Orange Communications SA: Orange and Ericsson sign managed services agreement

As Orange continues to focus on the strategic planning and development of its mobile network, it has signed a five-year managed services agreement with Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC). This agreement covers all of Orange’s operations in Switzerland, including network management, field maintenance and spare parts management.

Johan Andsjö, CEO of Orange, said: “As a purely mobile communications provider, the quality of our mobile network is a decisive factor for us. That’s why we are delighted to have chosen Ericsson, the world leader in managed services, as our partner. As a result, we can continue moving ahead with our commitment to offering customers a network that leads the way in terms of quality.”

Martin Bürki, Managing Director Ericsson AG Switzerland, says: “We are pleased to announce this managed services agreement with Orange. With this partnership, Orange secures network quality and frees up resources to focus even more on its core business – providing its end users with innovative services. We see great momentum for managed services and this agreement reinforces our leadership both in Europe and globally.

The Orange network is one of the best, and Orange wants to continue offering a top-quality mobile network for mobile communication and Internet services, particularly with the fourth mobile generation 4G/LTE. In order to maintain its constant focus on quality, Orange has selected Ericsson to handle managed services. Ericsson takes over responsibility for managing the network from Orange's former outsourcing partner. About 90 employees from the former outsourcing partner and 10 employees from Orange will join Ericsson in January 2013.

By teaming up with Ericsson in managed services, operators can strengthen their competitive edge through improved network availability and capacity, while reducing their operating costs. This drives the market for mobile services and helps improve the quality of services and the end-user experience. Globally, Ericsson has signed more than 300 managed services contracts in more than 100 countriesand manages networks on behalf of operators that serve more than 950 million subscribers.

Media Contact:
Orange Communications SA Tel. 078 787 10 16 Therese Wenger therese.wenger@orange.ch

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