Ericsson to Support Acceleration of Tunisia's Digital Communications Strategy

Announcements were made to support the acceleration of the Tunisia's digital agenda during the visit by the President of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi, to Ericsson's (NASDAQ: ERIC) headquarters in Sweden. King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden was also part of the delegation visiting Ericsson. Agreements were signed to support Tunisian ICT innovation in areas such as utilities, public safety and transportation enabling application and service developers to be hosted in innovation center and be given access to innovate on Ericsson's platform for Internet of Things (IoT). An Ericsson Service-center supporting customers in the Mediterranean region and Africa established.  

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: "Leveraging ICT, governments can build cities with smart transport systems and optimized energy consumption, as well as transforming health care and education. ICT will play an important role in sustainable and inclusive development in every part of business and society. I believe that taking a holistic, proactive and collaborative approach is how we ensure that we have a future where cities and countries develop in a sustainable way".

The transformative force of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on the eco-system of industries, government bodies and public services, is seen as a driver of sustainable growth in Tunisia. Ericsson and the Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy in Tunisia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlining several initiatives to spur further Tunisian ICT innovation.

Vestberg says: "Tunisia is one of many countries where Ericsson has a long-standing presence. We have been part of the country's communications technology evolution since 1964, and with this initiative we further solidify our commitment to the future ICT development of Tunisia."

The Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy will host application and services developers and start-ups in an innovation center called El Ghazala Technopark,in Tunis. Ericsson will provide them access to its IoT-platform, in an "as-a-Service" model.

In addition, Ericsson Tunisia will place IoT experts as facilitators of innovation in the El Ghazala Technopark.

During the visit, Ericsson also confirmed the opening of an Ericsson service-center in the Elghazala Technopark. The center will be a hub for Ericsson's services organization supporting customers in the Mediterranean region and Africa.

These initiatives are in line with the National Strategic Plan Digital Tunisia 2018, which focuses on enabling digital technology projects with the potential to support Tunisia's economic development. The Plan endorses the private sector's contribution to developing ICT in Tunisia, and defines ICT as a transformation tool to improve industry competitiveness and public service effectiveness.

The telecommunications market in Tunisia will generate estimated revenues of USD 1.5 billion in 2015, a 4.1 percent increase in local currency terms from 2014. Mobile data growth, driven by social networks, OTT communication and video, is a key factor in this increase. More than 40 percent of Tunisian mobile subscribers use 3G technologies, a figure projected to rise to around 85 percent by 2020. Commercial LTE launches are expected to begin in 2016.*

*Pyramid research report: Tunisia: LLU and Updated National ICT Plan to Support Development of Telecom Sector Toward 2020 July 2015 edition