Telecom Italia wins tech contract in Indonesia

MILAN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia has won a five-year contract to give technical support to Indonesia's mobile phone service operator Telkomsel to develop its network, the company said on Friday, as it aims to expand its presence in emerging markets.

Telecom Italia, Europe's fifth biggest telecoms operator, said it would provide guidelines for the development of Telkom's mobile network in the period 2011-2015.

'(This contract) lays the foundation to expand the group's international presence through the enhancement of our know-how in the emerging markets,' Chief Executive Franco Bernabe said in a statement.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia is the Asian country's biggest telecommunications firm, with around 90 million customers, Telecom Italia said.

At 1031 GMT shares in Telecom Italia were down 0.37 percent at 1.078 euros, in line with the STOXX Europe 600 telecoms index .

(Reporting by Antonella Ciancio; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Keywords: TELECOMITALIA/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail].) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.