Ericsson and Belgian Communications Service Provider, Telenet, are extending their managed services partnership through a five-year deal that will see Ericsson take responsibility for planning, design, operations and optimization. The deal also includes the deployment and seamless integration of 5G hardware into Telenet’s mobile network.

The deal will see Telenet deploying Ericsson Operations Engine in 2022, comprising the latest in AI and automation to enhance its mobile network performance and offer improved customer experience. Telenet announced the selection of Ericsson as 5G radio access network (RAN) vendor in a network modernization deal announced in March 2021.

Ericsson network optimization services will also be provided under the deal. The solution combines multi-vendor networks expertise with the latest AI-enabled Cognitive Software suite. This functionality will enhance customer experiences and ensure a superior return from Telenet’s deployed network assets. Ericsson will also extend its current Mobile Operation Center with monitoring of the fixed network.

As part the deal, Ericsson will employ 15 of Telenet’s mobile network experts while maintaining their current employment conditions.

Micha Berger, Chief Technology Officer, Telenet, says: “We are pleased to reinforce our long-term partnership with Ericsson as part of our vision to build a future-ready 5G network that enables world-class experience for our customers. We are confident that these new technologies will enable us to provide to our customers a state-of-the-art mobile experience.”

Franck Bouétard, Head of Ericsson Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Algeria and Tunisia, says: “Prolonging and expanding our managed services contract is the recognition of our operational performance as Telenet’s trusted partner and is complementing our 5G RAN contract. As Belgium is continuing its shift toward 5G, we are honored to extend our partnership with a key actor such as Telenet to deliver leading 5G services to Belgian consumers.”