A network solution that will deliver affordable telephony and data services to buildings in the central business district of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, is being installed by Marconi Communications South Africa (MCSA) for MTN Uganda in a turnkey contract worth R40 million.
The broadband fibre network, designed, planned and project-managed by Marconi, will reach into and serve the very hub of Ugandan commercial activity. As about 90% of Ugandan business is conducted from Kampala, the network will have positive impacts on the country`s economy.
"The Marconi design takes high bandwidth right to the desks of commercial, industrial and government subscribers, enabling us to make it easier and quicker for our customers to do business both locally and internationally. At the same time the network will provide rapid access to international information and knowledge bases," says MTN Uganda public relations officer, Philip Besiimire.
MCSA won the contract on open tender against a number of major international telecommunications companies on the strength of its total solution approach covering network design, planning, implementation, commissioning and overall project management. The project is believed to represent the biggest "fibre-to-the-building" programme in Africa.
The first phase will take optic fibre-based network services into 150 multi-storey buildings in the central business district of Kampala and a second phase will considerably extend the initial network to cover the entire city. The first phase is scheduled for completion during July.
"This is an ambitious project," says MCSA technical director George Debbo. "Optic fibre is the way to go forward and MTN Uganda has taken a courageous lead in the application of fibre-to-the-building technology in Africa."
Marconi is laying down a synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) backbone for the network. Debbo says SDH is leading-edge technology ideal for the delivery of high-quality voice and high-speed data services. Marconi`s active optical network (AON) technology will take the services into the buildings and ultimately to the desktop as an integral part of a distributed multi-service platform (DMP).
"The turnkey nature of the contract in essence means that we are selling a fully commissioned, working telephone and data services network to MTN Uganda," adds Debbo. "As project managers we are also involving a number of sub-contractors for the laying of cabling, ducting and the installation and connection of the network to each building. Wherever possible, we are using Ugandan contractors. A local company has already commenced work on the civil engineering requirements of the project."
The Marconi network equipment and components are being sourced from South Africa, the UK and Germany.
MTN Uganda is the second national operator (SNO) in Uganda. The Kampala project is core to MTN Uganda`s overall drive to deploy a fixed wire-type network to provide cost-effective telephony services throughout the country.
Share
Marconi Communications South Africa (MCSA) employs around 850 people, with its network division and headquarters at Midrand and a manufacturing division at Springs. Empowerment group African Renaissance Holdings (ARH) holds 25% of the MCSA equity.
Marconi plc is a global communications and IT company with around 55 000 employees worldwide. Marconi has research and development facilities in 19 countries, manufacturing operations in 16 countries, and serves customers in over 100 countries. It supplies advanced communications solutions for Networks, Enterprise and Wireless customers, globally. Marconi plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the symbol MONI. Additional information about Marconi can be found at www.marconi.com
Editorial contacts