Ericsson signs $10.5 million AXE turn-key contract in Tanzania.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 1996--Ericsson has signed an AXE turn-key contract with TTCL (Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd.), the national telecoms operator in Tanzania. The contract, valued at $10.5 million, strengthens Ericsson's public switching position in Tanzania. Since June 1995, Ericsson has already received orders in Tanzania covering more than 35,000 AXE-lines. The turn-key contract from TTCL includes planning, design and implementation of equipment to expand Tanzania's public telecoms network on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, east of the mainland.

Within the contract, Ericsson will supply AXE switching equipment, including a Remote Subscriber Switch (RSS) to each of the two islands, civil works and PDH transport networks equipment. TTCL's customers on the islands will be able to use modern telecoms services via the existing radio-based transmission connecting the islands to the core network in mainland Tanzania. Deliveries of the AXE equipment will start in autumn 1996.

The telephone density in Tanzania today is below 0.5 main telephone lines per 100 inhabitants, the corresponding figure for Western Europe as a whole is 50.

Ericsson's 85,000 employees are active in more than 100 countries. Their combined expertise in switching, radio and networking makes Ericsson a world leader in telecommunications.

CONTACT: Kathy Egan or Lars Jonsteg

212-685-4030