Transtelco has completed the construction of a high capacity metro fibre network in Mexico City. The multi-duct, multi-ring network has been designed to service Transtelco’s growing wholesale and enterprise customer base. The company claims the expansion will add significant capacity to Mexico City at lower costs and higher capacities. The network will be connected to Transtelco’s US network via cross-border fibres through Reynosa-McAllen and Nuevo Laredo-Laredo. As a result of the deployment Transtelco is able to offer transport, IP access, metro Ethernet, voice, co-location, content delivery and IT services in Mexico City.
Nordic carrier Telenor has entered into a three-year strategic cooperation framework contract with Huawei for the deployment of microwave backhaul technology. Under the deal Telenor will deploy Huawei’s E-Band and full outdoor microwave equipment to support the large-scale deployment of LTE networks across its footprint in the Nordic region, CEE and Asia. [read more]
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) partnered with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to ensure network availability during the week-long Hajj pilgrimage travelling through Al Masha’er, from Mina to Muzdalifah and on to Arafat. NSN said that it ensured STC’s network was available 99.9% of the time, despite the huge increase in traffic from pilgrims and boosted network capacity by more than 60%. The vendor supplied STC with its single radio access network and special event support services. Voice traffic increased by over 40% and data traffic by 100% compared to the previous year, with more than 2,750 terabytes of internet traffic processed during the event.
Pacnet is set to deploy 100Gbps technology across its EAC-C2C subsea cable network to meet growing demand for capacity in Asia. The plans to develop an optical mesh network also include integrating Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching. [read more]
Vivendi-controlled Maroc Telecom has signed an agreement with the Moroccan government that will see the operator invest €900 million between 2013 and 2015 to modernise its infrastructure and roll out a fibre-optic network. Maroc Telecom is carrying out the modernisation and expansion of its infrastructure to meet growing mobile traffic and demand for broadband internet. Under the deal nearly all existing equipment will be replaced with the latest technologies, directly creating 500 jobs.
Qtel has announced plans to boost the coverage and performance of its mobile network in Qatar during 2013. The plans will see dozens of new sites established across the country to improve call quality and network support. Qtel is also investing in DC-HSPA technology to enhance 3G network capacity and an in-building solution for Qatar’s skyscrapers. On the fixed side, Qtel said it is continuing to roll out its FTTH broadband network allowing speeds at least 10 times faster than copper wire connections.
Belgium Satellite Services (BSS) has signed an agreement with Eutelsat Communications for 46MHz of C-band capacity of the Eutelsat 10A satellite. The contract is part of BSS’ plans to step up its activity in Africa and the Middle East, following its acquisition of MEA satellite provider Intersat. The contract will allow BSS to expand its VSAT services to Intersat clients in over 25 countries in Africa and the Middle East and attract new business. BSS will manage the networks using its teleport in Lessive, Belgium.
Kenyan operator Safaricom has selected CommProve to improve its subscriber network quality experience. CommProve will deploy its network monitoring solution NetLedge across Safaricom services and it will complete in the first half of 2013. [read more]
Iceland’s Farice has announced an upgrade to the 2,295km DANICE submarine cable connecting between Iceland and Denmark. The upgrade, which is due to become operational in early 2013, will utilise Ciena’s 40Gbps coherent optical transport technology to increase the maximum total capacity of the four fibre pair system from 8.8Tbps to 35.2Tbps. Farice is carrying out the deployment to support the rapidly growing Icelandic data centre industry and is also using Ciena’s GeoMesh solution to optimise its cable landing station design. It is claimed that Ciena’s solution will improve connectivity between submarine and terrestrial networks, leading to operational savings, and reduced latency on the route.
Reliance Communications has entered into an end-to-end network managed services agreement with Alcatel-Lucent addressing eastern and south India up to 2020. The contract extends both companies' existing relationship, worth over $1 billion, and will aim to deliver improved voice and data services for Reliance’s customers. [read more]
Friday Network News: January 18
