Tech & Innovation

eircom signs €80m contract with Ericsson

By Business & Finance
03 October 2014

eircom today announced that it has signed a five-year exclusive agreement with Ericsson, the fifth largest software company in the world. The agreement will see Ericsson becoming the sole vendor for eircom’s radio access solutions for 4G LTE, 3G and 2G mobile technologies across Ireland.

The deal includes multi-standard radio base station equipment from the Ericsson RBS 6000 family, LTE RAN software and upgrades of existing 2G and 3G access network software. Ericsson will also provide support services for the equipment throughout the duration of the agreement.

Making the announcement, Richard Moat, eircom’s acting CEO said: “This agreement supports eircom’s ambition to be at the forefront of the Irish mobile market. By selecting Ericsson, we now have a consistent technology supplier across our entire mobile network to help us seamlessly meet the growing customer demands and expectations for mobile data in the consumer, business and the emerging machine to machine segments.

“eircom was the first operator to deliver 4G services in Ireland. This was supported with Ericsson equipment and we are pleased to build on the relationship by announcing this five year exclusive contract.” he said.

Traoloch Collins, managing director, Ericsson Ireland said: ”Ericsson Ireland is delighted to have been selected by eircom to continue to support the delivery of 4G services to its mobile customer base in Ireland.  This contract reinforces Ericsson status as the largest 4G technology supplier in both Ireland and globally.”

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said: “Ericsson employs more than 1400 people in Ireland and is a hugely important employer in Athlone. This employment is supported not only by its global activities but also its activities in the Irish market. The contract being announced today, for the provision of cutting edge software to support the eircom mobile network, will help the company maintain and grow its employment in Athlone. This is the type of activity we are seeking to support through our Action Plan for Jobs, and I wish both companies every success.”

The announcement follows Ericsson’s announcement in May of 120 new ICT jobs, supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland, demonstrating its commitment to Ireland.