Ericsson has won a contract worth more than $53 million to expand Nigerian state telecoms company Nitel`s GSM network.
Ericsson and Nitel signed the first contract for GSM in 2001, under which Ericsson delivered a system with a capacity for 118 000 subscribers.
The latest contract entails expanding the network by 400 000 subscriber lines.
Nitel MD Engineer Omeata says the relationship with Ericsson began in 1990 when it supplied, installed and commissioned an analogue cellular telephone system, making Nigeria the first African country to have a cellular service.
"There is a huge demand for GSM telephone service in Nigeria," says Jan Embro, head of Ericsson`s market unit for southern Africa. "Ericsson`s participation in a quick expansion of Nitel`s GSM network is very important as many Nigerians are waiting for more Nitel GSM subscriptions."
Embro says that in Africa, sophisticated cellular services are capturing increasingly significant market share against a backdrop of fixed-line networks as countries turn to wireless networks to meet burgeoning telecommunications needs.
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