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INDUSTRYNEWS
New developments in the Telecommunications industry
Maersk Line and Ericsson bring mobile connectivity to the oceans
T
he oceans are the last ‘white spot’ for the mobile communication industry to connect. The world’s largest shipping company, Maersk Line, has appointed Ericsson to address this by introducing end-to-end systems integration and deployment of mobile and satellite communication to its entire vessel fleet. The Maersk Line fleet comprises more than 500 container vessels. Over the next two years, Maersk Line will outfit 400 of these vessels with Ericsson antennas and GSM base stations, with upgrades to be made to the remaining vessels soon after. As part of the agreement, Ericsson will provide seven years of global managed services support, including 24/7 network monitoring and onboard maintenance services in a large number of ports across all major regions. For the shipping industry, mobile communication provides the opportunity to employ new and efficient ways of addressing fleet management, managing delivery times, improving interaction with vessels, enabling proactive issue resolution, prompt information sharing with customers and even improving energy efficiency. Visit: www.ericsson.com
Personalised services for Vodafone Egypt subscribers S
ubscribers of Vodafone Egypt, the country’s largest telecom operator, will soon enjoy a host of customised services. The operator is upgrading its subscriber data management system built on the One-NDS platform provided by Nokia Siemens Networks. This will enable Vodafone Egypt to speed up the process of launching new, targeted services.
“With a fast growing emerging market, characterised by increased uptake of smartphones and tablets, subscribers are looking for more, highly personalised services,” said Tony Dolton, chief technical officer, Vodafone Egypt. “Nokia Siemens Networks’ One-NDS platform will enable us to do just that.” Nokia Siemens Networks is upgrading its comprehensive subscriber data management solution,
including the One-NDS platform, and providing its Home Location Register (HLR), and Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The One-NDS platform unifies fragmented data into a single repository and is more efficient than having multiple databases for different front-end applications such as HLR and MNP. Visit: www.vodwfone.com or www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com
TeliaSonera increases its ownership in Kcell
S
weden’s Teliasonera has signed an agreement with Kazakhtelecom to acquire 49 per cent of the shares in GSM Kazakhstan LLP, operating under the brand Kcell. “This agreement is another step in the execution of our strategy of increasing ownership in core holdings. Through this transaction TeliaSonera increases its ownership in Kcell, a company where we already have
‘JONAH’ links Italy and Israel
B
ezeq International and Alcatel-Lucent have commercially launched a new and superfast submarine cable link between Israel and Italy. This high-speed optical fibre system, named ‘JONAH’, covers 2300 kilometres across the Mediterranean, and is intended to address the growing demands of the highly dynamic
management and operational control. Kcell is a clear market leader in Kazakhstan, the largest market in Central Asia, and has shown remarkable growth over the years. The fact that part of the company will be sold in an IPO will make it even more attractive,” said Tero Kivisaari, president, TeliaSonera Eurasia. Visit: www.teliasonera.com
Israeli telecom market, which shows one of the highest household broadband and mobile penetration rates in the world. The new link, which leverages AlcatelLucent’s most advanced submarine communications networking technology, is the first high-speed submarine cable system fully owned by an Israeli operator. It can operate at 100 gigabits-
per-second data transmissions to enable data capacity of 7.6 Terabits-per-second (Tbps) between Tel Aviv and Bari, Italy. This ultimate capacity could allow the simultaneous download of 100,000 MP3 files in one minute and the streaming of 15,000 HDTV channels. Visit: www.bezeqint.net or www.alcatel-lucent.com Industry Europe 11
