Ericsson wins USD125 million 3G deal from SingTel

Swedish vendor Ericsson [Stockholm: ERICbJ3] has won a USD125 million deal to supply and install 3G mobile network equipment for Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) [TELE.SI], beating rival bidders Nokia of Finland, and a consortium including Siemens, NEC Corp and Itochu Corp of Japan. The two companies said that SingTel’s network would be rolled out in Singapore’s central business district early next year, but they will only expand to the rest of the country when there is sufficient demand. Ericsson claims to have signed over 40% of 3G contracts across the world, rolling out networks to over 30 operators in 27 countries.