Vivo unit picks Ericsson, Huawei for LTE rollout

Brazilian mobile operator Vivo Participacoes, has selected Ericsson of Sweden and China’s Huawei Technologies to supply it with Long Term Evolution (LTE) equipment to support its national rollout. In an announcement during this week’s Futurecom event,Telifonica, the Spanish owner has confirmed plans to install a total of 4,700 base transceiver stations (BTS), of which Ericsson will deploy 2,700 and Huawei the remainder.

No financial details were disclosed but it is understood that the Swedish equipment maker will be responsible for delivering Vivo’s 4G network infrastructure – including its RBS 6000 multi-standard radio base stations – in the north and mid-western regions of the country, as well as covering the states of Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia and Sergipe. The contract also includes network implementation, including infrastructure rollout, design and support services. Meanwhile, its Chinese counterpart will be responsible for delivering and installing LTE equipment to the cities of Fortaleza, Recife and Rio de Janeiro, which are also sites of the 2013 football Confederations Cup.