MTN South Africa has invested hundreds of millions of rands in its network

MTN South Africa has invested hundreds of millions of rands in its network to ensure that its customers – and the thousands of fans that will be arriving in our country over the next few weeks – enjoy a seamless and quality service, both voice and data, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and beyond.

Says Sameer Dave, chief technology officer of MTN SA: “In addition to the upgrades to, and investment in the network infrastructure around the country, we have also been involved in the installation of millions of rands worth of equipment and the upgrade of systems in the ten World Cup stadia. This is to ensure that all the fans within the stadium and the communities living and working around that stadium both experience a world-class, quality and seamless service throughout the event.

“We have ring-fenced the capacity according to FIFA requirements, and will ensure it is ‘business as usual’ for the rest of South Africans going about their normal daily lives,” explains Dave.

As the first African global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, MTN views this event not only as an ideal marketing and branding opportunity, but also a huge responsibility, to bring the country in line with what is happening on a global scale with regards voice and data connectivity.

“As the official mobile operator for the World Cup, we would like to reassure the public of MTN’s ability to deliver a world-class, functioning network. We understand fully the demands that will be placed on our network during June and July, hence the major investment in network infrastructure, which began in 2007.

“We know the fans at the matches will want to share in their excitement, joy or despair, touch base with friends to meet up after the game, confirm a ride home or send a photograph to family back home – and all of this using their cell phones. Then, there are the millions of football fans not at a stadium who want to download information such as match results, team and player information, video clips, images and the like. We have spent the past three years at MTN preparing for this event to ensure that we meet all these needs,” states Dave.

At each of the designated stadia, MTN has installed state-of-the-art Distributed Antenna Systems with dedicated BTS (Base-station Transceiver System) hotels, which are designed to solve the problem of carrying thousands of calls within a confined space. In essence, the system converts radio signals to light, distributes the light and the converts it back to radio. This system allows MTN to create a great many small cells, which enables it to carry an excessive amount of traffic.

“To explain further what our systems are capable of, a typical radio site contains three radio base stations. The BTS hotel installed at Soccer City contains 22 radio base stations. A typical site has six cells – at Soccer City there are 38.

“The MTN installation at Soccer City, which is the biggest, contains almost 6km of optic fibre and approximately 10km of radio feeder. And, there are 348 antennae installed throughout the stadium to ensure even and seamless coverage.

“A radio system such as this one comes at a price however, and our investment in the system at Soccer City alone has cost us in excess of R25-million to design and install. Similar systems, but on a smaller scale, have been installed at each of the other nine stadia,” explains Dave.

MTN has placed a similar focus on the country’s airports with radio systems identical to the one installed at Soccer City, installed at OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airports, as well as the newly-opened King Shaka Airport in Durban.

Almost every other airport in the country has also been upgraded to some extent to ensure MTN is capable of handling the anticipated influx of voice, SMS and data traffic during the World Cup period.

“We have also upgraded our network infrastructure around the main hotels, training venues, places where people gather, and routes to and from the stadia, airports etc. We have compiled a dedicated plan for the MTN Fan Zones and the FIFA Fan Fests, and have equipped eight vehicles as mobile radio base stations which can be deployed at a moment’s notice to an area that requires extra network capability.

“We are confident that we are ready to deliver a world-class service as our responsibility that comes with being the first African global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. All our customers, and all the football fans coming to South Africa, can rest assured that MTN is prepared for the greatest show on earth. Now, that’s Ayoba!” concludes Dave

Internet Services

BROADBAND

In general, broadband refers to telecommunication in which a wide band of frequencies is available to transmit information. Because a wide band of frequencies is available, information can be multiplexed and sent on many different frequencies or channels within the band concurrently, allowing more information to be transmitted in a given amount of time (much as more lanes on a highway allow more cars to travel on it at the same time). Related terms are wideband (a synonym), baseband (a one-channel band), and narrowband (sometimes meaning just wide enough to carry voice, or simply "not broadband," and sometimes meaning specifically between 50 cps and 64 Kpbs).

ADSL

Asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) have become a widely available Broadband Internet
access connection, providing a variety of data rates. The connections work by splitting the function
of a phone line into separate channels for voice telephone calls and for data (Internet). Thus, a user
can talk on the phone and be connected to the Internet at the same time.

DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS

Dial-up internet is a form of Internet access that uses telephone lines. The user's computer or router uses an attached modem connected to a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider's (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then used to route Internet Protocol packets between the user's equipment and hosts. The term was coined during the early days of computer telecommunications when modems were needed to connect terminals or computers running terminal emulator software to mainframes, minicomputers, online services and bulletin board systems via a telephone line.

3G

3G is a medium - there are lots of medium (i.e Cable , DSL , WiMax , etc). 3G allows simultaneous use
of speech and data services and higher data rates (up to 14.0 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s
uplink ).
• Mobile TV - a provider redirects a TV channel directly to the subscriber's phone where it can be
watched.
• Video on demand - a provider sends a movie to the subscriber's phone.
• Video conferencing - subscribers can see as well as talk to each other.
• Tele-medicine - a medical provider monitors or provides advice to the potentially isolated
subscriber.
• Location-based services - a provider sends localized weather or traffic conditions to the phone, or
the phone allows the subscriber to find nearby businesses or friends

EDGE

3G using GPRS...
Edge (EGPRS) is an extended version of GPRS whilst 3G is based on WCDMA (Wideband Code
Division Multiple Access). Totally different technologies. Edge is referred to as 2.5G (not 3G) EDGE
can actually be a stepping stone to 3G... at least on some technologies or on some set-up, it all
depends on how your provider is doing their upgrade path, but definitely the ultimate goal is 3G...

GPRS

General Packet Radio Service is used most commonly for cell phones. You can send and receive
emails using GPRS and browse the Internet. General Packet Radio Service is a radio technology for
GSM networks that adds packet-switching protocols, shorter set-up time for ISP connections. It is a
new non-voice value added service that allows information to be sent and received across a mobile
telephone network. GPRS is NOT related to GPS (Global Positioning System), a similar acronym that
is often used in mobile contexts. Allowing information to be transmitted more quickly, immediately
and efficiently across the mobile network, GPRS may well be a relatively less costly mobile data
service.
GPRS can provide instant connections subject to radio coverage. No dial-up modem connection is
necessary.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

4G
4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to 3G and 2G
standards. The nomenclature of the generations generally refers to a change in the fundamental
nature of the service. The first was the move from analogue to digital (2G), which was followed by
multi-media support (3G) and now 4G, which refers to all IP packet switched networks and increases
in data speed.