Altobridge will be at Capacity Africa 2010 2010 in Nairobi, 21 – 22 September.

This event brings together local and regional fixed-line and mobile operators from across the continent.

Email us if you would like to meet one of our delegates at this event.

(l-r) Robert Bolouri, TCC Board Chairperson and Mike Fitzgerald, CEO, Altobridge, at the commercial launch of the new network

TCC Tonga launches new mobile-broadband-enabled network ahead of schedule

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 26th August, 2010 – Tonga’s new mobile-broadband-enabled GSM network, delivered and installed by Altobridge, the leading supplier of remote communications solutions, is launched today by Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC), the country’s leading provider of complete end-to-end telephony and Internet services, in the presence of  the Prime Minister of Tonga, the Honourable Dr. Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele.

Today’s commercial launch, which takes place in the capital, Nuku’alofa, follows the May award to Altobridge by TCC of a contract for the replacement of the previous macro-GSM network, and is aimed at ensuring the continuous provision of service across the three main island groups: Tongatapu, Vava’u and Ha’apai.  Roll-out has been completed well within the six-month timeframe allocated to the deployment’s first phase.

An integral part of today’s milestone event is the demonstration of mobile broadband based on Altobridge’s EDGE-capable network. Reliable, high-speed data access and coverage to even the remotest parts of the island nation will be demonstrated.

TCC Managing Director, Timote Katoanga, said, “Today marks a new beginning in the provision of advanced mobile communications services throughout our nation and we are delighted that Altobridge’s efforts have enabled us to go live earlier than expected. We are also most privileged to have the support of the Tongan Government on this important day and are delighted that the Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele, has taken the time to be with us to celebrate the occasion and inaugurate the new network.”

Also in attendance at the event, Altobridge CEO, Mike Fitzgerald, said, “We are delighted to have been selected by TCC to deploy its new mobile-broadband-enabled network and that, combined with our remote communications expertise, this network will help maintain and deliver advanced communications to connect Tonga’s population, including the thousands of people who remain unconnected.”

Pictured at the Irish Exporters Association World Series Programme “How to Market your Services Overseas” at the Cork County Hall, speakers (l-r) Aoife Sexton, Remote Community Solutions, Dermot Carberry, Chairman Irish Exporters Association, Cork Kerry Region, Rachel Killeen, Marketing Consultant, Paul Foley, Partner, Keevers Rowan Solicitors, Krishna De, Biz Growth Media and Donald Black, Enterprise Ireland.

Aoife Sexton gave a presentation on the Altobridge story to date and how it has won a strong customer base abroad.

Altobridge will be at AfricaCom 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa, 10 – 11 November.

Email us if you would like to meet one of our delegates at this event.

Published twice a year, the report provides operator case studies, vendor points of view, interviews and technology analysis.  Richard Lord, CTO of Altobridge, a leading vendor of network equipment for remote network deployments in the developing world, has contributed to the 2nd report which features:

• Financing solutions from the IFC for renewable energy networks
• Case studies from Bharti Infratel and Zantel Tanzania
• An energy efficient, solar base station solution from VNL
• A summary of the key findings of recent GSMA research; ‘Community Power: Using Mobile to Extend the Grid’
• A detailed report on the future of powering mobile networks, by Richard Handford, a freelance journalist for the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and The Economist

Click here to view / download original report

Note: the GMP team continue to track progress that the industry is making towards reaching the GPM target of powering 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries using renewable energy by 2012, via the Green Deployment Tracker.  This database is hosting information on over 9000 live renewable energy base stations worldwide.

Mobile telecoms technology firm Altobridge is keen on helping Chinese mobile phone operators to hook up small, remote communities which due to the low numbers of subscribers would otherwise not be commercially feasible to connect.

The firm has spent nearly a decade coming up with a system that combines satellite and software technology to “backhaul” or connect remote communities to the networks of mobile phone operators.

Connecting far-flung places is difficult for the likes of China Mobile, given the costs are not justified by the low numbers of mobile subscribers in such areas.

Asia sales director Mark O’Sullivan explains how Altobridge’s system works.

What are your key technologies?

Our Split Architecture software system and Local Connectivity systems use software and satellite bandwidth to reduce the cost of transmission of calls through an on-demand use of the satellite link. Split Architecture ensures that the link is only used when revenue-generating calls are being made.

Local Connectivity ensures in the case of mobile-to-mobile calls where both subscribers are located at the same site that we switch or connect those calls locally rather than bringing them over the expensive satellite link back to the main network.

Why can’t these remote areas be linked to the normal mobile phone network?

Often in remote communities there’s no reliable power supply or transmission network. It’s difficult for mobile phone operators to build a cost-efficient transmission network there.

We use existing satellite ground bases in the area, or install satellites, to install base stations that can work independently of the main network.

How do you power these bases?

We use solar to power the bases and transmission technology. The Altobridge solution has the lowest power consumption in the industry: ideal for solar and wind electricity.

Are mobile phone operators keen to use your equipment?

Some operators want to buy the equipment and use it themselves, while others want to hand off particular geographical segments to us.

We get the coordinates of the area they want us to cover, and we operate our system for a fixed price every month.

We use our own teams to install, and then manage remotely. Different operators have different strategies. Some are bound by universal coverage obligations. Sometimes it’s too risky for the operators. They’re not familiar with green power or satellite technologies.

What are the opportunities in China?

China is slightly different because even remote villages are the size of cities elsewhere. Operators are working from the lowest-to the highest-density areas and we’re now talking with local operators.

Are other large telecommunications equipment-makers offering similar equipment?

The majors like Ericsson and Huawei all claim to have solutions for remote areas, but they are more focused on larger populations of subscribers. Our solution is suited to 1,500 people per site.

Is it worth the mobile operators’ time and bother to do this?

It’s estimated there are 1 billion people living and working in non-urban communities who remain unconnected to networks. This is also potentially a major source of new revenue for mobile operators.

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 27th May, 2010 – Altobridge, the leading supplier of remote communications solutions, has established a presence in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to meet the increasing demand for telecommunications in the region.  Building on its existing Asia Pacific team in Malaysia, the Jakarta representation aims to address both the communications needs of Indonesia’s rural population and the many remote enterprises operating across the country. Altobridge Country Manager, Mark O’Sullivan, will head up the Indonesian team to provide comprehensive sales and service support to mobile network operators (MNOs) in the region.

Indonesia has an overall population of over 242 million distributed over 17,500 islands. Of these, approximately 72 million are adults without any basic communication services, most of whom live in rural villages. It is these potential customers in communities with populations as low as 100 who can now be served profitably by MNOs using the Altobridge Remote Community solution. This solution uses intelligent patented technology which reduces transmission and power requirements, making it the most cost-effective and power-efficient system available on the market for remote communities. Apart from low capital and operational costs, an important  differentiating factor of this solution is its compact size and portability, enabling set up of a site within a couple of days in the most geographically challenging areas. Altobridge also offers MNOs a Fully Managed Service, removing the burden of initial capital and resource costs and providing 24/7 support, maintenance and network management services.

This latest strengthening of its presence in the Asia-Pacific region follows the announcement, earlier this month, of Altobridge’s three-year contract win with Tonga Communications Corporation, underpinning the company’s understanding and capabilities in dealing with large numbers of remote island communities.

Mike Fitzgerald, CEO of Altobridge, said, “There are thousands of small enterprises and market villages across Indonesia which could immediately benefit from the impact of mobile communications.

“We have the ideal combination of technology and experience across the region, particularly in South East Asia and the South Pacific. The Altobridge Remote Community solution generates incremental revenue for the mobile operator from these remote subscriber groups, and Indonesia is a very important growth market for such mobile communications.”

At a reception on Wednesday 26th May in the Shangri-La hotel, Jakarta,  the Irish Ambassador to Indonesia, His Excellency Dr. Richard A. O’Brien launched the Ireland-Indonesia Business Network. Earlier today at a Business Media Lunch the Ambassador briefed the Indonesian press on developments in the Ireland – Indonesia bilateral relationship and  announced Altobridge’s new Indonesian presence. The lunch was also attended by the Altobridge Country Manager for Indonesia, Mark O’Sullivan.

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, 11th May, 2010 – Altobridge, the leading supplier of remote communications solutions, has signed a frame agreement for wireless network solutions and managed services with Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC), Tonga’s leading provider of complete end-to-end telephony and Internet services.

Under the terms of the three-year agreement, Altobridge will provide TCC with its industry-leading wireless network solution to improve the island nation’s macro-GSM coverage, together with the Altobridge award-winning remote communications solution that will help connect Tonga’s unconnected. The first phase, expected to be complete within six months, will see the upgrade and/or replacement of the existing macro-GSM network providing service across the three main island groups of Tongatapu, Vava’u and Ha’apai.

TCC Managing Director, Timote Katoanga, said, “Altobridge presented a compelling network solution addressing the specific requirements of our customer base. Providing reliable, high-speed data access and coverage, coupled with cost-effective connectivity, particularly for remote parts of our network throughout our island nation, is critical to our strategy.”

Altobridge CEO, Mike Fitzgerald, said, “Mobile network operators are increasingly demanding network solutions with lower operating costs. Lower transmission and power consumption costs, combined with innovative means of providing low-cost wireless broadband connectivity, have become a prerequisite. Altobridge is looking forward to a long-term working relationship with TCC.”

Cormac Sreenan, professor, Department of Computer Science, University College Cork; Karen Kelly, development manager, UCC; Mike Fitzgerald, chief executive, Altobridge; and Richard Lord, chief technology officer, Altobridge.

Kerry company Altobridge is collaborating with University College Cork in a €250,000 research project which will enable cost-effective mobile internet access in remote communities.

Part of Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership programme, The Back-haul Optimisation in Heterogeneous Wireless Access Networks (BACOPT) project aims to lower the cost of 3G mobile internet in remote villages, airplanes, boats and oil platforms.

It will be led by Cormac Sreenan,a professor in UCC’s Computer Science Department, who will collaborate with telecommunications engineers from Altobridge to devise novel approaches for optimising data delivery. Its aim will be to reduce the cost of satellite usage and open up the internet for new users.

Altobridge develops mobile communications over, satellite for remote communities, including die aeronautical and maritime industries.

Sreenan said a growing number of people in remote communities wanted internet access at reasonable prices.

“This collaboration is particularly significant for users in developing countries where wired networks are less prevalent and so mobile access to the internet is relied upon for education, commerce, medical, entertainment and social needs,” said Sreenan.

“The research is challenging and will require breakthroughs in the design of software and communication protocols for these remote networks. Outcomes of the BACOPT project will be evaluated on an experimental mobile network that links UCC and the Altobridge headquarters in Tralee.”

Click here to view / download article

UCC has begun the research project with Kerrybased Altobridge Ltd, which is chaired by former Tanaiste Dick Spring.

It is hoped the BACOPT (Back-haul Optimisation in Heterogeneous Wireless Access Networks) project will lower the cost of 3G mobile internet in remote villages, airplanes, boats and oil platforms.  It could also lead to huge benefits for developing countries.

The research will involve a team of computer scientists at UCC, led by Prof Cormac Sreenan, working with Altobridge’s telecommunications engineers to improve the speed ef data delivery.

This will in turn lead to reduced costs for satellite usage, thereby opening up the internet for new users.

Mr Sreenan said while most people take mobile internet access for granted, people living in remote sites have to rely on expensive satellite links to connect mobile networks to the internet.

“This collaboration is particularly significant for users in developing countries where wired networks are less prevalent and so mobile access to the internet is relied upon for education, commerce, medical, entertainment and social needs,” Mr Sreenan said.

“The research is challenging and will require breakthroughs in the design of software and communication protocols for these remote networks.”

The research will be tested on an experimental mobile network linking UCC and Altobridge in Tralee.

UCC president Dr Michael Murphy welcomed the collaboration.

“Partnering with industry and funding agencies such as Enterprise Ireland is a fundamental aspect of the university’s strategy,” he said.

“I am particularly proud of the partnership between Altobridge — a company founded by UCC graduate Mike Fitzgerald — and the School of Computer Science and Information Technology.”

Click here to view / download article

Click here to view / download article

Interviewer: John Daly

Interviewee: Mike Fitzgerald

Occupation: CEO and Founder, Altobridge

When Altobridge was named Ernst & Young’s Irish Entrepreneur of the year 2009 in the Emerging category last October, the judges singled out Mike Fitzgerald’s vision and leadership for driving the company’s success in the emerging markets of Mongolia, Malaysia and Latin America.

Operating in a competitive environment where Altobridge is the pint-sized minnow shaping up against what Fitzgerald calls “the bit seven – companies like Ericsson, Nokia, Siemens” – the winning of awards can often make the difference between clinching the deal and heading home empty-handed…

Click here to view / download complete Irish Examiner article

Click here to view Monte Egeland (VP Americas, Altobridge) being interviewed by Rich Tehrani (TMCnet) at CTIA 2010, Las Vegas

CTIA Las Vegas, 23 March 2010 – Altobridge, the leading provider of wireless solutions for remote enterprises and communities, is exhibiting at CTIA in Las Vegas, (BOOTH #1727, Hall C3), where it will be highlighting the company’s industry leading core technologies and their use in remote community, secure government network and emergency service applications around the world.

Customers are currently using Altobridge Remote Community Solutions in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Government agencies across North America are using the company’s solutions widely for secure network applications.

CEO of Altobridge, Mike Fitzgerald, said, “As a result of our recent acquisition we have extended our Intellectual Property portfolio and client base, including activities in new markets. We have also significantly increased the number of our government customers. Our presence at CTIA illustrates the strengths and capabilities of our newly combined product portfolio and the broader expertise of our enhanced team across all disciplines, which the acquisition has helped to achieve.”

On display will be the company’s Compact All-IP GSM Network Solution, which forms a core element of Altobridge solutions already supplied to the military, government and emergency services. Due to the unique scalability of the company’s core technologies the solution has also become the system of choice for comprehensive developing and testing purposes by leading wireless industry software and systems developers and vendors. This complete IP GSM ‘Network in a Box’ includes a pico IP GSM Base Station (BTS), a soft Base Station Controller (BSC) and a fully featured soft Mobile Switching Centre (MSC).

The Compact All-IP GSM Network Solution provides the GSM vendor community with a cost-effective way of testing new hardware and software in a true cellular network environment.  Altobridge is the only company able to provide all the elements of a network in such a compact configuration.

The event will be attended by more than 9,300 satellite professionals from 70 countries with more than 300 companies exhibiting their products and services. SATELLITE 2010 will take place at the Gaylord National Convention Center, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, Maryland, USA.

Moderated by President of Northern Skies Research, Chris Baugh,  panel members include: Steven Blumenthal, Head of Ground Networks, O3B Networks USA, LLC; Doron Elinav, VP, Marketing, Gilat Network Systems; and Jay Yass, Vice President, Network Services, Intelsat. The general panel discussion will follow individual presentations by each participant.

The Altobridge presentation by Richard Lord will address wireless backhaul and integration via satellite by looking at such issues as:

•    Regulatory issues from the service providers’ perspective,
•    How new business models and technology breakthroughs address previously prohibitive OPEX and CAPEX issues,
•    Why HSPA looks like the most important broadband technology for use in emerging market cellular/satellite remote site deployments,
•    The importance of decentralising core network functions to remote sites to enable IP optimisation techniques.
Regional issues across Asia, Africa and South America, such as licence obligations, VSAT footprint and the need for mesh or multi-star solutions will also be addressed by the Altobridge presentation and the wider panel discussion. This session will take place between 1015am and 1130am on Wednesday 17 March.

According to the organisers: ‘The conference programming will continue with sessions on the military … mobile and commercial sectors … developing creative financial solutions for the challenging marketplace. More than 300 satellite communications experts will lead sessions on topics including comms-on-the-move… hybrid solutions, “greening” satellite communications, the increasing importance of religious broadcasters to the satellite sector, accelerating demand for aeronautical and maritime satellite services…’

SATELLITE 2010 is designed to look to the future of satellite-enabled communications and the new technologies and markets that will open up as a result – an event design in total synergy with the breakthrough technologies and new market wins from Altobridge.

The Deloitte Best Managed Awards Programme recognises indigenous Irish companies, which operate at the highest levels of business performance. The independent judging panel was chaired by Denis Brosnan, former MD of the Kerry Group, and included Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte Ireland, David Latto, Head of Corporate Banking at Bank of Scotland (Ireland), Tom McCarthy, CEO, Irish Management Institute, and Richard Curran, Deputy Editor, The Sunday Business Post.

The judges reviewed a broad range of standard business criteria including strategy, capability, financials and growth potential. They also took the current challenging economic climate into consideration and assessed companies across a range of criteria including their performance in relation to their peers and the trends across their respective industries. Only then was true management success determined.

CEO of Altobridge, Mike Fitzgerald, said, “We are delighted to have been recognised in this way by Deloitte for the second year in a row. The award comes after an exciting year for Altobridge during which we have completed a major strategic acquisition, doubling the size of the company and increasing our capabilities, product portfolio and customer base across the globe.

“Weathering the turbulent economic times has been a challenge for everyone in business, but with a dedicated professional team Altobridge continues to move from strength to strength and we’re looking forward to several business successes in the coming months.”

A gala awards ceremony was held in Dublin on 5 March to celebrate the award and was attended by the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Mr Brian Cowen T.D.

Deloitte states: “The Deloitte ‘Best Managed’ designation is a symbol of Irish corporate success – companies focused on their core vision, creating stakeholder value, excelling in all areas of their business and celebrating the contributions of the entire organisation.  The initiative is modelled on Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies programme, which has been successfully run by Deloitte in Canada since 1993.”  The programme is run in association with Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

-Ends-

Mary Dwyer, HR Director, Altobridge, at the gala awards ceremony in Dublin, celebrating Altobridge being among the ‘Deloitte Best Managed Companies’ for the second year running with (from  l-r) Pat Cullen, Managing Partner, Deloitte, the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Mr. Brian Cowen T.D. and David Latto, Head of Corporate Banking, Bank of Scotland (Ireland).

Altobridge CEO, Mike Fitzgerald, being interviewed by TeleSemana editor Rafael Junquera at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, on the  company’s Remote Community solution and the Latin American market.

Mike Fitzgerald talks to the Mobile Innovation Forum about the last billion, the company’s experience in emerging markets, and the challenge of turning a profit on 100 subscribers at the Mobile World Congress 2010, Barcelona.

Click here to watch the full interview.

Altobridge VP Wireless Solutions, Janne Hazell, CTO Richard Lord, and Aoife Sexton, President of the Remote Community Solutions division, talking with MNOs on the Altobridge stand at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.

Click here to view / download the original version

The Altobridge Remote Community Solution

Expensive satellite transmission used for backhauling calls, has been the major barrier facing Mobile Network Operators the world over when considering mobile service roll-outs to remote user groups in emerging markets – but not anymore.

No Challenges, Just Solutions

Solving the challenges of transmission – and many others besides – is the Remote Community Solution from Altobridge, which delivers a more ‘Intelligent’ Base Transceiver Station (BTS) site to the MNO than any other solution.

Like peas in a pod, the new Altobridge POD BTS at the heart of the Remote Community Solution differentiates the system from others by delivering a series of intelligent ‘green’ functions’ to the installation: Intelligent Transmission Management, Intelligent Power Management, an Intelligent Data-at-the-Edge™-of-the-network capability, and efficient handling of the BTS radio resource. All of these functions enable a compelling and unbeatable ‘green’ business case for a more efficient, lowcost, intelligent and profitable BTS site.

Intelligence Defines Altobridge Solutions

Intelligence designed into the Altobridge technology manages and restricts the use of expensive transmission bandwidth by combining two of its patented technology platforms. First is the Altobridge Split Architecture™, which ensures an ‘on-demand’ use of the satellite link when only revenue-generating traffic is occurring, and uses the lowest level of bandwidth in the industry at 5-8kbps per call. This system not only cuts transmission costs, it also cuts power consumption, which is further reduced with a ‘night mode’.

The second is the Altobridge Local Connectivity™ Platform, which enables the intelligent switching of all local calls locally at the base station or handover between base station clusters. This eliminates unnecessary transmission costs, double satellite hops and improves network quality thereby encouraging longer call holding times resulting in increased call revenues. As up to 70% of calls can be local, significant opportunities exist to reduce transmission costs in all areas of the network.

The systems based on these platforms have proven to significantly cut backhaul and power costs and have been successfully deployed on wireless telecoms networks, aircraft and ocean-going vessels around the world. The benefits of these two technologies, combined in the Remote Community Solution with the POD BTS and including a Fully Managed Service offering and VSAT bundling, make this the most cost-effective solution for rural communities on the market and one which is being used in the Far East by leading mobile operators, including Maxis in Malaysia and MobiCom in Mongolia.

Green Power

One of the strengths of the Altobridge Remote Community solution is that it has one of the lowest power consumption figures on the market. Intelligent power optimisation is crucial to reducing power consumption. For solar installations, the solution has an intelligent ‘Night Mode’ reducing power use at night during low traffic periods. The intelligent control of the BTS can be used to vary services and coverage at night, or during periods of low power availability. Further power savings are achieved through intelligent management of the power amplifier.

A Perfect Acquisition

Following the strategic acquisition of the ADC Mobile Network Solutions base station and switching business in December 2009, Altobridge can now offer customers a broader portfolio of products and services resulting in even greater cost savings. These new offerings include both a complete end-to-end network solution and network extensions by interfacing with existing networks, both are available with Fully Managed Services.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mike Fitzgerald, Altobridge CEO, said,

“When we acquired the Mobile Network Solutions division of ADC at the start of 2010, along with its full hardware portfolio, we acquired the perfect hardware solution with which to integrate our technology. By doing so, we can now offer MNOs the most intelligent, turnkey system for delivering lower transmission costs, lower power consumption and optimum returns from the delivery of mobile services to remote communities.”

Altobridge has three main business units: Remote Community solutions for MNOs, Software/IP licensing for vendor channel partners, and Government Solutions for private network requirements, the latter with its Secure Portable GSM Network in operational service with leading North American Government agencies.