Ericsson and Swisscom mobile engineers will work together to develop new methods of improving the Swiss operator's wireless network as part of a deeper partnership agreement between the companies.
Under the intensified agreement, Ericsson and Swisscom engineers will form a Mobile Expert Group to share ideas and pool their respective skills to drive innovations in Swisscom's mobile network. In a statement, Ericsson said the joint engineering group will reduce time to market for its technology and services, in turn ensuring Swisscom customers benefit from the best possible network performance.
Magnus Mandersson, EVP and head of Business Unit Global Services at Ericsson, said a long standing partnership between the companies "enables us to explore innovative new ways of working that will benefit both companies and end users."
The work of the joint engineering team will enable the companies to improve Swisscom's network, while the "short time to market will benefit all customers," Mandersson added.
Swisscom said it will continue to invest hundreds of millions in its mobile network every year, in a related statement on the expanded partnership. The operator explained that the companies will collaborate on developing, planning, implementing and operating its mobile network to bring the latest technologies to market faster.
The operator said the joint engineering team will comprise equal numbers of staff from both companies, and that the updated agreement runs for an indefinite period.
"I am convinced that our customers will benefit from our intensified partnership because we will leverage the combined knowledge and dedication of both companies," said Heinz Herren, CTO and CIO of Swisscom.
Swisscom announced in early December that Connect magazine had named its mobile network as the best in Switzerland for the seventh year in a row. The operator's network also came out top in the magazine's comparison of networks in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, the company said.
At the time, Herren said the accolade validated Swisscom's investment in its mobile infrastructure. The operator has invested CHF1.75 billion (€1.6 billion/$1.7 billion) into the network in 2015, and its LTE network now covers 98 per cent of the country's population.
For more:
- see this Ericsson announcement
- view this related Swisscom statement
- read Swisscom's mobile network announcement
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