LHS: LHS announces Tunisiana as the first customer to migrate to its latest version of BSCS iX Billing and Customer Care Solution

LHS, part of the Ericsson Group (NASDAQ:ERIC) and a leading provider of telecom billing and customer care systems across the wireless, wireline, and IP telecom markets worldwide, today announced that Tunisiana, a leading Tunisian mobile operator, has selected BSCS iX Release 3, the latest version of LHS' end-to-end billing and customer care solution, which is now generally available to customers world-wide.

Tunisiana's decision to upgrade from an earlier version of BSCS was based amongst others on BSCS iX Release 3's capacity to support full convergence and all-IP based next generation business strategies. This will enable Tunisiana to offer new and innovative products, as currently required in the face of difficult market conditions, now and in the future. The new billing platform will therefore play an integral role in the on-going strengthening of Tunisiana's position in an increasingly competitive market.

"With new market entrants and increased competition, the Tunisian mobile telecoms market is becoming a tougher business environment. More than at any other time, Tunisiana recognises that our customers deserve the most compelling new products and the highest levels of customer care. We must also offer highly competitive products to attract new customers. At the same time it is vital that we maximize operational efficiency. To continue to do this we need to ensure we have the best possible business systems in place to strengthen our market presence today and to support our next generation strategies. After working with LHS and BSCS for over 7 years, we were convinced that they are the right partner and BSCS iX Release 3 is the right product to support our long term business success," said Tunisiana CEO, Yves Gauthier.

Parvaiz Ahsan, Managing Director of LHS MEA-APAC Division, said, "We are delighted that Tunisiana has decided to continue its long relationship with LHS. It is a validation of our on-going technology investment and services capabilities that yet another customer has decided to base its next generation business strategy on the convergent capabilities of BSCS iX technology. In its role as System Integrator, the LHS Professional Services Team will work closely together with Tunisiana for the entire migration and integration of BSCS iX Release 3 into Tunisiana's existing applications. We look forward to a long and successful partnership".

About Tunisiana

Tunisiana started its operations at the end of 2002 and has earned the loyalty of over half a million subscribers in the first year. With constant brand growth, coverage expansion, and innovative service provision,Tunisiana celebrated an achievement of over three million subscribers, representing a market share of 52% of total mobile subscribers in Tunisia (as of June 2009). The Tunisian GSM market reached 85% market penetration in June 2009.

Services Tunisiana offers its customers both prepaid and postpaid products and services targeted to different customer segments. The range of Value Added Services provided by Tunisiana keeps expanding beyond basic features such as voice mail, SMS and call waiting/holding, to include Personal Ring Back Tone and Push mail. In addition, Tunisiana deployed the EDGE/GPRS technologies on its network, enabling it to provide customers with a full range of Value Added Services such as Internet surfing, data services and email transfers.Tunisiana confirmed its will to attain ultimate customer satisfaction by establishing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and by setting a loyalty program.

Network/roaming Tunisiana's network covers 99% of Tunisian population. Tunisiana signed 319 standard voice roaming agreements covering 148 destinations and 139 standard GPRS roaming agreements encompassing 76 destinations.

Corporate and Social Responsibilities (CSR) Tunisiana is considered to be one of the most active companies in the CSR field in Tunisia. Soon after its commercial launch in December 2002; it implemented its CSR guidelines and gave a priority to its social responsibilities.

Tunisiana signed a partnership with UNICEF by promoting special co-branded (UNICEF & TUNISIANA) packs during New Year's period and giving profits to UNICEF Tunisia. Tunisiana committed also to a wide spectrum of charities by supporting causes such as autism and disabled children, and offering medical support to hundreds of persons in need on a yearly basis (free medical check up, eyes surgeries).

Tunisiana is also sensitive to environment-related issues by reinforcing its environmental policy and working on projects to support such action.

About LHS

LHS, part of the Ericsson Group (NASDAQ:ERIC), is a leading independent software vendor (ISV) of billing and customer care systems in the telecom industry. The company's award-winning solutions are used by the world's leading network and virtual operators, to generate and manage consistent revenue streams. LHS Business Support Systems offer full convergence on various levels, supporting the complete range of business models both across the mix of fixed and mobile services, as well as prepaid and postpaid services.

LHS builds innovative systems that enable our customers to introduce new services fast, helping drive revenues up, while keeping operational costs to a minimum.

LHS' headquarters are located in Frankfurt, Germany, with main offices in Brazil, France, Malaysia, and the UAE. LHS Aktiengesellschaft as the Group's Holding company is a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (LHS400).

About Ericsson

Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 1 billion subscribers and has a leading position in managed services. The company's portfolio comprises of mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of "to be the prime driver in an all-communicating world" through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 75,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 209 billion (USD 32.2 billion) in 2008. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

CONTACT: Ikram Ellouze, Public Relations Manager, Tunisiana Tel: +216 22121444 Fax: +216 22121098 Lorna Putze, PR and Communications Manager, LHS Tel: +49 69 2383 3000 Fax: +49 69 2383 5710 e-mail: enquiries@lhsgroup.com WWW: http://www.lhsgroup.com Jan Kruger, Junior Consultant, Fink & Fuchs Public Relations AG Tel: +49 611 74 131 937 e-mail: jan.krueger@ffpr.de Ericsson WWW: http://www.ericsson.com

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

Related terms: bandwidth, billing, brazil, business, ceo, children, commercial, communications, consultant, corporate, crm, email, e-mail, environment, expansion, france, frankfurt, germany, internet, investment, malaysia, market, market share, marketing, medical, multimedia, nasdaq, new york, partnership, population, products, public relations, revenue, software, Stockholm, sweden, technology, telecom, tunisia, web, wireline