02/09-10   -   Press releases

Vodacom South Africa maintained uninterrupted services throughout global soccer tournament

Nokia Siemens Networks’ Special Event Support services provided network planning, optimization, operations support and care

South Africa’s largest network operator, Vodacom South Africa, successfully handled a surge in network traffic due to an influx of half a million visitors throughout the 2010 World Cup. The operator met the increased demand for network capacity and avoided any degradation in performance supported by Nokia Siemens Networks’ Special Event Support (SES) services*. These included consultancy, back-end network monitoring, network optimization and care services.

“There was a huge surge in network traffic during the soccer world cup and in some cases the traffic on a single base station increased by more than 500%. We were determined to not only meet the increased traffic demands, but also reconcile the varying needs and call patterns of foreign and local subscribers," said Andries Delport, executive director, network and information technology, Vodacom South Africa. “From the preparation phase to the conclusion of the games Nokia Siemens Networks’ support guaranteed high network quality. We thank the company for its excellent professional and proactive support to ensure uninterrupted services for our subscribers."

“A sudden increase in traffic during major events puts huge pressure on mobile networks, and can cause congestion, revenue losses and customer dissatisfaction," said Paul Divall, Vodacom South Africa customer team head at Nokia Siemens Networks. “With our vast experience in helping operators maintain excellent network and service performance under extreme traffic conditions, we established the most efficient way to maintain the network for Vodacom South Africa."

During the preparation phase, Nokia Siemens Networks provided capacity forecasting and optimization services to ensure network readiness across event hotspots such as stadiums, fan parks and airports. During the event, a parallel Network Operations Centre (NOC) was set up to monitor the operator’s multi-vendor radio access network, transmission network, and service delivery across these hotspots. Nokia Siemens Networks also established processes related to event set up, and risk and crisis management, in addition to reviewing operational readiness on a regular basis.

About Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of telecommunications services. With its focus on innovation and sustainability, the company provides a complete portfolio of mobile, fixed and converged network technology, as well as professional services including consultancy and systems integration, deployment, maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software and professional services companies in the world. Operating in 150 countries, its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

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Notes to editors:
* Special Events such as Olympics, global soccer tournaments, etc require extra effort and preparation from the ‘host’ CSPs to make sure that their network and services infrastructure as well as their Operations and Maintenance (O&M) organization are well prepared. In today’s OPEX and resource-constrained environment, this means finding the most efficient way to manage the whole program of activities before, during and after the event.

Based on its experience in supporting large scale events, Nokia Siemens Networks has developed a Special Event Support solution which helps, maintain excellent network and service performance under extreme traffic conditions through comprehensive planning, diligent preparation and fault-free execution by a team of technical experts. Tailored to the customer’s requirements, the solution includes one or more of the following services: Software Services, Hardware Services, Competence Development Services, Network Optimization and Assurance, Service Optimization and Assurance and Network Implementation