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Smile inks services deal with Ericsson

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 17 Jun 2015
Smile's LTE networks in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be managed by Ericsson.
Smile's LTE networks in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be managed by Ericsson.

Smile Communications, which is based in the north of Johannesburg, has selected Ericsson to manage its long-term evolution (LTE) operations across Africa.

In a statement, Ericsson says the five-year deal will see it manage operations and maintain Smile's networks in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The agreement contract includes network operation, network performance and optimisation, field services, and spare parts management.

Ericsson claims this is the first 4G/LTE managed services contract signed in sub-Saharan Africa. The deal will enable Smile to focus on improving customer experience.

Smile claims to have launched Africa's first LTE broadband internet service in Tanzania, in March 2012. Its service covers four Tanzanian cities as well as main metros in Uganda, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a subsidiary of Mauritius-based Smile Telecoms Holdings.

Smile Telecoms Holdings was founded in 2007 by Irene Charnley, who previously held a directorship with MTN and oversaw that company's listing on the JSE. Prior to MTN, she was a director of what was then the industrial conglomerate, Johnnic Holdings.

Smile Communications COO Tom Allen says Ericsson is not just a vendor as the companies are "long-term partners focused on delivering on the Smile promise to be the broadband provider of choice in Africa and to ensure that our customers fully benefit from the Internet world".

This managed services contract extends Ericsson's relationship with Smile in Nigeria, where Ericsson is Smile's sole vendor for 4G networks. The agreement also leverages Ericsson's more than 15 years of experience in managing multi-vendor, multi-technology networks in Tanzania, Uganda and the DRC, it says.

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