Neotel, South Africa's Second National Operator, announced today that it has partnered with various technology companies for the building of its networks.

Speaking on the partnerships, Ajay Pandey, MD of Neotel said, "These relationships are yet another significant milestone in the life of Neotel. The partnerships are a clear indication that Neotel is on track to deliver its promised services. The various partners are recognised as technology leaders in their respective areas and I believe that they are all well placed to bring their vast global expertise to effectively support Neotel in the achievement of its growth objectives. I am proud to say that we will confidently offer the South African market high-quality, cost-effective communications solutions through these agreements."

Neotel is committed to the support and development of the local communities in which it operates, and is proud to announce that these supplier partnerships are more than just a commercial arrangement. Together the companies have committed to engaging local SMME and BEE groups in the operational activities of the relevant agreements. A significant focus will also be placed on the training and development of PDI students in the ICT sector.

Pravir Dahiya, executive head, Neotel Networks says, "The world over, traditional connectivity services are being migrated to new value-added IP services that require platforms that scale to multiples of 10 gbps interfaces in a very compact form factor, while also delivering rich, dependable IP service functionality and quality assurance at high speeds. We are partnering with global leaders in various technology areas to ensure that these new generation technologies are introduced into South Africa, by Neotel."

Neotel has entered into a strategic partnership with Siemens Telecommunications to provide the IP core network based on Juniper Networks M-and T- series routers. Siemens will also provide the Metro DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) component of Neotel's network. In addition to this, Siemens will also be providing an IP network management system for all IP devices.

Cisco gear is being deployed at the Metro Edge. The state-of-the-art routing core shall provide for rapid activation of advanced IP / MPLS services, including tiered access, IP VPNs, and metro ethernet applications. The MPLS-optimised architecture also enables the transport of frame relay and ATM traffic over layer-2 VPNs, ensuring support for both legacy traffic and new IP services over a single IP / MPLS network. This promotes network efficiency and scalability in order to take advantage of the growing demand for data services.

The Neotel next generation network is powered by Huawei Soft switches, media gateways and session border controllers to offer advanced SIP based services and also pave the way towards true fixed mobile convergence.

About the partnerships

Siemens
Siemens Telecommunications will provide the IP core, IP network management system and Metro DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) components of the Neotel Network. This makes Siemens responsible for the core backbone and foundation of the network. The Metro DWDM allows high volumes of bandwidth to be deployed over fibre which will enable Neotel to respond to customers' bandwidth demands and protocol changes. The IP core network will enable high-performance voice, data and video services to be provided at scale from a single IP-based network. The IP-NMS platform provides Neotel with the capability to manage all IP related services from a single platform.

Juniper
Siemens will provide the IP core network based on Juniper Networks M- and T-series routers, Siemens global strategic partner.

Motorola
Neotel and Motorola have signed a services agreement for RF (radio frequency) planning for its CDMA and WiMAX network in South Africa. Motorola is a global leader in both CDMA and WiMAX technologies. It has supported CDMA contracts in a global capacity.

Dimension Data / Cisco
Neotel has awarded key components of its infrastructure rollout to Cisco South Africa and its partner Dimension Data. These two companies will provide the metro ethernet portion of Neotel's network, which is expected to be in operation this year. Metro ethernet covers major cities and will connect subscribers, such as businesses, to the wide area network and the internet.

Hauwei
Neotel has appointed Huawei Technologies as a preferred supplier of core network infrastructure and the associated services, including the soft switches and associated network equipment.

These partnerships are a significant milestone in the Neotel journey and will demonstrate that South Africa is truly capable of delivering next generation technologies that will touch and impact every South African. These investments and partnerships are necessary to establish the Neotel network and are likely to have a positive effect across the ICT market.

The outcome of these partnerships is not only a commercial relationship, but a true relationship to support local governments' BEE initiatives as well as develop the SMME sector of the communications industry.