Ericsson Wins GPON Deal

STOCKHOLM -- Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has signed a contract with Nigerian telecom company 21st Century Technologies to supply, build and systems integrate a nationwide residential fiber-optic broadband network. The contract includes the latest GPON Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology and will enable advanced high-speed broadband services.

The project represents a major breakthrough in the West African region, a market largely dominated by mobile communications. The Fiber-To-The-Home network will provide high-quality broadband connectivity and support services such as IPTV, high-speed internet access, and voice-over-IP. Deployment to the first 10,000 homes will start in January, 2009.

Wale Ajisebutu, Managing Director of 21st Century Technologies, says: "We are delighted to work with Ericsson to deploy and integrate one of the world's most sophisticated network architectures for fiber optics. With the combination of Ericsson's GPON (Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network) and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) technology, we can deliver an enriched multimedia experience to our customers."

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)