IBM: IBM to Power LHS's Customer Care and Billing Solution

IBM (NYSE: IBM ) today announced that LHS, part of the Ericsson group and a leading independent software vendor (ISV) for the telecom industry, has released its BSCS iX Release 3 customer care and billing solution on IBM Power Systems running the AIX operating system. This will allow LHS customers to deploy their BSCS workload on IBM's server platform which will deliver superior performance, scale and efficiency.

BSCS iX enables real-time rating and billing of telecommunications services together with customer care. The main focus is on the customer, starting from sales, personalized service packages through to real-time billing. The modular design of the solution allows for low-risk, step-by-step migration and simple integration into existing systems.

'IBM's expanded relationship with LHS will now give communication service providers the ability to deploy BSCS iX Release 3 solutions on an IBM platform that will improve service, reduce cost, optimize energy consumption and manage risk for their billing and customer care deployments,' said John Polly, vice president of sales for IBM's Global Telecommunications Industry.

'Through the cooperation with IBM, we will be able to serve our customers even better by offering them unique value through rapid and cost-effective installations and implementations that accelerate ROI, reduce time-to-market, and offer complete life-cycle support to lower the total cost of ownership,' said Jens Trotscher, CTO of LHS.

IBM is also a new member of LHS's dedicated partner program. The partnership program constitutes an agreement of close cooperation between LHS and IBM. The program aims to combine LHS' product expertise and award-winning technology with IBM's customer intimacy, project experience and best practices of service delivery. In addition, the co-marketing and co-selling activities offer expanded business opportunities for both sides.

About IBM

For more information on IBM please go to: www.ibm.com/telecom .

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).

For more information, please visit www.lhsgroup.com .

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 OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

CONTACT: Sarah Spencer, IBM Media Relations Tel: +1 917 472 3728 e-mail: scspence@us.ibm.com

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