Telecoms.com

Nokia Siemens Networks has won a five-year deal from Telekom Austria Group (TAG) to improve the carrier’s mobile networks performance and energy efficiency. The firms did not announce the value of the contract.

The deal will see Nokia “replace and modernize” TAG’s radio networks in Austria, Liechtenstein and Slovenia, as well as deploy further 3G equipment in Serbiua and Belarus. The deployments will be ready to support HSPA+ and LTE, Nokia Siemens said.

“Nokia Siemens Networks’ mobile network technology brings an array of benefits – mobile broadband services with a clear evolution path for our subscribers, efficient use of future investments as well as lower electricity bills for us,” said  Hans Pichler, Group Chief Technology Officer of the Telekom Austria Group. “

Last month TAG reported that second quarter net profit for 2010 dropped by more than 16 per cent year on year to €68.7m. The firm attributed the decline to intense competition against a backdrop of regulatory and macroeconomic pressure. CEO Hannes Ametsreiter said that a drop in fixed network voice minutes and a reduction in mobile termination rates had hit the firm particularly hard.

Revenue was down by 1.9 per cent year on year to €1.17bn.