DOHA/PARIS: Vodafone Qatar and Alcatel-Lucent yesterday announced the deployment of 17 radio base stations in Qatar designed to blend into the urban environment.
They also conducted the first live demonstration of LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology in Qatar.
The camouflage sites are located in Qatar's main cities and help reduce visual pollution by better integrating radio base stations into the city's skyline.
These new base stations mimic the cities' towering and graceful minarets, making them virtually undetectable and enhancing the overall look of the cities and protecting the views of their gardens, places of worship and tourist sites while improving cell phone coverage in the densely populated areas.
This initiative is in line with the urban planning and development of the country and is fully supported by the telecoms regulator and the government of Qatar.
More camouflage sites are planned in sensitive areas such as The Pearl Qatar, parks and mosques.
"Since the entry of Vodafone in Qatar, we've worked hard with Alcatel-Lucent and the local authorities to bring innovation to this country's telecommunications capabilities," said Jenny Howe, Vodafone Qatar Chief Technology Officer.
"Camouflage solutions are enabling us to get access to sensitive areas and allow Vodafone to better serve its customers, ultimately making a world of difference for all people in Qatar," he added.
Alcatel-Lucent is providing Vodafone Qatar with a turnkey solution including monopole tower, the camouflage solution, 2G and 3G equipment, microwave equipment, civil works and a set of comprehensive services, including design, dimensioning, site engineering, integration, installation and commissioning and network operation.
Vodafone Qatar has selected Alcatel-Lucent as its sole supplier in its expansion into the fixed broadband market in Qatar.
Vodafone Qatar plans to offer customers an integrated service, encompassing fixed and mobile telephony.
To accomplish this, it has selected Alcatel-Lucent, together with its partner companies, to deploy an entirely new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network based on gigabit passive optical network and point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet technology, the company said yesterday.
Alcatel-Lucent's IP Multimedia Subsystem solution will be used to link the new infrastructure with Vodafone Qatar's existing mobile network. This will allow services to be offered seamlessly through fixed and mobile connections without excessive cost or complexity.
Users will receive uninterrupted service and synchronisation of enabling applications such as virtual office and VOIP solutions, with unified billing and charging -- a clear incentive to unify their communications requirements with a single provider.
As part of its green technology programme in 2011, Vodafone Qatar is also targeting the deployment of additional hybrid powered base stations in rural areas to harness solar and wind energy.
"A few months ago we launched the first hybrid solution for Vodafone Qatar, and now we are enabling Vodafone Qatar to deploy further cost-efficient solutions that meet today's environmental challenges. This achievement strengthens our long-standing cooperation with Vodafone and highlights their confidence in our comprehensive solutions and local support capabilities," said Marc Kassis, Head of Alcatel-Lucent in Qatar.
"We are committed to leveraging this leadership to help our customers transform their networks cost-effectively in order to help them better meet the needs of their customers while deploying more energy sustainable networks," he added.
© The Peninsula 2010
