AIRCOM signs groupwide agreement with MTN

5th February, 2008 - AIRCOM International, the leading independent mobile network planning and optimisation consultancy,  has signed a groupwide agreement with the MTN Group, one of the largest mobile operators in Africa and the Middle East. AIRCOM will provide network planning tools and consultancy to all the regional operators in the MTN Group, which provides mobile telecom services to a combined subscriber base of over 54 million across Africa and the Middle East (as at 30 September 2007).

AIRCOM has an established relationship as a supplier to MTN: MTN South Africa already uses AIRCOM's market-leading ASSET network planning tool, and has done so for the last 12 years.

The new group-wide agreement standardises pricing and also outlines delivery and service level agreements for all AIRCOM tools and services.

The phenomenal growth of mobile telecoms in Africa - particularly with the advent of pre-paid cellular services across the continent - places new pressures and demands upon operators' existing network infrastructure, which require radically new solutions that go above and beyond conventional planning and management techniques.

"MTN is committed to providing the best services and customer experience to our subscribers, wherever they are. But as our business develops, so too do the demands placed on our networks. With AIRCOM's help, we can maximise our network resources to deliver high quality, innovative and affordable mobile services and grow our business into new and exciting markets," says MTN Group's Chief Technical and Information Officer, Mr Karel Pienaar.

Commenting on the deal, AIRCOM CEO Margaret Rice-Jones said, "We are immensely proud of our long-standing relationship with the MTN Group. With this new group-wide agreement in place, all of the MTN territories can now benefit from AIRCOM's unsurpassed engineering and management expertise to boost the performance of their network and continue to provide services and opportunities to their customers across Africa."

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About the MTN Group

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group, operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: "MTN". As at 30 September 2007, MTN recorded 54,162, 000 subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. The MTN Group is a global sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and has exclusive mobile content rights for Africa and the Middle East.
Visit www.mtn.com.

About AIRCOM International

AIRCOM International is a leading independent provider of end-to-end network optimisation consultancy and tools for IP and cellular networks. AIRCOM specialises in fields such as network planning, sharing, outsourcing and OSS.

Working with many the world's largest operators, AIRCOM leverages its objectivity to view network quality and efficiency from the consumers' perspective. This enables its consultants and engineers to track market behaviours and trends to ensure networks achieve optimum performance.

Headquartered in the UK with offices in 18 countries, AIRCOM has more than 10 years' experience across 131 countries for half of the world's mobile operators, including more than 3.45 million hours working on 3G networks alone.  It continues to grow its customer base each year, offering objective yet pragmatic advice, training and support services, backed by high-performance tools designed to deliver real benefits for both subscribers and operators. 

www.aircominternational.com

 

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