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Pannon GSM and Ericsson Hungary signed a contract for building the first part of the 3G mobile network. Under the contract, Ericsson will supply equipment providing the core infrastructure of the UMTS-based mobile telecommunications system. Cooperation between the two companies will enable customers in Budapest to enjoy the benefits of the services of the 3G network in the second half of 2005. The network will be rolled out to other parts of Hungary in late 2005 and early 2006.

Winning the biggest 3G licence allows Pannon to offer the broadest bandwidth to its customers. Pannon and Ericsson signed a contract also on the modernization of Pannon's GSM EDGE network.

"Pannon GSM continues its leadership in mobile data services. Our company made the first steps to launch GPRS and EDGE, and now we take the lead in the 3G era, too: we have purchased the most valuable concession package from the government recently. We want to offer the highest quality services and all the benefits of broadband communications to our customers", said Ove Fredheim, CEO of Pannon GSM.

The UMTS radio network delivered by Ericsson is a future proof solution since it is already prepared for the migration to HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access), the next evolution in 3G. Today the network already allows for 384 kbit/s data throughput for best quality and functionality of services and applications like video telephony, video streaming and high-speed data download.

"Ericsson offers true end-to-end 3G and EDGE solutions that lay the foundation for a smooth and cost-effective migration path from second-generation GSM networks. Due to the local competence and expertise, Pannon GSM can deploy 3G quickly and cost effectively" - said Staffan Pehrson, president of Ericsson Hungary.