Ericsson awarded contract for Maxis 3G network

April 11, 2005

Ericsson signed a contract with Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia's largest mobile operator. Under the agreement, Ericsson will operate Maxis' 3G network for a period of 18 months, after which the operation of the network will be transferred to Maxis.

With this contract, Maxis becomes the first operator in Asia that employs a managed services solution for its 3G (WCDMA) network, while managing its own 2G network.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will be responsible for extensive and continuous knowledge transfer in 3G operations, including competence training in other locations where Ericsson is involved in similar operations. Ericsson will also provide network consulting services to develop service level agreements and key performance indicators.

"We are proud that Maxis has selected Ericsson as its managed services partner for network operations. Our partnership goes back to October 2003, when we became Maxis' first infrastructure partner for the design, deployment and integration of their 3G network, as well as a key partner for their 2G network," said Kristian Tear, President of Ericsson South East Asia and Country Manager of Ericsson Malaysia.

"Indeed, Maxis is making a lot of effort to address and pre-empt the issues that typically have been associated with 3G launches elsewhere," he added.

"The coming months will be critical for Maxis as we prepare to launch its 3G services," said Edward Ying, Maxis Chief Operating Officer. "We are working towards achieving a smooth launch and ensuring that our customers experience the marked superiority of 3G services."

This is Ericsson's second managed services contract with Maxis. The first was for Ericsson's mobile music portal, M-USE, the platform for Maxis' mobile music services offered under myMaxis, which is hosted, integrated and managed by Ericsson.