Zain Bahrain has signed an agreement with Sweden’s Ericsson to upgrade its networks, including the introduction of long-term evolution (LTE) technology.

Ericsson will replace the Bahraini mobile telecoms operator’s existing 2G and 3G radio network equipment while adding 4G functionality.

Zain Bahrain will also implement Ericsson’s prepaid charging system for subscribers, which will allow greater flexibility in pricing with the possibility for cross-bundling and packaging multiple services supported by real-time charging.

Zain Bahrain entered the country’s telecoms market as the second mobile operator in 2003. As of the end of June, the firm had 748,000 customers.