MTN Uganda Announces Multi-million Dollar Network Upgrade

2007-04-16 09:55:33 | Viewed 1215 times

Telecommunications giant, MTN has signed a multi million dollar agreement with Ericsson to undertake major upgrades on its network. The deal worth $52 million is aimed at increasing capacity on the network and subsequently enables MTN to launch new and exciting products and services.

While addressing a press conference at the Sheraton Hotel Lake Room, MTN Chief Executive Officer, Noel Meier, reiterated MTN’s commitment to providing quality and efficient services.

He added, “Rightly so, our customers have high expectations of us, and by undertaking this upgrade, we are responding to their need for quality and efficient services. Once completed, our customers will realize unprecedented network quality, which has been a hallmark of MTN’s services over the years.”

He explained that there was an unprecedented increase in number of customers on the network last year. “We anticipated an increase on the subscriber base and planned for it based on growth trends from the previous years, however the capacity increase didn’t match the 60% increase in the number of customers.”

MTN Chief Technical Officer, Francis Kazinduki, explained that MTN is undertaking various upgrades simultaneously. “We are doing various upgrades all aimed at increasing capacity on the radio and core network.”

Kazinduki added that the SMS platform has been upgraded and will now be able to accommodate much more traffic compared to the current installed capacity. “We’re particularly excited by this SMS upgrade as it will allow us to also introduce some new SMS services. Customers will be thrilled by what they can do with SMS once the upgrade is completed.”

The network systems are supplied by Ericsson. Ericsson is the world’s leading supplier of network systems. Signing on behalf of Ericsson, the Acting Country Chief Technical Officer, Paul Reiner said, “This is the one of the largest network upgrades we have undertaken on any network in the sub-Saharan region. This tells you a lot about the level of investment that MTN is making and the confidence it has not only in the market but the country. Our team of experienced engineers is committed to completing this exercise on schedule.”

The upgrades which have already started are expected to be concluded by June 2007. In many instances, customers will have started realizing improved services as the upgrade progresses.

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