Omantel, the sultanate's leading telecom services operator, said it has renewed its managed services agreement with leading global connectivity provider Ericsson for another five years. 

 

The renewed agreement is more outcome-based and customer-centric, providing clear accountability and increased agility, said a statement from Omantel.

 

As per the deal, Ericsson will provide a fully managed end-to-end multivendor operations service to include nationwide network operations, field support and maintenance for Omantel's fixed-line access, 2G, 3G, 4G and future 5G access. 

 

The project incorporates the operations for Network Functions Virtualization (NFVI) solutions, which provide the highest levels of operation, and maintenance capabilities.

 

Ericsson will also deploy automation platforms to allow Omantel to increase operational network efficiency and further enhance customer experiences for its subscribers.

 

Omantel CEO Talal Said Al Mamari said: "Expanding our long-term partnership with Ericsson with the implementation of its innovative solutions is in line with our strategy to focus on our core business of providing a convergence of communications, and information to our customers and to deliver the best possible service to our growing customer base."

 

"The deal covers network operations and field maintenance for Omantel's multivendor mobile networks, including access and core technologies. We at Omantel work with international companies such as Ericsson to bring extensive management Services expertise to our network," he stated.

 

Ericsson (Middle East and Africa) Fadi Pharaon said: "Today’s agreement reinforces our long-standing partnership and commitment to Omantel."

 

"It will enable us to evolve Omantel’s network from network-centric to user-experience-centric network leveraging Ericsson’s automation use cases.  This will create a differentiated experience for Omantel’s subscribers," observed Pharaon.

 

The new partnership will stimulate innovation in network operations and deliver high-quality services for Omantel’s customers, he added.-TradeArabia News Service