Clearwire selects Ericsson for managed services

KIRKLAND, USA & STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Clearwire Corp., a leading provider of 4G wireless broadband services in the US, and Ericsson announced a seven-year, managed services partnership that will transfer the day-to-day management of Clearwire's 4G network to Ericsson and allow Clearwire to realize operational efficiencies and reduce operating costs.

"Clearwire's effort to reduce costs and maximize efficiency while delivering a high quality mobile broadband service to our customers extends to all parts of our business," said Erik Prusch, Clearwire's chief operating officer. "By engaging Ericsson, a proven leader in managed network services, we can achieve those objectives, and benefit from their extensive global expertise and best-practices developed while serving clients around the world."

"We greatly appreciate the tireless contributions the talented people on our network services team have made in building Clearwire's 4G network and laying the foundation for our success," Prusch continued. "We are pleased they will have new opportunities within Ericsson to support our customers, and further position Clearwire as the leader in mobile broadband."

Key aspects of the partnership include:
* Clearwire retains ownership of all network assets and full responsibility for future technology and strategy decisions.
* Ericsson will be responsible for network engineering, operations and maintenance, including field services, 24X7 network monitoring, end-to-end engineering, provisioning and routine maintenance.
* Clearwire will remain the primary point of contact for all interactions with customers, wholesale partners and equipment vendors.
* Approximately 700 Clearwire employees are expected to begin performing their network functions as Ericsson employees in locations around the United States before mid-year 2011.