Optus, a mobile operator in Australia, has selected Nokia Siemens Networks as its sole packet core vendor in a multimillion-dollar agreement to address growing bandwidth requirements and offer new data services, as well as improve time to market.
“Over the last couple of years, we have seen an explosion in mobile broadband and a rise in smartphones as customers consume information on the go,” says Günther Ottendorfer, managing director, Optus Networks. “This new agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks on using its Mobile Packet Core solution will give Optus the flexibility to provide more bandwidth to our customers as required, especially as online applications and mobile working has become the norm.”
The Evolved Packet Core from Nokia Siemens Networks can accommodate GPRS, WCDMA, and LTE network traffic. It also includes Nokia Siemens Networks’ new Flexi NG GGSN platform, which provides greater capacity and headroom to Optus for new product launches.
Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide its Charge@once Mediate solution that will allow Optus to introduce new services without making any major changes to its charging and billing systems. Nokia Siemens Networks’ professional services including network planning, implementation and Care underpin the Evolved Packet Core deal.
“With the increasing use of data and smartphone applications, our Evolved Packet Core provides a springboard to operators, such as Optus, to launch new services,” says Kalevi Kostiainen, head of Australia and New Zealand at Nokia Siemens Networks. “Moreover, our platform is LTE ready and adds enormous capacity to data transport channels, allowing Optus Open Network to be flexible in responding to the market demands related to high capacity, using a robust platform.”