CTS completes turnkey deal for pan-African telecoms operator Celtel

CTS, a leading provider of network planning, optimisation and spectrum management solutions including associated services, has successfully completed its contract with Celtel for its Ellipse Microwave Planning Tool Suite and for Planet EV, which CTS sells under a reseller agreement with Marconi Wireless.

[ClickPress, Thu Feb 02 2006] Celtel International, headquartered in Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands, is a pan-African mobile communications group operating in 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and serving more than 8.5 million customers. To support its pan-African operations, Celtel purchased several Ellipse Microwave Planning and Planet EV licences. The two solutions are used for the planning and optimisation of the group’s transmission and radio networks. CTS was selected for its capacity to provide first-class implementation and support services across the company’s African operations and for the extensive and detailed engineering functions of both tools.

The contract included the installation, migration of existing technical data, training, and maintenance for Celtel’s operations in the African countries of Tanzania, Uganda, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Malawi, Chad, Niger, Kenya and Sudan.
All network data and licence management is centralised on the main server in Amsterdam which is connected to the national server of each operator. The centralised floating licence system optimises the use of the software for all the 13 operations of the group while reducing average licence cost. Fewer licences are needed to fulfil the planning needs of the whole group. Efficient network data management and planning is carried out through daily synchronisation and data updates between the central server and the regional servers.

Bayan Monadjem, Radio Planning Manager at Celtel, says, “We selected CTS as the Planet EV and Ellipse Microwave Planning solution allow us to optimise licence management for our African operations. This resulted in valuable economies of scale. Although network planning is the responsibility of each operating company, this system allows us to centralise planning at a corporate level and share data with our operating companies, fostering best practices. It will also contribute to the reduction of Celtel’s capital and operational expenditure.”
CTS will be present at the 3GSM World Congress, in Barcelona (Spain), from 13 to16 February 2006 (Hall 2, stand E113).

About CTS

CTS designs, manufactures and delivers software to the telecommunications industry. CTS’ solutions and expertise focus on spectrum management, including frequency planning, administration and assignment, and network planning and optimisation.

CTS’ solutions address the industry’s players’ challenge of ensuring the most efficient operation of radio communication services with maximum end-user service quality while optimising capital and operational expenditure. The company’s customer base includes many of the key players in the telecommunications market in more than 20 countries.

CTS is a reseller and distributor of Marconi Wireless’ Planet EV product suite with exclusive distribution rights in selected countries in Europe and Africa and additional rights in the Middle East.
For further information, please contact:

Christiane Labitzke
CTS – Cril Telecom Software
Email: christiane.labitzke@criltelecom.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 39 26 46 31
Mobile: +33 (0)6 74 52 67 70
Web: www.criltelecom.com

About Celtel International

Celtel is one of the premier pan-African mobile telecoms operators with more than 8.5 million customers. Celtel is one of the best-known brand businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa with mobile licences covering approximately 30% of Africa's population – some 270 million people. Under the brand’s promise of ‘Making Life Better’ the company is committed to achieving the sustainable development of telecommunications in Africa. Celtel operates mobile cellular operations in 14 countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Madagascar and Sudan. In May 2005, Celtel was acquired by MTC of Kuwait for $3.4 billion. The MTC Group is a leading provider of mobile telecommunications services in the Middle East. The MTC Group is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

For more information see www.celtel.com

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