COMPANY, COUNTRY

Success story

Digicel Suriname reduces opex and upgrades service with MINI-LINK

smartSavings

Digicel, Suriname

Success story

Digicel Suriname reduces opex and provides higher quality service through installation of state-of-the-art MINK-LINK TN in the remote village of Benzdorp.

Digicel was the first operator to bring full GSM

mobile coverage to Benzdorp, Suriname, a

village located in the middle of the rainforest

near the border with French Guyana.

Benzdorp is a gold mining site with very basic

infrastructure and difficult environmental

conditions. Satellite transmission has been

replaced by Ericsson’s MINI-LINK TN, providing

Digicel with both operational expenditure

(opex) savings and better quality service.

Satellite swap-out

In 2007, Ericsson installed an RBS 2116 in

Benzdorp to provide coverage to the site;

however, the only possible transmission

method available at that time was satellite.

Satellite availability in the region was poor,

due to adverse climate conditions, while

power consumption was very high, as

the satellite station ran on a diesel-fueled

generator. To address these issues, Digicel and

Ericsson jointly designed a new transmission

solution using MINI-LINK TN.

As Ericsson is the sole supplier of Digicel

Suriname (for both microwave and GSM),

the company’s MINI-LINK TN was a natural

selection based on its proven performance in

tough environments.

Making the long hop

The major challenge was connecting 98.2

kilometers over dense rainforest, with just one

hop, from the existing MINI-LINK TN/Marconi

LH network to the new site in Benzdorp.

Phillip van Dalsen, CEO of Digicel Suriname,

explains, “In our case, MINI-LINK TN enables

best-in-class transmission, allowing Digicel to

enhance smartphone services and improve

the end-user experience with fewer delays and

better quality calls. This was not previously

possible with satellite transmission.”

Shivendra Nautiyal, Digicel Suriname CTO,

says, “We are very proud of this achievement,

as it provides significant opex savings, as

well as improves the system availability and

quality, which was quite poor with the satellite

solution. We are proud to have link a of 98.2

kilometers in the middle of the Amazon

rainforest — one of the longest MINI-LINK TN

links in the region.”

Smart savings

Installing MINI-LINK TN means big savings for

Digicel. Luiz Cabral, Digicel Suriname Account

Manager, explains, “The replacement of the

satellite station with MINI-LINK TN will reduce

power consumption by at least 95%.” Digicel

Customer ProfileAfter nine years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is known for delivering value, service and network. As a core value, Digicel believes in giving back to the community with involvement in bringing communications to a number of medical and educational programs.

Website: www.digicelsuriname.com

long distanceconnections

MINI-LINK TNenables best-in-class transmission, allowing Digicel to enhance smart-phone servicesand improve theend-user experience.”

Phillip van Dalsen,Chief Executive Officer,Digicel Suriname

Ericsson ABSE-164 80 Stockholm Telephone: +46 10 719 0000Email: asq.us@ericsson.com www.ericsson.com

EN/LZT 138 0468 R1A© Ericsson AB 2010

will see further savings in opex, since fuel is

carried to the diesel-generator powered site

via a complex logistics involving water and air

transport (the site is unreachable over land).

Additionally, Digicel will no longer incur

satellite rental costs.

Digicel Suriname’s partnership with Ericsson

continues to be marked by innovation in

solving telecommunications issues, whether

it be solar-powered base station sites or

long-distance hops over the country’s dense

rainforest. “As usual, our relationship with

Ericsson is one based on a high level of

professionalism and a great partnership for

over three years,” van Dalsen states.

real IMPACTSMINI-LINK is a unique microwave transmission

node, handling single hops and access sites as

well as advanced hub sites for large networks,

savings.

MINI-LINK is a high performance radio link

with high capacities and high availability.

MINI-LINK’s best-in-class radio output power

provides longer hops with smaller antennas.

The replacement ofthe satellite station with MINI-LINK TN will reduce powerconsumption byat least 95%.”Luiz Cabral,Account Manager, Ericsson

OVERVIEW

CUSTOMER:

Digicel Suriname

CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE

> Replace satellite transmission

> Lower operating costs

> Upgrade communications quality

ERICSSON SOLUTION

> MINI-LINK TN

CUSTOMER BENEFITS

> Reduced opex

> Increased quality for end users

> Enhanced data services

To �nd out more about this article, contactLuiz Roberto Cabral Email: luiz.cabral@ericsson.com