VSAT Helps African Mobile Operators Gain New Revenue-Generating Services

VSAT NEWS

AccessGate provides up to 2:1 bandwidth savings (see diagram below), drastically lowering operating expenses and allowing wireless operators to recover their investment in approximately 12 months. Additional savings can be achieved in specific cell site configurations, such as those involving TDMA, EDGE, and UMTS. AccessGate is specifically designed for radio access networks and consists of systems installed at the central office that are connected to units deployed in the cell sites. AccessGate�s unique aggregation and bandwidth reduction techniques enable wireless operators to maximize network utilization, resulting in a significant reduction in backhaul costs, while preserving call quality and offering less than 9 ms end-to-end latency. The NMS wireless backhaul optimizer goes beyond current groomer technologies by not only recovering unused DS0s, but also recovering inactive bandwidth at the subchannel level through intelligent processing of network traffic. What�s more, AccessGate operates in existing radio access infrastructure and integrates easily with legacy radio systems.

Framingham MA (SPX) Jan 25, 2005
Spacefon, the leading GSM operator in Ghana, and Spacetel-Benin, one of Africa's largest mobile operators, will use NMS Communications' AccessGate wireless backhaul optimizer to reduce backhaul expense and bandwidth requirements.

Not only will AccessGate help Spacefon and Spacetel-Benin significantly reduce backhaul operating expenses, but, equally important, the product will enable them to cost effectively increase capacity in Ghana and Benin, two of Africa's fastest-growing nations.

Network optimization in fast-growing markets such as Africa is critical, as African GSM networks are growing at an annual rate of 50 percent according to Mobile International Magazine, straining existing satellite and microwave links and causing delays for new service rollouts throughout the continent.

With AccessGate, operators such as Spacetel-Benin and Spacefon are able to increase radio coverage and the revenue generated on these links without increasing the operational expense of the link.

"With more than 40 million wireless subscribers in Africa and an annual growth rate of 50%, we have no choice but to increase capacity of our GSM networks as quickly and economically as possible," said Joseph Helayel, Technical Manager, Spacetel-Benin.

"Our goal is to provide the African continent with modern, efficient and cost effective GSM telecommunications services, and NMS' AccessGate network optimizer helps us do just that."

"NMS has been a terrific partner, working with us quickly to implement a solution to help us meet growth requirements and challenges we faced," said Rajesh Chengta, VSAT Link Director, Spacefon.

"As we bring telecommunications service to many who've never had it, we expect it to serve as a catalyst to improve the living conditions of the people in the area."

In December 1995, Scancom was awarded the first national license to operate and maintain a GSM 900 network in the Republic of Ghana. In November 1996 Scancom became the first GSM mobile service provider in the Republic of Ghana under the service name Spacefon, covering all major cities in Ghana - Accra, Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi - as well as the mining areas of Obuasi and Bibiani.

Since its launch, Spacefon has grown to become the most dominant mobile phone network in Ghana with active subscribers in excess of 800,000. It also has the widest coverage by far, bridging the digital divide between urban and rural Ghana. Agbozome, Tsito, Dzodze, Peki, Keta and Kibi are the latest additions.

The company is the exclusive provider of Thuraya satellite-based mobile telephone services in Ghana, and also has roaming agreements with Vodafone and Cellnet of the UK.

VSAT NEWS

Gilat Announces SkyEdge Deal With IsNet

Petah Tikva, Israel (SPX) Jan 24, 2005
Gilat Satellite Networks has announced an agreement with IsNet in Turkey for the supply of a SkyEdge network to include two hubs and 1,500 VSAT terminal sites. The satellite-based remote sites will be dispersed throughout Turkey.

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