Smile Communications launches LTE with Ericsson

                          

Smile Communications has announced the launch of a LTE network on 800 MHz spectrum in Ibadan and Lagos, both in Nigeria. In Ibadan, commercial services were launched in February 2013, making Smile the first to launch this LTE technology in West Africa. In Lagos commercial services were launched on 19 February, offering an improved mobile broadband experience. More locations across the country will follow soon.  Ericsson is the primary vendor for the LTE radio network, leveraging the RBS 6000 family of base stations and the AIR (Antenna Integrated Radio) Antennas, deployed in West Africa for the first time. Ericsson is also providing a complete Evolved Packet Core network including Evolved Packet Gateway and Mobility Management Entity. Smile Communications and Ericsson have a 3-year network deployment agreement to develop over 1,100 LTE sites across the country. Under the terms of this agreement, Ericsson is responsible for the project management, system integration, interoperability testing, network design and implementation.