Kyivstar and Ericsson signed a three-year frame contract including equipment and services to expand the operator’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE network and Ericsson Mobile Softswitch solution.

Kyivstar is the leader in Ukrainian market of mobile communications, with almost 15 millions subscribers.

Ericsson will supply core and radio network equipment for Kyivstar GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. It will also deliver Mobile Softswitch solution, which will increase Kyivstar’s network capacity, performance and coverage to meet subscriber growth and demand for new services. Ericsson Mobile Softswitch is also the first step in the evolution to an all-IP network.

Ericsson softswitch solutions are widely deployed in both fixed and mobile networks. They enable cost optimized network design and efficient IP transport for all services. The distributed softswitch architecture improves investment efficiency through node consolidation and the superior price/performance of modern IP based equipment. Operating Expenses (Opex) are cut due to reduced transmission costs and simplified operations and maintenance and network planning. Business cases around the world have shown core network Opex savings are of up to 50%.