UPDATE: VimpelCom outsources network management to Huawei, Nokia

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MOSCOW, Mar 7 (PRIME) -- Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, known under the Beeline brand, has given management over its network to Huawei and Nokia under outsourcing, CEO Kjell Johnsen said on Tuesday.

Some VimpelCom employees will be physically moved to the staff of the partners, Johnsen said at a news conference. According to the operator’s presentation, out of the company’s technical block of 3,400 staff, 2,800 employees will be transferred to the partners’. No personnel downsizing is in question, the executive said.

The operator will keep functions in sales and marketing, as well as commercial activities. It will independently make product and service decisions, the top executive said.

The partners signed the agreement for five years.

Dmitry Ilyin, director for VimpelCom’s technical block transformation, said that Huawei and Nokia will receive all operating activities, while VimpelCom will keep the core functions, such as development strategies and the technical block. The operator will also have control over the partners’ activities, he said.

The transfer to the new network management model will be gradually unrolled in all regions in 2017. Huawei will work in the Northwest, Volga, Urals, Siberian and Far East federal districts, and Nokia will function in the Central, Southern and North Caucasus federal districts.

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