February 26, 2017, 14:00 (CET)

• Batelco and Ericsson sign the biggest network deal to provide the latest innovative technologies to Bahrain customers including LTE-Advanced and expansion of VoLTE
• Ericsson will expand its offerings to Batelco for support and next-level solutions to enhance Batelco's leadership
• Deal provides foundation for Batelco to develop a building block for future developments in 5G, IOT and Cloud

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Batelco have partnered in a major network deal to transform the Bahrain mobile network. The ambition is to boost Batelco's market leadership and guarantee the best customer experience in mobile internet services.

The Mobile Network Enhancement Deal for 2017 - 2018 is the biggest deal between Ericsson and Batelco since their partnership began more than 35 years ago.

Muna Al Hashemi, CEO, Batelco Bahrain, says:

"By delivering an outstanding experience to our customers, Ericsson supports Batelco's strategy to stay ahead of competition. Ericsson's innovative solutions will provide us with a service to monitor and measure our users' experience and allow us to enhance their overall experience through providing the best in network solutions."

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Region Middle East and East Africa, says:

"This is an important milestone in our long standing partnership with Batelco, marking a significant step in their network evolution and offering a range of new solutions for Batelco's subscribers in Bahrain. We will continue to strengthen this partnership by leveraging Ericsson's leadership and supporting our customer prepare their network for the future."

Ericsson will increase its services and offerings in both core and radio solutions to Batelco. Moreover, this agreement will enable Batelco to start the journey to 5G and IOT by providing network virtualization services, improved 3G and LTE indoor capacity for customers.

This agreement will have a huge impact on the user experience through improved mobile internet coverage and service quality. This solution will be a key differentiator among competitors and continue Batelco's and Ericsson's mobile internet leadership in the market.