MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications has awarded Israel-based ECI Telecom a two-year contract to manage the former's nationwide transmission network.

ECI will provide multi-vendor network management services for Smart's Network Operations Center (NOC), the company said in a statement.

Asked how much is the deal worth, both ECI and Smart declined to disclose figures.

Smart President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno said this outsourcing deal will allow Smart to focus on its core business.

Smart will be relying on ECI to manage its increasingly complex network to ensure high availability and improved network performance.

The deal also signifies ECI's positioning as a managed services provider, added president and ECI Telecom CEO Rafi Maor.

ECI previously announced deals with rival telco players Bayan Telecommunications and Globe Telecom.