Turkcell, Ericsson sign $400M mobile network contract

ISTANBUL, Turkey, (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Turkcell, the leading provider of mobile communications services in Turkey, and one of the largest and fastest growing mobile communications operators in Europe, today announced that it has signed a contract with Ericsson valued at USD 400 million (SEK 3,600 million).

The contract signed by the two companies will allow Turkcell to upgrade and develop its GSM system infrastructure to meet the demands of Turkcell's rapidly increasing user base, expand in additional geographic areas and offer increased capacity in high-density areas. Turkcell continues to rapidly grow its network and provide more sophisticated voice and data services to its subscribers.

In July 2000, Turkcell was one of the first mobile operators to purchase Ericsson's GPRS technology providing end-to-end solutions including core network elements, transmission backbone, interfaces, implementation and relevant end-user terminals and applications. In February 2000, Turkcell and Ericsson announced a record-breaking USD 850 million contract, which was one of the biggest single contracts in the history of Ericsson.

With the contract signed today, Turkcell will be able to purchase several of Ericsson's latest GSM innovations, such as MPS3.0 (Mobile Positioning System), WAP3.0 (Wireless Application Protocol) as well CNTS (Core Network Transport Solution). GSM is the world's most widely deployed wireless communications standard. Ericsson is the global market leader in GSM, with close to half of the world's 400 million GSM subscribers connected by Ericsson systems. More than 140 operators in more than 70 countries around the world rely on GSM systems from Ericsson.

Source: Turkcell