EE and Three is extending the work Ericsson is doing on its shared network, as it looks to improve the quality of 3G connectivity in the UK.
The joint venture designs and manages the shared 3G RAN of the two operators. However, it also provides management and maintenance support for EE’s 2G and 4G networks and for Three’s LTE network.Â
Ericsson has been the managed services provider for the project, which runs across 14,000 sites, since 2009. Its latest contract was signed in 2015, with an extension signed in 2017 covering central operations, network performance and optimisation, field services and multi-vendor spare parts.
The latest contract will cover services from June 2018 until May 2020.
Pat Coxen, Managing Director at MBNL, said: “The agreement to extend the…services contract with Ericsson, for a further two years, reflects the strength of the collaborative relationship between Ericsson and MBNL.
“This will continue the trend of collectively delivering great results and is a sign of true partnership.”
Peter Laurin, Head of Business Area Managed Services at Ericsson, added: “This marks another significant milestone in our longstanding partnership with MBNL and our joint commitment to deliver superior network quality and performance to Three and EE consumers in the UK.
“We are delighted to continue our successful relationship and continue to evolve our managed services portfolio to deliver innovation and industry leading efficiencies through automation and analytics.”
Last month, Three UK signed a deal with SSE Enterprise Telecoms to give it better access to fibre networks.
The operator said the partnership would increase its network capacity by twentyfold.
It has predicted its customers will consume 90GB of data per month by 2025.