Ericsson employs Telenet staff as managed service expands
Ericsson has signed a five year managed service contract with Telenet to integrate and run its 5G hardware within the Belgian mobile operator’s existing network. It is also taking on the mobile operator’s staff as it extends its managed services.
Along with the usual duties of equipment monitoring and management Ericsson has taken on the role of using artificial intelligence for automatic data-driven operations and network optimisation.
Under the terms of the agreement Telenet will use the Ericsson Operations Engine in 2022. This will systematically gather the latest intelligence updates and act on them to fine tune the mobile network’s performance. It also uses any feedback to improve the customer experience, according to Ericsson.
Cognitive software runs network
Telenet announced the selection of Ericsson as 5G radio access network (RAN) vendor in a network modernisation deal unveiled in March 2021.
Ericsson network optimisation services will also be provided under the deal. These blend multi-vendor network expertise with Ericsson’s AI-enabled Cognitive Software suite. This also creates better customer experiences and give the mobile operator a better return from its network assets, according to Ericsson, which is extending the scope of its current mobile operations centre to monitor Telenet’s fixed network.
As part the deal, Ericsson will employ 15 of Telenet’s mobile network experts while maintaining their current employment conditions.
Ericsson runs Telenet 5G
“This reinforces Telenet’s long-term partnership with Ericsson to build a future-ready 5G network,” said Micha Berger, Telenet’s CTO, “These new technologies will give our customers a state-of-the-art mobile experience.”
The extension of the managed services contract is an endorsement of Ericsson’s operational performance, said Franck Bouétard, head of Ericsson Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Algeria and Tunisia. “We are Telenet’s trusted partner and this is complementing our 5G RAN contract,” said Bouétard.