[SatNews] A compatible addition will drive the Company further into the OSS/BSS market segments...

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has reached an agreement with Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Telcordia, a global leader in the development of mobile, broadband and enterprise communications software and services, for USD 1.15 billion. Closing anticipated to Q4 2011 with full effect Q1 2012. Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, said, "The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced. In this context, Telcordia brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi vendor product portfolio. We have global presence and scale, global services capabilities and superior knowledge about networks and network performance, as well as an already established position in the OSS/BSS space. It is a perfect fit."

One of the main challenges for operators is how to handle the growth in mobile and fixed broadband traffic, as well as the new types of connected devices, services and applications and the high expectations on user experience, while at the same time increasing the efficiency in business and operations. OSS/BSS (operations support systems/business support systems) are critical areas to handle this challenge and to simplify the processes that support the business. They drive the customer experience and serve as the engine to monetizing traffic, offerings and products that operators sell. All in all, these systems are crucial to create the experience users expect in a cost efficient manner. The OSS/BSS is a growing market driven by the demand for business efficiency, innovation and high quality user experience. In 2010, the market for software and systems integration is valued at about USD 35 b and is expected to show a compound annual growth rate between 6-8 percent between 2010 and 2013. In addition, there is an attractive market for outsourced and hosted managed services, growing in the same range.