In January 2006, launching HSDPA enabled mobilkom austria to more than double its system capacity and offer even faster mobile broadband to subscribers.

As Austria’s primary telecom operator, mobilkom austria has a partnership agreement with the Vodafone group and at the end of 2005, had 39.1 percent market share. To maintain market leadership, the operator wanted to launch HSDPA and offer mobile broadband with 1.8 and 3.6 Mbps, significantly boosting its portfolio and fulfilling the growing demand for mobile internet services in Austria. Establishing itself as a forerunner in HSDPA cements mobilkom austria’s position as market leader.

Ericsson was selected by mobilkom austria to deploy the HSDPA network, and in 2005 a contract was signed for Ericsson to provide a trial, which included project management, network integration and installation, system support and optimization services. After the outstanding performance of the trial, mobilkom austria decided to launch HSDPA within just one year across the entire country. Ericsson has proven itself as a trusted partner and the early roll-out was achieved through a combination of leading technology and professional project management.

Installation began in November 2005 and the first HSDPA launch was completed in Vienna in January 2006, thereby enabling the operator to immediately offer advanced mobile internet communications. The fact that Ericsson was able to meet the tight deadlines ensured that mobilkom austria not only remained the market leader, but was one of the first operators in Europe to upgrade its 3G network to HSDPA. Erich Dunkel, Account Manager, Ericsson, explains the role of project management in this success: “As the first contract of its kind in Europe, Ericsson’s expertise, intensive preparation, early testing, successful networking and communication have all played vital parts in the smooth roll-out.”

Ericsson has provided local resources and extensive knowledge and planning throughout mobilkom austria’s participation in the Early Launch System (ELS). The introduction of HSDPA brings additional complexity to the network and customized training for key members of staff has been an integral part of the contract. Ulrich Rokita, Head of Network Planning, mobilkom austria, explains the multiple benefits of the network upgrade: “The unprecedented nature of this project enables mobilkom austria to establish a name as the first and the best mobile internet provider. Internet services are a growing market for mobile operators and early entry to the market is vital.”

mobilkom austria’s commercial offering for mobile broadband has proven extremely successful, with approximately 100,000 datacards in distribution by the end of June 2006. This gives the operator the highest number of mobile broadband subscribers within the Vodafone group relative to the subscriber base. Future expansion of the offering will include laptops with inbuilt HSDPA, handsets, and fixed-wireless terminals. Continuous evolution is a necessary part of life for operators today and Ericsson’s future-proof, expandable technology and multi-layer strategy ensure that future developments are always considered.

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