Eircom has announced an €80 million five year deal with Ericsson that will see the software company – the fifth largest in the world – become the sole vendor for eircom’s radio access solutions for 4G, 3G and 2G technology.

Ericsson will also provide support services for the equipment throughout the duration of the contract.

Richard Moat, eircom’s acting CEO said: “This agreement supports eircom’s ambition to be at the forefront of the Irish mobile market.

"By selecting Ericsson, we now have a consistent technology supplier across our entire mobile network to help us seamlessly meet the growing customer demands and expectations for mobile data in the consumer, business and the emerging machine to machine segments," Moat added.

The announcement will not see the creation of any new jobs but, is part of a move last May where Ericsson began recruitment of 120 software engineers between Dublin and Athlone.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said:

"Ericsson employs more than 1400 people in Ireland and is a hugely important employer in Athlone.

"The contract being announced today, for the provision of cutting edge software to support the eircom mobile network, will help the company maintain and grow its employment in Athlone."