Riyadh, December 13th , 2009: Aastra Technologies, a leading provider of Enterprise Communication Solutions headquartered in Canada, announced today the signing of a distributorship agreement with Saudi-based Saudi-Ericsson Communications Co. Ltd. On May 1st, 2008 Aastra acquired Ericsson's Enterprise business and started its operations under the new Aastra brand to support and evolve existing former Ericsson products for enterprise communication.

Saudi-Ericsson is a leading provider of value added turnkey communication solutions to enterprises, government and non-government sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It has been established 29 years ago as a joint venture partnership between E.A. Juffali & Brothers and LM Ericsson AB of Sweden.

The distribution agreement will ensure the continuity of supply of ex-Ericsson Enterprise products to Saudi Ericsson's customers and further expands their technology partnerships - which already include brands such as Ericsson, Harris ,IPC and now adds Aastra, who are ranked No.1 in Enterprise communications in the sub100 line segment (and No. 3 in the total market) as well as No.1 in Business Cordless Phones sales in 2008 in the EMEA region of Europe, Middle East and Africa according to Canalys.

Mr. Ramzi Louza, Managing Director of Saudi Ericsson comments: "The relationship with Aastra will strengthen our portfolio of next generation products such as open standards-based (SIP) phones and telephony systems, video conferencing solutions and multimedia contact centers. We have been delivering high quality solutions and professional services to very demanding customers in the private and public sector for many years. We are now in a unique position to support the installed Ericsson systems by maintaining and upgrading them, and offering the customers a smooth migration path towards next generation technologies such as voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), Unified Communications (UC) and Open Standards (SIP). We have chosen a vendor who focuses on Enterprise Communications and who has a strong financial track record of 45 consecutive positive quarter results, something crucial in the current economical situation."

Aastra's regional president for the Middle East and North Africa, Peter Hofman concludes: "We believe that there is a big growth potential in the region and we are proud to have formed this business relationship with such a strong channel partner within Saudi Arabia. Saudi Ericsson has reached the highest certification level of 'Premium Distributor', which underlines their broad capabilities, high technical competence and exceptional service levels"

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About Aastra Telecom Middle East
Aastra Telecom Middle East is the Middle East & North African business unit of Aastra Technologies Limited, (TSX:"AAH"), a leading company at the forefront of the enterprise communication market. Headquartered in Concord, Ontario, Canada, Aastra develops and delivers innovative communications products and applications for businesses. Aastra's operations are truly global with more than 50 million installed lines around the world and a direct and indirect presence in more than 100 countries. Aastra is entirely dedicated to enterprise communications and offers one of the most complete portfolios of unified communications solutions individually tailored to satisfy its customers' requirements. These range from feature-rich call managers for small and medium businesses and highly scalable ones for large enterprises, integrated mobility, call centre solutions to a wide selection of terminals. With a strong focus on open standards, Aastra enables enterprises to communicate and collaborate more efficiently. For additional information on Aastra, visit http://www.aastra-mena.com

About Saudi Ericsson
Saudi Ericsson is a limited liability company (100% Saudi Company), founded in July 1, 1980 as a joint venture between E. A. Juffali & Brothers and L.M Ericsson of Sweden. It took over the activities of EPPCO, a pioneer in the supply of telecommunication systems in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1964. Saudi Ericsson services its large customer base through a well established infrastructure of three main branches; Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam, supported by 370 professional employees. Saudi Ericsson aims to provide the Saudi and Middle-East markets, with state-of-the art communication solutions, to meet the needs and expectations of the growing market place. In order to meet the market requirements and customer's needs, Saudi Ericsson is determined to provide high quality products and optimal pre-sales, and after-sales services at competitive prices. For additional information on Saudi Ericsson, visit http://www.saudiericsson.com

For Further information, please contact:
Hani Iskandarani
Chief Consultant
Phone: +965 9 788 6020
Fax: (KW)   +965 2 572 1636 
Email: hani.iskandarani@prleaders.com
P.O.Box: 39940, Al Nozha 73060, Kuwait

© Press Release 2009