COUNTRY FOCUS: BAHRAIN
A virtual hackathon was organised in
support of social distancing measures to
curb the COVID-19 pandemic
Delivering
efficient Wi-Fi
Batelco has entered into a partnership with Aptilo Networks to
deliver business-to-business or B2B2C Wi-Fi services in Bahrain.
Batelco has selected the Aptilo Service Management Platform
(SMP) with the Aptilo SMP Venue Wi-Fi Manager to deploy a
nationwide managed Wi-Fi service.
Batelco offers managed venue Wi-Fi services to enterprise
customers, with the service deployed either on top of the
customer’s existing Wi-Fi equipment or as a fully managed
service with the Wi-Fi infrastructure included.
Batelco General Manager Enterprise, Abderrahmane Mounir, said:
“We were looking for a vendor agnostic solution that could match
our high ambitions in scaling our Wi-Fi business both in terms of
volume and functionality and at the same time have a platform
that will allow Batelco and its enterprise customers to engage
with the Wi-Fi users.
Aptilo’s proven track-record in innovation and stability makes
them the right choice for us to support the growing demands of
our enterprise customers.”
Furthermore, Batelco will deploy an additional Wi-Fi connection
(SSID) exclusively for Batelco subscribers at most public
locations. When Batelco mobile subscribers switch on their Wi-Fi,
they will instantaneously connect to the secure Wi-Fi network
at these locations. It is the SIM-authentication functionality
of the Aptilo SMP that makes the Wi-Fi network as secure and
seamless as any mobile network.
“Operator managed Wi-Fi is crucial not only as a profitable
business but also to get indoor footprint for subscribers. This
will become increasingly important in the 5G era,” said Anders
Emilsson, VP Sales Middle East and Africa, Aptilo Networks. “We
are proud that Bahrain’s leading operator has selected us. Their
insights in the market and the dynamics of Wi-Fi will make them
very successful.” •
Providing fibre
optic connectivity
with near unlimited
capacity
Nokia’s Optical LAN solution will enable Infonas to provide
its enterprise customers in downtown Manama with a cuttingedge,
future-proof fibre network that delivers superior performance
and high capacity essential for supporting increasing data and
IoT demands.
Omniclouds, a technology integrator for Nokia in the Middle East, will
integrate the technology into Infonas’ network.
With demand for gigabit services, IoT and file sharing applications
growing, Infonas needed to establish a local area network (LAN)
that would allow it to meet and stay ahead of enterprise demands.
Deploying the Nokia Optical LAN solution will provide Infonas’
enterprise customers with a high-capacity, scalable alternative to
copper-based options that is cheaper to operate and more
efficient to run.
Based on proven and established Gigabit Passive Optical Network
(GPON) technology, the Nokia Optical LAN solution requires less space
to deploy and power to run than standard copper-based options.
The solution also provides 200 times longer coverage from a single
central location, eliminating the need for equipment closets on
each floor or at every 100 metres. Delivering virtually unlimited data
capacity, it is also capable of supporting all video, voice and data
requirements over a single fibre optic cable.
The fibre-based Local Area Network (LAN) is more flexible, scalable
and secure than a traditional copper-based LAN technology and can
easily and cost-effectively be upgraded to 10G or 40G speeds using
the same infrastructure.
Rafik Shafik Abdelmessih, CTO of Infonas WLL Bahrain, said: “We
needed a long-term, fully scalable and cost-efficient solution to
provide our business customers access to high-speed Internet
and IT services via a state-of-the-art network. We are confident
Nokia’s solution will provide that. It is an ideal fit for us to meet our
customers’ demands and achieve our ambition to grow fast.”
Mohamed Salama, Head of Fixed Networks, Middle East and
Africa, said: “Adoption of this technology continues to increase
globally as enterprises in all industry segments look at this
alternative LAN architecture to help lower capital and operating
costs. This project demonstrates the benefits of Nokia Optical
LAN and how it can deliver a high-capacity, resilient and scalable
network that simplifies operations and ultimately helps to reduce
costs for enterprises.” •
50 INTELLIGENTCIO
www.intelligentcio.com