In January 2008, T-Mobile and 3 in the UK launched the company MBNL. In 2010, it will have the UK’s largest 3G network. Simon Kirby, MBNL’s Operations Director, says: “We’ve merged 3 and T-Mobile’s networks for radio access and will be able to deliver 3G so much faster than we would without Ericsson. We’ll physically cover about 98 percent of the UK. What we’re doing is huge.” 

In November last year, MBNL signed a four-year agreement for managed services with Ericsson, which gave Ericsson the responsibility for running and maintaining both the consolidated network, and T-Mobile’s 2G network.

Cooperation between the two companies actually began in December 2005, when Ericsson and 3 UK signed a mega managed services contract. Two years later, in December 2007, T-Mobile chose Ericsson as its managed services partner for field maintenance. Earlier this month it was also announced that MBNL has selected Ericsson to provide managed services to complete the consolidation of their 3G infrastructure. Under the terms of the agreement, about 220 T-Mobile operations staff have transferred to Ericsson.

Peter Garrat, MBNL’s Director of Network Operations, says employee well-being was the most important aspect when MBNL was considering suppliers. “We needed to ensure that Ericsson understood our ambitions, that the company could add value through expertise, processes, systems and tools and, perhaps most important of all, that they had the same values as us when it comes to people. We knew the company was extremely strong within managed services, but we needed a huge commitment from Ericsson.”

Valter D’Avino, Ericsson’s Head of Managed Services, says managed services are about people and can be compared with an acquisition involving the take over of staff. “We have to integrate cultures and work closely to the customer even before the contract is signed to ensure them that we can manage the staff transfer well,” he says.

“HR and communication play a very important part here. The driving force when it comes to managed services and staff transfers is that the customer feels confident that the quality of service will remain at a high level once the employees have been transferred to Ericsson, and that the new company treats the transferred staff well. Naturally, the customer wants their employees to arrive at as good an employer as possible.”