Telkom Kenya Signs GSM Agreement With Ericsson

Telkom Kenya signs GSM agreement with Ericsson

NAIROBI, May 7 (Xinhua) — Kenya’s largest fixed line operator Telkom Kenya on Wednesday signed a 9 billion shilling (about 148 million U.S. dollars) GSM agreement with Ericsson to supply network equipment for its mobile telephony roll-out.

The Ericsson deal marks the first major announcement by the firm after a 26 billion shilling (4.26 million dollars) buyout by France Telecom — giving them a 51 per cent stake in the state- owned firm – - to win control of the firm’s board and management.

“The agreement with Ericsson reflects a strong commitment by Telkom Kenya to deliver enhanced communication experiences to customers,” said Dominic Saint- Jean, the new CEO of Telkom Kenya.

“Ericsson’s global experience and knowledge of Africa in launching start-ups convinced us they are the ideal partner for our GSM network rollout,” he told reporters in Nairobi.

Besides the mobile phone subsector, the French giant is also gearing up to offer “quadruple play,” bundles of fixed telephony, mobile telephony, internet broadband and television services.

Globally, telecommunication operators are starting to integrate their fixed, internet and mobile networks by offering special deals to customers who buy all the services together.

“We have an edge over other players since we are the only telecommunication supermarket in the region,”Saint- Jean said, while refereeing to Telkom’s fixed telephony, wireless telephony, mobile telephony and internet divisions.

A consortium led by France Telecom bought a 51 percent stake in the east African country’s landline services monopoly, which has 280,000 subscribers, in November 2007.

The mobile GSM service will be launched at the start of the fourth quarter of this year and will be marketed under the French firm’s Orange brand.

The loss making Telkom Kenya is betting on the mobile phone market to push into the profit zone in a move that places the firm in a head-to-head battle with Safaricom, Celtel and Econet Wireless.

Econet is planning to roll out its long awaited network in July, while Telkom Kenya intends to set up its network in September.

France Telecom plans to target two thirds of the country’s population who are not yet covered by mobile service, as well as existing subscribers who may want to switch networks.

Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network maker, will deploy an EDGE technology-ready system in 18 months time.

(c) 2008 Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.