Orascom Telecom Algeria spa (Djezzy), one of the three providers of mobile telecommunications in Algeria, and a unit of Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. selected the Siemens Communications Group to expand its network using Siemens' "SmartInspire." Siemens developed this solution specifically for emerging markets in which mobile operators still achieve relatively lower revenue per customer.
SmartInspire is deployed to provide both the major roads as well as remote areas with network coverage for an optimized investment, according to Tamer El Mahdi, Chief Technology Officer at Orascom Telecom. "Especially helpful are the compact high-power BS-82 II base stations from Siemens, which, with the smallest dimensions and lowest operating costs in combination with high transmission and reception power, have a very extensive range." said Nagi Abboud, Chief Operations Officer at Djezzy.
"The integration of SmartInspire into Djezzy's network, which is already the fourth order for this solution since we introduced it on the market about a year ago, is further evidence of the success of this concept," said Christoph Caselitz, President of Mobile Networks at Siemens Communications. "SmartInspire optimizes not only the operating costs but also the performance of the network for both rural and urban applications. Once the market gets going, the network can be expanded to mobile broadband data services at any time."
While there is a lot of demand for mobile services in many markets, only lower revenues per user and profit margins can be generated at this time. As a result, operators have to improve their investments per subscriber. This is where the Siemens solution package comes in. SmartInspire comprises solution components for all essential parts of a mobile network, including a new compact all-in-one base station for rural high-range applications, optimized switching technology and innovative usage and operating concepts.
In Tunisia, Siemens will supply the domestic mobile phone company Tunisiana a GPRS system. GPRS or General Packet Radio Service is a service used by mobile users to receive voice and data wirelessly at the speed of 50 kbits per second. The use of a mobile phone handset equipped with GPRS technology allows voice transmission to move within the GSM network, while data transmissions are handled by GPRS. Such data transmissions could include file transfers, Internet browsing, faxing, and other non-voice related services.
To incorporate GPRS in its network, the Tunisian mobile phone operator Tunisiana also selected Siemens for this purpose. The German company will install the necessary equipment by the end of this year at the cost of 2.7 million euro. The Tunisiana GSM network will be completed with various GPRS modules, such as SGSN (Service GPRS Support Node), GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) and MMSC (Multimedia Messaging Service Center), which will be incorporated into the existing network.
With this infrastructure expansion, Tunisiana will offer a new set of services, including multimeria messaging (MMS), WAP applications (Wireless Application Protocole), and Internet and Intranet access.
© The North Africa Journal 2005
