WIND Hellas Upgrades Mobile Packet Core Network with Help from Ericsson

WIND Hellas, one of Greece’s biggest telecommunications operators, has completed a major upgrade to its network with the help of Ericsson, which provided consulting and systems integration capabilities as a prime integrator for the upgrade. This year-long transformation and network evolution project aimed to modernize WIND Hellas’ Mobile Packet Core.

Since Ericsson’s Evolved Packet Gateway product — which is based on the latest SSR 8000 family integrated with the SGSN-MME and Service-Aware Policy Controller — was a crucial part of WIND Hellas’ new multi-access Evolved Packet Core network, it was only natural that the communications technology giant would also act as prime integrator for the project. As part of this, legacy packet network systems have been completely replaced and all subscribers have been migrated to a single, multifunctional platform suite.

“In projects such as these, we see the benefit of the combination of our strength in both services and technology,” said Maurizio De Dominicis, VP and head of Ericsson for South Eastern Europe, in a statement. “These are complex projects since they require the seamless transfer of existing subscribers and services to a completely new system, with extensive systems integration according to each customer's needs and network.”

This news comes a few months after Ericsson helped Japanese mobile carrier SoftBank build its LTE network. Just as with SoftBank’s network upgrade, Ericsson has helped WIND Hellas strengthen its position in terms of mobile broadband monetization. However, in WIND Hellas’ case, the carrier will now benefit from the reduced operational costs of a multi-access packet architecture that supports 2G, 3G and 4G subscribers with untapped, ultra-fast data speeds.

Indeed, the Evolved Packet Core solution allows WIND Hellas to offer new services, while enhancing user experience and simplifying operations for lowered costs. In today’s mobile-centric world, it is becoming increasingly important for operators to strengthen their networks in this way.