Ericsson boosts speed and capacity in 3 Italia's network

Ericsson completing massive upgrade of 3 Italia's mobile backhaul network from Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) to full-IP transport
The upgrade will increase the network's capacity and enable downlink speeds of up to 42Mbps
Upgrade to meet 3 Italia's customers' expectations for speed on all mobile devices
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) will soon complete an extensive upgrade of 3 Italia's backhaul network. 3 Italia - a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, which pioneered the 3G era - will then be able to offer its customers downlink speeds of up to 42Mbps. Within the scope of the project, initiated in 2011, Ericsson is upgrading and evolving 3 Italia's network architecture and helping the operator migrate to an end-to-end, full-IP backhaul and access architecture.

Dina Ravera, Chief Operating Officer, 3 Italia, says: "Since our world-first launch of UMTS in 2003, we have taken a proactive approach to building and maintaining a state-of-the-art network for our customers. Consumers expect a fast and reliable 3G network that meets their requirements when accessing their voice, video, internet and mobile TV services via mobile devices. We have a long-standing relationship with Ericsson, which supplies us with radio-access networks (RANs) and services, and we are happy that Ericsson is now also our technology and services partner for our backhaul network."

Ericsson is the sole supplier of the upgrade, responsible for design, installation and system integration. The upgrade includes Ericsson's microwave MINI-LINK products, its optical Smart Packet Optical (SPO) 1400 products and its SmartEdge 600 Multi-Service Edge Router.

Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of Region Mediterranean, Ericsson, says: "As data consumption grows due to the massive uptake of mobile broadband, network operators need to upgrade all parts of their networks - not just the radio access network. 3 Italia's backhaul upgrade will provide the operator's end-users with fast data services, improving the end-user experience on all devices. I am pleased that Ericsson is now involved in this part of 3 Italia's network."

The relationship between 3 Italia and Ericsson dates back to 2001, when the operator selected its UMTS suppliers. In 2005, the two parties signed one of the largest managed services contracts in the telecom industry. On June 5, 2009, 3 Italia awarded Ericsson a network transformation deal to upgrade its WCDMA/HSPA network and extending the managed services deal.