Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson has extended its existing managed services contract with Hutchinson 3G Italy, also called 3 Italia, while a fresh seven-year agreement was also clinched alongside.

According to the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will modernize and step up the currently deployed WCDMA/HSPA network, 3G mobile broadband access and core networks, optical and radio transport, data charging, and consumer-services platforms and systems.

The contract extends the exclusive managed services contract signed in 2005 for the total management of 3 Italia''s multi-vendor 3G network and telecom IS&IT infrastructure. The prolonged contract runs for five years.

The financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.

However, the new deal is valued lesser than the earlier contract, as a number of third party contracts and the implementation of the new service delivery model were returned, said Ericsson Global Services' head of communication Josephine Edwall.

More so, the optimized network is more efficient and requires less service activities.

Yet, the deal is expected to show satisfactory profitability, added Edwall.