Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom have entered a strategically important six-year managed services partnership, which covers the operation and maintenance of Deutsche Telekom’s microwave network in Germany. Through the transaction, around 200 employees will be transferred from T-Com, along with its microwave assets and related operation activities.
The partnership is a logical one as the majority of the current data traffic in the microwave network is already transmitted over systems delivered by Ericsson. Under the agreement Ericsson will take over full responsibility for the realization and operation of the telecom vendor’s microwave-based links in Germany, including planning, deployment, operation and field services, and T-Com will buy capacity from the company as part of the ongoing managed services contract.
Hans Vestberg, executive vice president and head of Business Unit Global Services at Ericsson, said, “We are confident that we not only can maintain the high quality of the network while helping reduce costs for our customer, but that we can also improve profitability in the operation of microwave networks over the coming years by adding new customers. This agreement will also lay the foundation for our strategy to make managed services a growth area and success story in Germany. We welcome the highly qualified new employees from T-Com, whom we will offer attractive career paths in an international environment of a true global player.”