Telecompaper

Middle East and Africa mobile operator Zain has awarded Nokia Siemens Networks a five-year contract to optimize, modernize and manage Zain's over 3,000 multi-vendor mobile networks sites in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The operator currently serves over 9 million customers across these three countries. This contract marks Nokia Siemens Networks' biggest multi-vendor outsourcing case in the region and it's one of the first supplier swap managed services deals of its kind in Africa. Nokia Siemens Networks will also implement its Energy Solutions within the Zain network to reduce operating costs and power consumption by exploiting more efficient technology. Its off-grid site system combined with energy opex management are key components included in the deal. As part of the agreement, approximately 350 Zain employees who work on network operations in these three East African countries are planned to transfer to Nokia Siemens Networks. They will transfer with employment terms which are as favorable as their existing terms and will undergo further development and training in the latest wireless technologies. As part of the contract Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide optimization services and deploy its latest mobile soft switching and subscriber data management products. Its prepaid and top-up system based on charge@once select will ensure a faster introduction of new services and pricing bundles. Nokia Siemens Networks will also deploy 2G and 3G radio networks with the Flexi Multiradio Base Station.