NSN bolsters regional services offering with Turkish purchase

Infrastructure vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said Thursday it has agreed to acquire Turkish telecom services firm Iris Telecom, bolstering its capability in network planning and optimisation services across Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The acquisition will combine Iris Telecom’s multi-vendor Network Planning and Optimization (NPO) business with NSN’s managed services capabilities to create a regional player in telecom services with existing customers including Turkcell, Avea and Ucell.

“3G and mobile broadband are driving the need to manage end-user experience while improving network efficiency,” said Mete Gokdemir, CEO of Iris Telecom. “While a fair portion of the region’s operators are still managing their networks in-house, we are seeing a growing trend toward outsourcing, given the higher complexities and competence requirements of managing IP networks.”