The agreement was signed on Monday 6th of April 2009, in Rabat in the presence of Mr. Ahmed Akhchichine, Minister of Education, Mrs. Yassmina Badou, Minister of Health, Mrs. Nadira El Guermai, Governor Coordinator of the National Initiative for Human Development, Mr. Fouad Ali El Himma, President Rhamna Foundation for Sustainable Development (FRDD), Mr. Michael Odevall, the Swedish ambassador in Morocco, Mr. Rachid Chihani, Ericsson Morocco’s Country Manager and other key figures.

This agreement aims at struggling against the dropping out of schools and will offer distant education and health services in different schools and colleges in the Rhamna area that will be covered by a 3G network. This partnership is an important initiative for Ericsson as it allows it to open itself up to social activities. The importance of this agreement is its innovative feature which will allow young people to benefit from new technologies, and will mainly bridge the digital gap, fight against school drop outs and establish means for the improvement and modernization of teaching techniques.

Under this agreement, students in the province of Rhamna will benefit from distant learning via interactive tools with options to connect to 3G mobile internet and health services provided by a mobile unit offering tooth and eyes checking services for pupils. A steering committee directed by the FRDD president will ensure the follow-up of this agreement implementation for a period of 4 years.

Ericsson Business consulting played an active role in defining the scope of ‘’Lumière de Rhamna’’ project and calculated the business case including investments needed and gains in terms of school drop-out reduction and job creation in the region.

The 3G network will facilitate new activities in the region such as cybercafés. ‘’Lumière de Rhamna’s’’ official inauguration after classrooms equipment is planned for May 20th. “We are proud to cooperate with the Moroccan government on this great initiative as we believe in the importance of telecommunications in the advancement of health and ducation. Thanks to Ericsson’s consulting team we were able to bring this dream into a reality. We look forward to seeing the fruition of this important project,” said Rachid Chihani, Ericsson Morocco’s Country Manager.

Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 250 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
 

Ericsson is advancing its vision of 'communication for all' through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27 billion (SEK 209 billion) in 2008. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm and NASDAQ.
 
For more information, www.ericsson.com or www.ericsson.mobi.

Abdelatif Ouassou
Mobile: 00212661431697

The Market Unit of Northern Africa (MU NAf) includes eleven countries spanning from Morocco in the West to Egypt in the East and Somalia in the South. Ericsson has offices in seven of these eleven countries. Ericsson’s telecom penetration in Northern Africa is equal to 35% for mobile operators and 18% for fixed lines.

Ericsson started its activities in Morocco in 1984, as an annex AB LM Ericsson of Sweden, to be part of the fixed network numbering of the ONPT (the historical operator). By the year 2000, Ericsson created ERICSSON Morocco SARL, a subsidiary of Ericsson AB wholly owned by the parent company. Ericsson Morocco SARL has its main office in Rabat and Casablanca. More than 120 employees work at the company and the number is growing.

The strategic objective of Ericsson in the region is to ensure its presence close to its clients, to offer the best front edge technology in the market.

In Morocco, Ericsson is one of the main suppliers of telecommunications for wireless telephony and is also a major provider of solutions for cable and telecommunications services.

Ericsson is also one of the major suppliers for the Telecommunications networks in Maroc Telecom and Méditel, for which Ericsson has provided the infrastructure for 3G, GSM, O & M and the OSS, mobile positioning, DXX, WAP gateway, of the platform applications for mobile services and equipment infrastructure and Radio transmission. Ericsson also supports its customers in each stage of development of their networks as well as in developing their service offerings to users. This is achieved by providing the most comprehensive range of services, ranging from project management, Turn-Key, network design, operation and maintenance of the network, the integration of network systems, up till the business consulting and skill development for their employees.

Ericsson is committed to making positive contributions to the communities in which we work and the world in which we live. Corporate Responsibility, or CR, encompasses everything we do to build an enduring value-creation capacity for all our stakeholders: customers, employees, investors, and society as a whole.

CR is about maintaining the necessary controls to minimize risk, while creating positive business impacts by linking our products and services to an overall business goal of sustainable growth. Our approach is based on the triple bottom-line principles of reporting: Economic prosperity, Environmental performance and Social Equity. Pictures and more information about Ericsson’s Corporate Responsibility can be found here.