Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) announced the signing of two new contracts with Etisalat Misr to expand the latter’s 4G network capabilities and extend the Managed Services deal. These contracts are part of Etisalat & Ericsson’s strategic partnership to ensure the best network availability in Egypt.

The first agreement entails expansion of current 4G capabilities, advanced features deployment all over Cairo as well as deploying 5G ready Ericsson radio systems, which will boost Etisalat’s network capacity in greater Cairo. This will lead to an enhanced end-user experience and delivering best in class services, which will serve the growing demand and expectations of Etisalat’s valuable customers.

Khalid Murshed, Chief Technology Officer at Etisalat Misr says: “We continue to be committed to bringing the best network to Etisalat Misr customers. At Etisalat Misr, we managed to maintain technology leadership that serve millions of customers across Egypt with the latest and best quality of products and services. Working with Ericsson allows us to deploy the latest technologies on our 4G network, which will be an important component of our rapid transition to 5G.”

Moreover, the second contract is an extension of the current Managed Services contract for a further five years. Ericsson helps to create sustainable differentiation for its managed services customers by evolving from network-centric operations to user experience-centric operations, using automation and artificial intelligence.

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Middle East & Africa says: “The recent partnerships with Etisalat Misr highlight our joint commitment to continue providing measurable improvements to secure network quality and performance. Going forward, Ericsson will continue to invest in automation to further increase network quality and shorten lead times while also implementing analytics to measure and enhance the subscribers’ experience.”

To assist operators in the preparation of 5G, Ericsson will continue in 2019 to roll out its 5G RAN software, giving front-runner operators the ability to turn on 5G in their existing LTE commercial networks. Further enhancements are expected as the 5G ecosystem evolves. For customers, the result will be higher data speeds and more capacity for a growing device ecosystem.