MTN, Abraxas Solutions and Computer Answers have completed the first African cellular network installation outside of South Africa. The cellular telephony network installation in Rwanda is live, with the Uganda installation due for completion on 11 September. Another installation has been scheduled for Swaziland before the end of the year.
Abraxas Solutions and Computer Answers have been contracted to install the operational infrastructure including hardware, operating system, software and physical billing systems for the GSM network. The interconnection of the LANs and WAN were managed by MTN personnel.
MTN`s Africa IS manager, Thys Oberholster, says the installations are now running smoothly, and take no longer than three weeks to set up, test and approve, with an additional 31-day live bill run, for final live acceptance.
After a "dry run" in South Africa, where the entire system was configured and tested, and the software customised for the country`s requirements, the technology was dismantled, crated and flown out to the destination country.
"The team literally unload the crates themselves, as we have had failed systems due to rough handling of the equipment. As we have no support infrastructure in the destination country, any problems we may encounter are compounded."
Once on site the installation ran smoothly, MTN and the local partners having established the availability of buildings, electricity supplies and other infrastructural requirements.
"The cellular network supports a niche business client base, demanding a reliable technology infrastructure, which made us select proven solutions," said Oberholster. "The Eppix billing, mediation and financial systems run on Compaq Proliant 3000 servers, which are easy to maintain and readily available worldwide."
Installing technology in African countries has its own set of challenges, says Oberholster. "Localisation of the billing system is the biggest task, but the transportation of the equipment to these African countries is the most critical part."
Inhouse support is provided by local managers, with first- and second-line support provided by MTN and Eppix supplier Computer Answers respectively.
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