Idea Cellular, the leading mobile services operator in India with 100 million subscribers, has entered into an agreement with Ericsson to provide it with managed services in five circles-Mumbai, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, North East, and Assam.

Under this three-year agreement, Ericsson will be responsible for managing network and field operations, operation and maintenance activities for 2G and 3G sites, network design and planning, network performance improvement, and program management for infrastructure.

Ericsson''s first managed services contract with Idea was signed in 2007 and the partnership between the two companies has now been extended from one circle to five circles. Ericsson will focus on ensuring better network availability and superior customer experience from Idea's 2G and 3G mobile networks.

"Ericsson is our preferred and largest partner in 2G and 3G operations and will now become our largest managed services partner, too. Ericsson has unmatched global expertise in managed services, with an impressive portfolio. We are confident that this alliance will enable us to optimize our networks and deliver the best services to our customers. This deal will allow us to focus on creating competitive, attractive and appealing offerings for our consumer", said Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director, Idea Cellular.

Fredrik Jejdling, President and Head of Region India, Ericsson, said: "We aim to use our considerable resources in India to optimize Idea's networks, thereby ensuring the availability of superior quality services for their subscribers. We welcome the employees who are joining us from Idea. Today, managed services is one of the fastest-growing areas in the telecom industry. With this association, we will gain valuable competence to help us build our services business further."