MTN, a leading telecommunications company with presence in
21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, has signed a five-year managed
services agreement with Ericsson, for its Nigeria operations.
MTN Nigeria is the largest mobile operator in Nigeria and
West Africa with over 45 million subscribers. This agreement not only extends
Ericsson's managed services leadership across Africa, but makes Ericsson MTN's
largest managed services partner on the continent.
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| MTN Nigeria Ceo, Ikpoki |
Under the contract, Ericsson will assume full responsibility
of the management, optimization and field maintenance of MTN's network
infrastructure in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt and Asaba, which
represents 75 percent of the network. With Ericsson taking over the day-to-day
operations of the network, MTN is able to focus even more on its core business;
providing a superior customer experience across all its network offerings.
"This engagement with Ericsson is a
logical step forward in our strategy execution and is consistent with our
commitment to deliver a bold new digital world to our customers across Nigeria," Michael Ikpoki, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, says.
He said leaving the management and maintenance of our infrastructure
to Ericsson will allow us to focus even more on adding value to the customer experience
on our network. "We consider this partnership a joint investment in the growth
of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria and a great opportunity to
strengthen ICT knowledge and specialization locally. Ericsson is the global
leader in the managed services space and the right partner for us," Ikpoki noted.
MTN will retain ownership and full control of its network
assets and continue to have responsibility for strategic design and planning, as well as
equipment purchasing decisions.
Jean-Claude Geha, Head of Managed Services at Ericsson,
says: "This agreement with MTN, Nigeria's largest telecom operator, marks
a milestone for Ericsson in Nigeria and in the region.
In Managed Services, we bring our global expertise and
experience to benefit our customers and ultimately their subscribers'
experience of the network."
Ericsson has signed more than 300 managed services contracts
in more than 100 countries and manages networks on behalf of operators that
serve over 1 billion subscribers worldwide. By teaming up with Ericsson,
operators can strengthen their competitive edge through improved network availability
and capacity, while reducing their operating costs.
This, in turn, increases market growth for mobile services,
which helps improve the quality of services and the consumer experience.
Today, Ericsson has
approximately 3,000 people supporting over 100 customers in 43 countries across
sub-Saharan Africa. In 2013, Ericsson announced the establishment of two new
service delivery facilities in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as
well as a state-of-the-art Regional Network Operations Center in Ivory Coast
aimed at delivering enhanced support to their customers.
The facilities support Ericsson's leadership position in
managed services, and enhance the delivery of their services portfolio across
sub-Saharan Africa.
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