Vivo chooses Ericsson as supplier of new GSM network in Brazil

Ericsson has been selected by Vivo to provide a new network for its customers in Brazil. The contract includes the Ericsson Mobile Softswitch solution and a GSM/GPRS radio access network.

Vivo is controlled by Portugal Telecom and Telefónica and is deemed to be the largest mobile operator in the southern hemisphere.

The initiative is part of Vivo's strategy to build its own GSM network to further strengthen its leading position in the competitive Brazilian market. Currently Vivo operates a CDMA network.

Ericsson was selected as the sole supplier of the core network for voice and data, including the mobile softswitch solution, and as the main supplier for the radio network, covering the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, São Paulo, Sergipe and Tocantins.

The radio solution will allow a complete overlay of Vivo's existing CDMA sites, initially within the same spectrum.

By using Ericsson's GSM technologies, Vivo is will go down the path of 3G/WCDMA evolution.