Ericsson ships one-millionth GSM base station — MobileMonday Global: Industry News

^{Record growth for GSM} Ericsson ships one-millionth GSM base station

Ericsson base station

9 May 2007 at 18:35 GMT Timo Poropudas

Ericsson has delivered its millionth GSM base station. The shipment marks a milestone for the GSM technology that, since its introduction in 1991, has connected more than 2.3 billion users.

Ericsson says that it has deployed GSM networks in more than 100 countries. The millionth GSM base station was delivered to the mobile operator MTN Nigeria.

The first base station in 1991 went to Mannesmann in Germany. The growth in demand for GSM services has resulted in Ericsson delivering the same number of GSM Base Stations during 2004-2007 as during the period 1991-2003.

The strong growth is expected to continue. The number of GSM subscribers around the world is set to increase by 40 million per month during 2007 according to the global trade association GSM Association, GSMA. More than 10 million are currently being added every month across India and China.

In India alone, Ericsson is currently installing a new GSM base station every 15 minutes.

Kurt Jofs, Executive Vice President and head of Business Unit Networks at Ericsson, says: "After 16 years, the pace of GSM deployments shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, we expect 2007 to be the fifth consecutive record year for deliveries.