Croatian IT company Ericsson Nikola Tesla has signed a 65 million kuna (€8.6 million) contract with Kosovo Telecom to upgrade and maintain their network, the company said in a press release on Monday.

The contract includes the modernization and virtualization of Kosovo Telecom’s entire core network, installation of state-of-the-art equipment in its radio network, and migration to the Kosovo country code +383.

This contract will allow Kosovo Telecom not only to expand its coverage with 4G broadband technology in residential areas around Kosovo but also enter the era of 5G broadband technology, CEO of Kosovo Telecom, Burbuqe Hana, was quoted as saying.

By migrating to its own international code +383, Kosovo Telecom will avoid the costs of using +377, the international code for Monaco.

CEO and President of Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Gordana Kovacevic, said that this contract will improve the quality of services to end-users and prepare the network infrastructure for the creation of new services based on modern technology in Kosovo.

“This partnership will strengthen Ericsson Nikola Tesla’s position on the Kosovo market, where it has been present for many years and has had an office in Pristina since 2013,” she added.

(€1 = 7.53 kuna)