Siemens Communications and Proximus (Belgacom Mobile), Belgium’s largest mobile operator, have just extended their cooperation for the development of Proximus’ network in the long term: Siemens will handle the modernisation and evolution of the operator’s core network towards a release 4 systems rchitecture,
the latest network architecture standard, allowing optimal organization of network traffic.
In a first step, Proximus will introduce the Siemens High-performance PowerMSC (Mobile Switching Center). This will enable Proximus to reduce the current number of network
elements. This consolidation will result in substantial operational cost savings for Proximus. In a next step, Proximus will migrate its existing Home Location Register (HLR) base towards Siemens’ next generation HLR innovation platform. The HLR base is the database that contains all the subscriber details, such as phone numbers, accompanying services and the current location. Currently, this base is switch-based. The new platform is server-based: updates or product innovations can be carried out in as short as one night. Similarly, queries e.g. about the usage of foreign mobile networks, will only take a few seconds to be answered. The new system will provide Proximus with superior capabilities for service provisioning and improved customer care support.
In the final implementation phase, Proximus will introduce Siemens’ next generation, ATCA-based media gateway to complete the step-change to a full release 4 architecture.
In this architecture, the existing PowerMSC will evolve to full fletched MSC Servers, centrally handling call control, whereas the actual traffic is handled decentralized by the state-of-the-art ATCA mobile media gateways. In this way, Proximus is taking the first giant step towards benefiting from voice and data network convergence synergies, which are currently creating exciting, new opportunities for hybrid multimedia services.
Besides its innovative products, Siemens will also deliver added value services for installation and commissioning, integration and migration as well as for project management
and support. Laurent Claus, CTO of Proximus said: “Our aim is to maintain leadership in network quality and services in Belgium. And that is precisely why a trusted partner like Siemens – which thinks along with us and which wants to continue innovating – is so crucial for us.”
Christoph Caselitz, President of the Mobile Networks division at Siemens Communications, said: “We have been a major supplier of Proximus since the very first day of their operations, back in 1994. We are very pleased that Proximus has acknowledged that we share the same vision on how the core network is set to evolve over the next few years.”