Ericsson to Supply Batelco's HSDPA Network in Bahrain

Ericsson announced that it has been selected by Batelco, the largest operator in the Kingdom of Bahrain, to upgrade its mobile network with HSDPA technology.

Under the agreement, Ericsson will deliver and deploy a nationwide 3G/HSDPA network supporting Batelco in its Broadband Bahrain initiative through the offering of wireless broadband services, including multimedia. Ericsson will also provide Batelco with network and technology consulting services to optimize the network performance, as well as business consulting expertise in a Go-To-Market program for their advanced 3G services.

"We have selected to deploy Ericsson's leading edge technology to enable a wide spectrum of rich value added services; aiming to delight, entertain and serve our customers. Our strategic decision to extend the partnership with Ericsson over the coming 5 years is based on their unrivalled capabilities in the areas of telecommunication networks, services and multimedia solutions," said Peter Kaliaropoulos, Batelco Chief Executive.

"We are proud to be Batelco's partner of choice for the Broadband Bahrain initiative and look forward to continuing this journey with them into fixed-mobile convergence," said Johan Lojdquist, General Manager, Ericsson Bahrain. "HSPA enables operators to introduce attractive broadband services such as mobile TV, mobile music, high-speed internet connectivity and fixed wireless services. Ericsson's HSDPA solution offers ADSL-like peak data speeds for the downlink up to 3.6 Mbps today and up to 14.4 Mbps by the end of 2006."

Ericsson is the main supplier to more than 50 percent of all commercially launched WCDMA networks and is the main supplier to the first commercially launched HSDPA networks.