Sweden’s Ericsson has announced the signing of a seven-year managed services contract with Italian operator FastWeb, a subsidiary of the Swisscom Group. The deal includes consolidation and transformation of FastWeb’s two data centres, as well as managed operations for the operator’s IT infrastructure, and will enable FastWeb to benefit from increased automation, with a lower environmental impact, more flexibility and capacity and evolved services capabilities. ‘This is an important step for FastWeb and choosing the right partner was essential,’ noted Mario Mella, chief technology officer at FastWeb, adding: ‘Ericsson’s solution had the right mix of innovation, latest technology and controlled approach. We will be able to benefit from a more scalable and powerful platform, supporting enhanced services.’ FastWeb currently operates in over a thousand Italian cities with a network of more than 32,000km of cables.