Tektronix Communications solutions to help AIS Thailand’s transition to 3G
By Digital News Asia June 23, 2014
- To provide end-to-end monitoring and assurance for 3G network
- Follows AIS’ successful acquisition of UMTS licence at end of 2013
TEKTRONIX Communications said it has been selected to provide monitoring and assurance solutions to optimise network performance and quality for Thailand’s market-leading operator AIS. Financial details were not disclosed.
The announcement follows AIS’ successful acquisition of the UMTS licence at the end of 2013. UMTS or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is a third generation (3G) mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) standard.
AIS or Advanced Info Service Plc is the largest mobile operator in Thailand with over 50% market share and more than 40 million subscribers.
Building on its existing relationship with AIS – having monitored voice on the 2G (second generation) circuit-switch network dating back to 2009 – Plano, Texas-based Tektronix Communications said it was able to demonstrate the benefits of its full-service, end-to-end monitoring and assurance portfolio to optimise performance as the operator rolls out its new 3G network.
Specifically, AIS has tasked Tektronix Communications with helping it achieve three key goals: To help network operations teams gain deep visibility of the handover between 3G and 2G networks; to provide planning teams the network intelligence required to roll out the new 3G infrastructure; and to generate new opportunities for marketing to monetise the data that flows through the network, Tektronix Communications said in a statement.
“We are delighted to have been confirmed as the monitoring and assurance partner for AIS at this exciting time in the company’s evolution,” said Mike Ropicky, Asia Pacific vice president for sales at Tektronix Communications.
“Technology turns are naturally and typically unpredictable periods in an operator’s growth cycle. However, with close end-to-end monitoring and the resulting actionable intelligence, these challenges can be [addressed],” he added.
In Phase 1 of the project, Tektronix Communications will monitor pure voice and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) session traffic across all parts of the core network using its Iris Session Analyzer and Iris Packet Inspector solutions.
Furthermore, given the importance of Thailand’s growing tourism industry, Tektronix Communications will also monitor and analyse inbound roaming data via its RIA solution.
A small pilot will also be carried out for monitoring AIS’ Radio Access Network (RAN), Tektronix Communications.
“As the market leading mobile telecoms operator in Thailand, AIS is committed to providing the highest levels of network quality and customer experience possible,” said AIS spokesman Wichian Mektrakarn.
“We are pleased to confirm our ongoing partnership with Tektronix Communications to enhance our new 3G network rollout whilst ensuring an excellent and seamless experience for our customers as we release exciting new services and products to them.
“We also recognise the benefits of using the performance data we will collect to make smart capex (capital expenditure) decisions and increase ROI (return on investment) as we invest heavily in deploying infrastructure across the new network,” he added.
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