Taiwan's Far EasTone has contracted Ericsson to be its sole LTE supplier.
Far EasTone has engaged Ericssson to expand and optimize the operator's 4G network, and help prepare the network for an eventual upgrade to 5G.
The contract covers the supply of an Ericsson RAN and evolved packet core, as well as VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling and professional services capabilities.
“Providing the best LTE network in Taiwan will be an important stepping stone to execute on our long term strategy,” Far EasTone president Yvonne Li commented.
“Besides telecom services, operators need to accelerate expansion into new areas to develop IoT services where much more capable and agile networks become indispensable on the way to develop 4G and evolve to 5G.”
Far EasTone launched LTE services in June last year, becoming the nation's second operator to do so.
Last month Far EasTone arranged to return its 2G license and associated 1,800-MHz spectrum in an effort to secure more bandwidth for its 4G services. The move will allow it to use 8.7 MHz of 1,800-MHz spectrum for LTE.