AAT has been working with Telkom and other operators in SA since 1924, and has a proud history of providing connections to South Africans throughout the country.
Today AAT can claim some remarkable statistics in South Africa. Almost 3 million subscribers are connected to Alcatel`s E10 digital exchanges. Over 5 000 microwave links, more than 2 000 optical fibre systems and the complete Diginet leased line networks, and a wireless local loop capacity extending to up to 300 000 subscribers, form just part of the line up of equipment and solutions provided to Southern African operators.
Telecommunications manufacture began in Boksburg in 1960, and since then many employees have been trained with new skills, concerned not just with manufacture but also with the continually evolving technologies, which are associated with telecommunications. Indeed, today AAT engineers form part of Alcatel`s global resource of new product development.
As a leading supplier to Telkom, Alcatel Altech Telecoms plays an important role in supporting telecoms in South Africa. Extensive resources housed in the Telecommunications Technology Centre are able to replicate conditions in Telkom`s network, allowing a rapid intervention in the event of network problems, whilst the installation teams, supported by a large number of SMME`s, supplement Telkom`s own installation capability.
As a global leader in telecommunications, with a presence in over 133 countries, Alcatel`s solutions are at the leading edge of technology. AAT is able to demonstrate these solutions to Telkom, ensuring access to world class solutions and services to provide optimum customer satisfaction.
Encouraging the development of technical capability is key for the future of South Africa, and AAT supports the telecoms industry in this regard, both by providing bursaries to deserving students, and by working closely with in the creation and operation of Centres of Excellence (CoE). Based at universities and technikons around the country, the CoE carry out advanced research in telecoms. As an example, particularly sponsored by AAT and Telkom, the University of Natal CoE is doing research into advanced radio access technology. Existing radio access technology has been widely supplied in SA, and it is possible that the new technologies being studied may offer cheaper solutions with a greater effective range, to give cost efficient wireless access to thousands of new subscribers.
Wessie Van der Westhuizen, Managing Director of AAT, joined the company just over 2 years ago. "I was very pleased to join AAT, which is one of South Africa`s leading telecommunications companies" he said, "it is a company with a long, proud history of telecommunications in South Africa, and one which has built a sound business relationship with it`s number one customer, Telkom. Even in the last 2 years I have seen tremendous changes in the telecommunications business, and have seen how Telkom has grown and thrived with the challenge, as indeed has AAT. We look forward to a bright future working with Telkom in South Africa."
Local Shareholding
Altech is a leading South African R4 billion high technology group involved in the convergence of telecommunications and multi-media technology (TMT) and electronics, and owns 40% of Alcatel Altech Telecoms. Strong partnerships with international principals, including Alcatel, ensure that Altech has ongoing access to the latest technologies worldwide. Altech is a member of the R9 billion Altron group of companies.
Rethabile, the Black Empowerment Group, owns 20 % of Alcatel Altech Telecoms. Rethabile is committed to playing a leading role in opening up business opportunities to the Black community in the mainstream South African economy as a contributor to employment creation and small business development.
Social Development
Alcatel Altech Telecoms and its shareholders are proud that we are qualified as a Black Empowering Supplier.
Alcatel Altech Telecoms is a leader in developing SMME`s in the telecommunications sector, and has trained in excess of 1 500 SMME employees. In the recent past Alcatel Altech Telecoms has awarded in excess of R150 million of business to Black suppliers, or partially Black-owned suppliers, within the telecommunications industries.
Alcatel Altech Telecoms outsources non-core services to Black suppliers. The company is committed to its Employment Equity Plan and has put in place affirmative action programmes as an integral part of a large training programme.
Legacy Evolution
Such a long association with Telkom and such a large installed base, means that AAT must provide an ongoing evolution for the equipment already existing in the network - so called Legacy evolution.
Alcatel understands its role where providing business solutions is concerned. Particularly since Telkom has invested extensively in Alcatel networks, it is important to protect the investment by providing a path forward which combines the best elements of evolutionary with revolutionary. The company is leveraging its successful voice heritage and data strengths to help carriers implement or transition to profitable Next Generation Networks (NGN).
The core values of Next Generation Networks - asset productivity, cost containment and revenue enhancement - are nothing new at Alcatel, and its NGN portfolio benefits from decades of experience in focusing technological innovation on business issues.
Consider Alcatel`s legacy of investment protection using multi-service platforms, harnessing the power of packetization in creating and delivering tried-and-true as well as emerging services. This innovation resulted in the lowest life cycle cost of any implementation of its kind, and the knowledge gained during the evolution of the concept is inherent to the NGN platforms of today and tomorrow.
These attributes have earned the trust of service providers around the globe for decades. Alcatel`s ability to transform Legacy into NGN solutions is uniquely accompanying service providers towards the future of profitable telecommunications.
Looking forward to the future, AAT is proud to be associated with the Next Generation Networks from Alcatel.
Next Generation Networks
Alcatel`s Softswitch, Media Gateways and Intelligent Network Services change the ground rules for voice and data convergence in the Next Generation Networks. Broadband VPN and multi-tenant business services re-inject profitability into consumer and business data services. These innovative solutions enable service providers to add customer value and increase the sagging margins currently associated with such services.
Alcatel`s Softswitch Solutions control the interworking between voice and data networks. Their simplified programmability gives carriers the flexibility to implement new services and applications quickly.
Alcatel`s Media Gateway Solutions aggregate tomorrow`s application-rich broadband traffic or bridge existing voice and data traffic to an IP or ATM network for increased efficiency. These platforms are broadband traffic aggregators and convergence platforms, utilizing the power of multi-service packet technology to deliver managed IP/MPLS, next-generation voice and video, and reliable DSL, ATM and circuit-emulation services.
Alcatel`s decades of experience in global voice networks conveys a deep understanding of the demands and challenges of mobility, security, and convenience for NGN users.
Global Giant
As a world leader in the high-speed access and optical transport market, Alcatel is a major player in the area of telecommunications and the Internet. Alcatel builds Next Generation Networks, delivering integrated, end-to-end voice and data communication solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 130 000 employees and sales in excess of Euro 31 billion, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.
Alcatel is a world leader in ATM and ADSL equipment, terrestrial and submarine optical networks, public switching, fixed wireless access, and Intelligent Networks. Alcatel recently established a unique position in optical switching and optical cross-connect, bringing with it unparalleled bandwidth capacity. Equally so, Alcatel is a world leader in 3G Mobile Solutions.
Turning Copper into Gold
Telkom`s extensive copper network is about to be upgraded. By the use of ADSL technology, broadband services will become available to South African subscribers. Dependant upon market demand, services can include `always on` Internet, video on demand, as well as the usual telephone and fax services.
As a premier world supplier, Alcatel and AAT hope to assist Telkom in the roll-out of this technology in South Africa.
The potential in South Africa may well match that in the USA, where, for example, BellSouth has signed an agreement with Alcatel for an aggressive deployment plan that will make DSL available to 70 percent of the households in the South-eastern U.S., and grow its DSL subscriber base to 600,000 by the end of this year. This agreement also includes provisions for the purchase of customer premises equipment.
Alcatel will provide a wide range of capabilities including central office and remote terminal equipment to meet BellSouth`s increasing demand for DSL services throughout its vast broadband and Internet services network. This agreement further strengthens the relationship enjoyed by BellSouth and Alcatel and will help BellSouth reach its deployment goals. This critical agreement demonstrates BellSouth`s continued commitment to providing high speed Internet access solutions to its customers, and Alcatel`s exceptional capability to meet BellSouth`s requirements in building its Next Generation data network.
"Alcatel is a company we have come to count on as a key supplier of DSL solutions," said Ralph de la Vega, president of BellSouth broadband and Internet services. "This agreement will help ensure that we meet our goal of nearly tripling our subscriber base to 600,000 and reaching 70 percent of the households in our region by the end of 2001."
Bandwidth Demand fuelled by Research Centres
The demand for increased bandwidth is driving new applications, and no more so than at universities and research centres. Increased network bandwidth eliminates bottlenecks for students and faculty members alike. This demand is being felt at the CoE`s, who are looking to local operators for a solution.
As an example of the demand, the University of Southern Colorado has selected Alcatel`s Omni family of switches to increase network bandwidth and manageability. The switches are placed throughout the 275-acre campus located in south-central Colorado.
With over 4,300 students and approximately 500 full-time faculty and staff, effective network communication throughout the campus became a major focal point for the University. The University of Southern Colorado chose Alcatel`s network equipment to upgrade from a combination FDDI and 10/100 Ethernet network to Gigabit Ethernet. The network upgrade removes the bottlenecks caused by increased usage and applications, such as performing Internet research, sending e-mails, accessing student records, and using e-Learning software tools.
Additionally, the University was looking to enhance network security and decrease broadcast traffic with Alcatel`s Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) technology. Through the use of VLANs, the University is able to separate and limit access to secured information such as student grades, administrative records, and finances. The use of VLANs allows the University to secure and manage the network from a logical, instead of a physical standpoint.
"Since all dorm rooms are now wired for Internet access and the University is increasingly using high bandwidth applications such as multimedia and video streaming, it was necessary to upgrade to Gigabit Ethernet speeds," said Shawn Ahlers, manager of technology support at the University of Southern Colorado. "Migrating the network to Gigabit Ethernet and establishing VLANs has eliminated the bottlenecks caused by increased usage that the University previously experienced."
The University of Southern Colorado is also taking advantage of Alcatel`s newly released OmniVista network management solution to manage all of Alcatel`s data switches from a holistic, network-wide point of view. Management of the entire network is now more centralised, so pinpointing specific network outages is less labour intensive and easier to manage. "With the network upgrade, the University of Southern Colorado`s faculty and students benefit from greater network reliability and speed, while the IT staff benefits from enhanced security and management," said Greg Kovich, Alcatel`s director of education sales and marketing. "Alcatel`s networking equipment has been especially effective in the education realm as universities must keep pace with technology in order to remain competitive."
The University of Southern Colorado is located in Pueblo, Colorado, residing along the south-central portion of the state. The University is a member of the Colorado State University System and is a national model for qualitative change and academic excellence, and has demonstrated commitment to K-16 education and partnerships with the community and the region. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredits the University of Southern Colorado at the bachelor and master level.
Work-from-Home
Increasingly, South Africans are facing traffic jams both morning and evening, leading to the loss of valuable time. However, thanks to the availability of ISDN and Diginet leased line widespread through AAT supplied products, and the imminent introduction of ADSL, work-from-home is increasingly a viable option.
Matching an increasing convergence between voice and data, both fixed and mobile, in a further evolution, a cost-efficient trial solution allows business partners to trial features that extend beyond traditional main campus. Medium to large enterprises now have the ability to trial voice/data convergence with options of in-building wireless capabilities for mobile workers, and soft-phone functionality for remote workers, using the Alcatel Convergence Starter Kit.
"The fact that Alcatel`s Convergence Starter Kit includes the currently available software is a key point," said Bill Flanagan, Program Director of the Burton Group. "In reports and in person I advise clients to test exactly what they will deploy, including the version of software, to avoid introducing uncertainty into the trial process. Alcatel`s approach ensures that features will work as tested."
As companies look to improve employee productivity and customer support, they will need to offer powerful business tools such as in-building wireless phones for mobile workers and soft phones for teleworkers. Alcatel`s switches provide these capabilities in a convergence solution that supports data devices and IP, digital, analogue and in-building wireless telephony devices. With the inclusion of an IP-enabler, the Kit also demonstrates how a digital phone can easily evolve into a full-featured IP-phone, without disruption and any change to the user interface.
"Wireless business systems are a great way for companies to provide better customer service and improve their employees` productivity by reducing the time they spend playing `phone tag`," said Shelly Tyler-Radler, senior analyst, InfoTech. "In-building wireless solutions such as the Alcatel`s PWT handsets will be especially attractive to enterprises as well as the education, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing sectors that have highly mobile employees. InfoTech projects the enterprise wireless will be a $768 million market in the U.S. in 2005."
Alcatel`s new Convergence Starter Kit is unlike any other trial kit on the market. It provides businesses with the opportunity to sample in-building wireless capabilities so that mobile users can take customer calls anytime, anywhere, and still access the same features as their Alcatel desktop phones. The Kit also lets businesses enhance teleworkers` PCs to obtain the full range of Alcatel`s desktop phone features, including dial by name, corporate directories, and voice, fax and e-mail messaging integration.
"The Alcatel Convergence Starter Kit allows us to better meet the needs of enterprises interested in testing convergence solutions as well as vertical markets that can benefit from unique mobility and teleworker features on a reliable, scalable and robust phone system," said Fred Brussee, CT-Innovations, Alcatel Business Partner.
For more information, visit our website at www.alcatel.altech.co.za or contact us at info@alcatel.altech.co.za , telephone 011 542 3000, fax 011 314 5584.
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