Netherlands-based KPN International has selected Swedish vendor Ericsson to upgrade its mobile backhaul for its Belgian and German subsidiaries over the course of the next three years.
Under the terms of the deal, Ericsson will install more than 15,000 “MINI-LINK” transmission node links in the two countries before the end of 2013, with the upgrade being carried out with a view to ensuring that both KPN Group Belgium and Germany’s E-Plus Mobilfunk are able to cope with increasing demand from mobile users for data services, while boosting the efficiency of their respective networks.
Ericsson meanwhile has claimed that the mobile backhaul upgrade will lead to lower costs per bit, as well as allowing for a smooth migration from Time Division Multiplex (TDM) to packet transport, and providing the opportunity to scale microwave up to gigabit capacities step-by-step.