In 2022, Ericsson secured a significant $14 billion, five-year Open Radio Access Network contract with AT&T, a technology that aims to achieve substantial cost reductions by employing cloud-based software and equipment from multiple suppliers rather than depending on a single source.
The AT&T contract positively impacted Ericsson's financial performance as North America began to show signs of recovery after a prolonged period of stagnation.
"This deal (with MasOrange) is exactly what we think the industry will be moving towards, and how we will scale Open RAN," Jenny Lindqvist, senior vice president at Ericsson, told Reuters.
"We are still very early on the 5G curve in Europe compared to many other markets," she said..
MasOrange was established earlier this year through the merger of the Spanish division of France's Orange and local competitor MasMovil, serving over 30 million mobile customers.
While Ericsson did not reveal the financial details of the MasOrange agreement, a source familiar with the situation indicated that it would encompass approximately 10,000 sites.
This partnership will enable MasOrange to meet the growing demand for 5G services in both urban and rural settings, as well as in large venues like stadiums, according to Ericsson.