Ericsson Lands LTE Deal from MTS

STOCKHOLM -- Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Russia's leading mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) announced a strategic cooperation to jointly develop ICT infrastructure for an LTE network rollout during the 17th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2013). Ericsson has been chosen to deploy the LTE network in four regions covering more than half of Russia, thus becoming MTS's main vendor. The launch of LTE by MTS will increase Russia's connectivity and foster the development of the country's economy. Under the three-year agreement and starting in Q2, 2013, Ericsson will roll out LTE in the Siberian, Ural, Volga, and Southern Federal Districts of Russia. In the first stage of the project, Ericsson will supply no less than 10,000 new-generation products from the RBS 6000 series. We will also supply core network hardware and services in the same regions, as well as in the Northwestern Federal District. As part of the agreement, Ericsson and MTS will extend their cooperation to further develop 2G/3G networks in several regions in Russia. Ericsson AB