Taiwan's Far EasTone calls on Ericsson for LTE rollout

Taiwanese mobile operator Far EasTone has called on Swedish vendor Ericsson to provide hardware, software and support services as it rolls out its 3G and LTE multi-access RAN and core network nationwide.

The operator’s LTE network will offer subscribers downlink speeds of up to 150Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 50Mbps, according to Ericsson, and the network will use the 700MHz and 1800MHz spectrum bands. Under the terms of the deal, Ericsson will also assist the operator with network optimisation.

The operator will also implement Ericsson’s 4G cell broadcast system which will help the Taiwanese government to deliver disaster warning services to consumers over the network.

“Far EasTone will now be able to offer its customers improved speeds and reliability, with the opportunity to expand as future needs grow,” said Jan Signell, head of Ericsson North-East Asia.

Far EasTone is Taiwan’s joint second placed operator along with Taiwan Mobile Company; both firms have 7.25 million subscribers as of March 2014, according to Informa’s WCIS. Market leader Chunghwa Telecom has 10.7 million subscribers.

LTE Asia 2014 takes place on the 23rd to 25th September 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore