Ericsson becomes sole managed services partner for China Mobile Hebei through a three-year field maintenance agreement.

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China Mobile Hebei, a provincial company of China Mobile, has selected Swedish telecom giant Ericsson, the world’s largest wireless equipment supplier, as a sole managed services partner for all its 22,000 2G/3G base station sites through a three-year field maintenance agreement, Ericsson said in a statement Monday.

The Swedish firm described the deal as "the largest managed services contract the company has received in China so far".

The Hebei province has a population of 70 million and its area is almost the size of the UK. China Mobile Hebei is the largest operator in the province with 35 million subscribers.

"This shows China Mobile Hebei's trust in Ericsson's industry leading managed services capabilities and its willingness to be a strategic partner with Ericsson in China. We are confident of providing the best-in-class services to China Mobile Hebei and to help it capture new opportunities in this challenging and competitive marketplace", Mats H Olsson, President of Ericsson China & North East Asia, said.

China Mobile Hebei, China Mobile's subsidiary in the country's sixth most populated province, is one of Ericsson's most important customers and strategic partners. The two parties have had a good long-term partnership for more than 23 years.