Al-Lu To Prepare Tunisiana For 3G and LTE

Alcatel-Lucent has announced that it has signed a deal with Tunisiana to upgrade the cellco’s network to IP as it prepares for 3G and LTE. 


The operator says migrating to an all-IP infrastructure will allow it to offer a full range of converged services, along with increased reliability, scalability and speed. 


No financial details have been disclosed. Tunisiana, formerly part of Orascom Telecom, became a subsidiary of Qatar Telecom in January 2011.

Al-Lu Chosen For MTN Nigeria DSL Project

Alcatel-Lucent has announced that it has been selected by MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of South African telecoms operator MTN, for the transformation of the operator’s DSL access and aggregation network.

The vendor’s solution will enable MTN Nigeria to cost-effectively transform its TDM-based transport network into an all-IP powered network, helping the company to realise a simplified, lower cost, highly scalable infrastructure that will grow alongside the firm. 

Alcatel-Lucent’s IP/MPLS-based solution will also enable the operator to generate new revenue streams by leveraging broadband IP to deliver video-rich content and multimedia data services. 

The IP portfolio will allow MTN Nigeria to deliver scalable, evolvable, cost-efficient and fully-managed IP-based transport, allowing the leading operator to reduce operating expenditures and quickly deploy advanced, revenue-generating services. 

‘Since its inception, MTN Nigeria has invested in cutting-edge technology in order to deliver world-class products and services to our customers, stated Ahmad Farroukh, CEO of MTN Nigeria, adding: ‘We are pleased to partner with Alcatel-Lucent to deliver a solution that will improve customer experience.’

MTN Nigeria is the country’s largest mobile operator, with a total of 38.7 million subscribers at 31 December 2010, equating to a market share of 44.3%.

Glo-1 Launched

West African submarine fibre-optic cable system Glo-1, which was developed by Nigeria’s second national operator Globacom and French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent, has been commercially launched, local newspaper Leadership reports.

The 9,800km cable stretches from the UK across West Africa and has landing points in Nigeria, London and Lisbon, connecting 17 countries to the rest of the world. Globacom’s chairman, Mike Adenuga Jnr, said Nigerians will now have the opportunity to compete with the rest of the world, while broadband access and other services, such as long-distance voice, will now become more affordable in the country.

Globacom contracted Alca-Lu to install the cable system in 2005, in order fill the void of international connectivity in the region. The USD250 million cable landed in Lagos in September 2009 and Accra in Ghana the following month, and has been ready for commissioning since July 2010. The cable has ultimate capacity of 2.5Tbps and is expected to provide faster, more reliable internet services at a lower cost.

eFive Choses Alcatel-Lucent For Undersea Cable

South African telco eFive Telecoms has selected Alcatel-Lucent to build a new submarine cable network linking the west coast of Africa to South America, the French/US equipment vendor has announced. The network will consist of two trunks – the first one connecting South Africa to Angola and Nigeria, and a second trunk linking Angola to Brazil.

Alcatel-Lucent has confirmed that it will be in charge of the project end-to-end, with responsibility for the system’s design, manufacture and installation. The cable will be maintained by Alcatel-Lucent through its Atlantic Private Maintenance Agreement (APMA), which currently covers over 100,000km of submarine cable infrastructure from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean and as far north as Greenland.

Lawrence Mulaudzi, managing director of eFive Telecoms commented: ‘We believe that high-growth areas such as the African continent require the development of new projects. The planned submarine network will also provide cable route diversity to South America, making the most economical and operational sense in the current landscape’. Philippe Dumont, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s submarine network division added: ‘Growth in African internet and mobile telephony is driving service providers’ demand for more connectivity options to ensure higher reliability, as well as increased widespread access to bandwidth.

This project will further position Africa as a major hub for broadband connectivity’.

Glo-1 Is Ready For Launch

West African submarine fibre-optic cable system Glo-1, which was developed by Nigerian telecoms operator Globacom and French vendor Alcatel-Lucent, is ready for commissioning, Nigerian newspaper THISDAY reports. The 9,800km cable stretches from the UK across West Africa and has landing points in Nigeria, London and Lisbon, connecting 17 countries to the rest of the world.

End-to-end testing of Glo-1, conducted in London and Lagos, has been successful, and according to Globacom's COO Mohamed Jameel, the commissioning process will begin by mid-July. ‘Glo-1 will provide the needed opportunity for West African countries and indeed Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent communication network and cost effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and rest of the world,’ a statement from Globacom announced.

Globacom contracted Alca-Lu to install the cable system in 2005, in order fill the void of international connectivity in the region. The USD250 million cable landed in Lagos in September 2009 and Accra in Ghana the following month (increasing fibre-optic capacity in that country from 120Gbps to 640Gbps). The cable has ultimate capacity of 2.5Tbps and is expected to provide faster, more reliable internet services at a lower cost.

Orange Partners With Alca-Lu In Multimedia Deal

Alcatel-Lucent has announced that Mauritius Telecom (MT), an Orange/FT Group partner, has deployed interactive mobile multimedia services (IMMS) powered by the Alcatel-Lucent Mobile Interactive TV (MiTV). MiTV will allow Orange to establish mobile multimedia services throughout East Africa and Indian Ocean, enabling each affiliate to quickly launch its own dedicated content offering and commercial bouquets while sharing the same software platform.

Alcatel-Lucent offers a complete turnkey mobile multimedia package, which provides Mauritius Telecom's customers with a large range of customised services. In total, end-users are able to access 20 live channels, eight near-live channels and eight playlists. With this solution customers can also access program information via an intuitive graphical user interface and can watch TV whenever and wherever they want.

‘With the Alcatel-Lucent mobile interactive TV, Mauritius Telecom has the opportunity to establish a dominant position in the Mauritius mobile TV market and create a new growing revenue stream from their investment in high capacity networks,’ said Amr El Leithy, head of Alcatel-Lucent's activities in Africa and the Middle East. ‘It is the first deployment of the MiTV Compact platform in an emerging country – highlighting this solution's ability to deliver quick market entry at a low cost.’

Gamtel Awards Alca-Lu Fibre-Optic deal

Gambia’s incumbent PSTN operator Gamtel has awarded a contract to Alcatel-Lucent to roll out a terrestrial fibre-optic transmission network under its 'Cross Gambia Project', reports Afrique en Ligue.

A release from the telco’s Banjul office said the joint venture project with Senegalese counterpart Sonatel will extend fibre links from Dakar through Kaolack, Karang, Barra, Banjul, Serrekunda, Yundum, Brikama to Seleti in Casamance to terminate on Sonatel’s fibre network.

The new infrastructure will provide an alternative route to the fibre link between Basse in Gambia and Velingara in Senegal, which was implemented in 1996. As well as eliminating the serious problem of disruption to bilateral international traffic whenever the older fibre is cut, the rollout will also increase Gamtel’s international internet bandwidth. The telco said it spent EUR1.2 million (USD1.65 million) on the initial stage of the Cross Gambia Project in 2009.

Tunisie Telecom Delivers BlackBerry into Tunisian Market

Tunisian mobile network operator, Tunisie Telecom has announced the commercial launch of the BlackBerry solution in the country - with the system being supplied by Alcatel-Lucent. Based on its distribution agreement with RIM, Alcatel-Lucent will leverage its local presence in the region to provide Tunisie Telecom the end-to-end implementation, launch, and on-going support for delivering the BlackBerry solution to the Tunisian market.

“As the historical operator in Tunisia, our commitment is to efficiently meet the market demand and provide our professional customer with best of class communications solutions”, said Montassar Ouaili, CEO, Tunisie Telecom. “We are pleased to offer the BlackBerry smartphones - an innovative and revolutionary solution already used by millions of subscribers worldwide.”

“This agreement strengthens Alcatel-Lucent’s leading position worldwide and in the region,” said Vincenzo Nesci, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities in the Middle East & Africa. “Tunisie Telecom will expand their business opportunity and enable their customers to benefit from the high flexibility offered by BlackBerry smartphones for staying connected any time and everywhere.”

Figures from the Mobile World tracker show that Tunisie Telecom ended last year with around 4.3 million customers - and an almost exactly 50:50 market share with rival, Orascom Telecom Tunisie