In what is described as the world’s largest upgrade of a live mobile network, Ericsson has helped Vodafone Essar to replace more than 10,500 GSM radio sites. The pace of replacement reached a peak rate of one site every minute.
Vodafone Essar serves 13 million subscribers in India’s four key zones, including three large cities (Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). Uninterrupted network services were maintened during the upgrade.
The network modernization project began in February 2008 and ended first quarter 2009, two months ahead of schedule. During this time, Ericsson delivered more than 16,000 base station cabinets and more than 250 base station controllers, completing the project in only 13 months. As part of the agreement, Ericsson also provided an expansion of the layered architecture circuit core including mobile packet back bone (MPBN) and microwave transmission equipment.
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- In 2007, Vodafone acquired the controlling interest in Hutchinson-Essar from Li Ka Shing Holdings for US$11.1 billion.
