Altobridge technology keeps local calls local, improves user experience and significantly cuts costs
Barcelona, 16 February, 2009 – Trials of Altobridge’s ‘Local Connectivity’ solution have successfully passed their 6-month stage with a major group operator in Northern Africa. Altobridge, the leading provider of wireless solutions for cutting the cost of communications, is helping the operator meet the prohibitive cost challenge of satellite backhaul in remote communities using its patented technology.
The trials, involving several thousand users, began with a Technical Evaluation Phase 1 in the summer of 2008, which has now been successfully completed. The deployment of the Local Connectivity solution on the site went smoothly. No technical issues were identified. The biggest impact was on the operator’s operating expenses for satellite backhaul, where savings of around 30% were logged during peak traffic times. With satellite bandwidth costs of up to US$10,000 per month per 2mbit/s link, this equates to savings of thousands of dollars per month, per site, for the operator.
Subscribers also experienced a positive impact – suddenly, the delay, typically associated with local calls on sites with satellite backhaul, was gone. Handovers between cells, as local callers moved from cell to cell within the town, were performed with the utmost precision, just as if calls were being switched by the central switching equipment.
As of Q1 2009, the operator has now started the ‘Commercial Traffic Phase 2’, which is currently ongoing. The trial is aimed at showing the operator that it can take advantage of Altobridge’s breakthrough in local switching functionality, delivering improved services profitably, without making changes to its network structure or charging systems.
Janne Hazell, Altobridge VP of Wireless Solutions, explained, “Mobile operators throughout Africa could benefit from the use of Local Connectivity technology in deploying services to both small remote communities and more populated user groups, where such technology offers a chance to keep local calls local and thus significantly cut the cost of providing services, anywhere.”
The operator is now planning to upgrade the mobile network in order to roll out Altobridge’s Local Connectivity across multiple sites. In addition to large-scale deployment, the operator will be able to group several sites in Local Connectivity clusters. This will enable it to apply Local Connectivity to communities of interest spanning multiple sites, increasing the local call ratio, and thereby further reducing the average backhaul cost per call.
Commenting further on the trial, Janne Hazell said, “The trial shows that together with an efficient Abis Interface, Altobridge’s Local Connectivity solution revolutionizes the business case for satellite backhaul. By deploying this Local Connectivity solution, operators across Africa, Asia, Latin America and all markets with remote populations, will not only enjoy lower operating expenses on existing sites, but will also be able to provide cellular services to remote communities not previously served due to a lack of financial incentives. With an industry increasingly focused on operating expenses, Altobridge is confident that all mobile operators the world over will introduce our Local Connectivity capability throughout their networks, and not just for those sites backhauled by satellite.”