agreement Ericsson will be responsible for the 3G radio, transmission and core network, upgrading Claro's existing GSM/GPRS/EDGE network in these regions to 3G/UMTS. Ericsson is also supplying a Video Gateway System that will allow Claro to offer its subscribers access to advanced services such as video calling, video streaming and video download.

"3G launch will do for broadband in Brazil what prepaid did for telephony", said Eduardo Moreno, Director of Engineer at Claro. "With these new solutions, our subscribers have access to value-added services such as video, music and mobile TV up to 10 times faster compared than the GSM network."

Ericsson was chosen because its solutions allow for a smooth and cost-effective migration path from second-generation GSM networks to 3G. Due to the arrival of GSM technology in 2003 and the migration of TDMA users to this platform, there was a progressive emptying of the spectrum used for the TDMA operation by the mobile operators in the 850MHz frequency. Fulfilling the regulation restriction - which dictates that operators use the most efficient electromagnetic spectrum - Claro began operating the 3G network on this frequency.

"We are delighted and proud to be the partner of choice to supply the 3G network to Claro. This new, country-wide network allows Brazilian mobile users, on a large scale, to enjoy the benefits of mobile broadband services", said Johan Wibergh, President of Ericsson Brazil. "Ericsson is the leader in driving the growth of the 3G/HSPA market around the world. We have been the main driving force in the standardization of WCDMA/UMTS, and also lead the market in research and the number of patents granted."