Alcatel-Lucent has signed a three-year frame agreement with TTCL – the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited – under which it will modernize the operator’s IP/MPLS and optical transport networks.

The Alcatel-Lucent transformation will allow TTCL to meet the growing demands of its fixed and mobile access customers for efficient, high-speed, high-quality data services in preparation for the launch of 4G LTE services.

Mobile phone use in Tanzania is currently at 75 percent of the population and growing by 20 percent each year. Following an expansion in undersea cable connectivity and the launch of the National ICT Broadband Backbone, broadband has become more accessible in the country, sparking demand for data services as well as the arrival of a number of new service providers.

Alcatel-Lucent will deploy its IP routing and 100G agile optical networking (AON) DWDM technology to transform TTCL’s operations, converging fixed and mobile access on to one network, with unified management across the IP and optical layers for improved efficiencies. This will allow TTCL to meet the bandwidth needs of its 300,000 fixed network subscribers – even as data traffic increases with the expected deployment of a 4G LTE network – with high-quality, affordable services.

Phase One of the Nationwide deployment – covering major cities including the capital of Dodoma and the financial centre of Dar Es Salaam – will be completed in December 2015. Alcatel-Lucent is also providing comprehensive training and professional services expertise including site survey, design, installation, testing and commissioning activities as well as migrating services to the new platform.