Fastlink, the first mobile operator in Jordan and part of the Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), has created a comprehensive business continuity strategy designed to protect the company’s core data, including billing records and other key customer information, in the event of an unplanned outage. The new infrastructure is provided by EMC Corporation, the world leader in information management and storage.
Fastlink’s Chief Information Officer, Medhat Amer, shared his perspective on the company’s approach to information lifecycle management (ILM) or the ability to cost-effectively manage data from its creation to disposal, at EMC’s annual telecoms summit, which is taking place on March 1-2. Amer joined decision-makers from more than 20 regional telco operators to hear firsthand about EMC’s solution roadmap for the industry.
“The volume of Fastlink’s customer and call data is more than tripling every year, requiring additional capacity to store and manage that information while using it to create tailored customer services,” said Medhat Amer, during his case study at the EMC Telecoms Summit.
“Our new EMC infrastructure has already demonstrated that back-ups and retrieval of information that previously may have taken up to 10 days with our earlier system can now be done in less than 10 hours, yielding considerable cost and time savings,” he added.
Fastlink’s new data management strategy is based on a tiered approach with two main information sites that can be used for ‘failover’ when any unplanned downtime occurs. Using EMC hardware and software to create a storage area network, the mobile operator can now match protection levels to the business value of its data, across its entire lifecycle.
“With our new system, our most vital data is accorded with the highest level of protection in case of a system failure. Less critical data is managed in a more cost-effective but still secure way. Ultimately, customers expect their telecoms operator to be continuously available, and that’s the goal we are achieving through our EMC strategy,” added Fastlink’s Amer.
Amer said Fastlink has succeeded in expanding the scope of its services during the past year and was able to render the mobile phone into the leading means of communications in Jordan, all due to the advanced technologies and services the company has made available to subscribers, based on market studies and the needs of the various sectors.
The EMC solution, delivered to Fastlink in less than three months, includes high-end EMC Symmetrix DMXTM, and mid-range CLARiiONTM hardware as well as software to manage archiving, replication, and email storage. By choosing EMC, Fastlink has joined the ranks of the world’s leading telecoms operators to minimize data loss and reduce operational costs.
“Mobile providers such as Fastlink are under constant pressure to enhance their networks and roll-out new services while reducing operational costs. By moving to an ILM strategy, Fastlink can directly map the cost of managing their growing volumes of data to business realities including service levels and cost levels,” said Mohammed Amin, regional manager of EMC Middle East.
During the two-day telecoms summit, EMC experts showcased the company’s new software for enterprise content management, virtualization, and other offerings for the region’s mobile and fixed-line providers. Attendees also heard commentary from EMC partners such as Nokia, Cisco, and Ciena on topics including network architecture.
“Since our 2005 telecoms summit, EMC has secured new business in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, indicating the robust demand for data management solutions in the communications sector,” Amin added.
Jordan Mobile Telephone Services Company Ltd. "Fastlink", founded in 1995, was the first operator to introduce mobile phone services into Jordan. In just a few years, the company earned its reputation as the most progressive telecom operator in the region in terms of competitiveness and readiness to adopt new technologies and deploy cutting-edge services.
Since its inception, Fastlink has tallied subscriber growth at an exponential rate, with the number of users currently exceeding 2.0 million subscribers. Through more than 1,700 cell sites, Fastlink covers the entire populated area of the Kingdom. In January 2003, Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C. (MTC) acquired Fastlink in what was considered the largest single acquisition in the Middle East area, and the largest private sector investment in Jordan.
About MTC
Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) was founded in 1983 and today is one of the largest mobile operators in the Middle East and Africa, with more than 9.5 million customers in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and 13 countries in Africa. MTC is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
In September 2002, MTC entered into a Partner Network Agreement with Vodafone, the world’s leading mobile community, in Kuwait creating MTC Vodafone Kuwait. In 2003 MTC continued its expansion with the acquisition of 96.4% of Fastlink in Jordan.
MTC’s aspiration did not slow down and in 2003 MTC-Vodafone Bahrain was launched with the first 3G/EDGE nationwide network in the world. In 2004 the MTC Atheer service was launched in Southern Iraq, and today covers Baghdad as well.
2004 also witnessed the government of Lebanon handing over the management of one of two mobile networks (Mic2) to the MTC Group, which is known now as mtc touch.
Most recently in March of 2005 MTC acquired Celtel International, a Dutch communications network company with major interests in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, in one of the biggest telecom deals in the Middle East and Africa worth $ 3.36 billion.
MTC Group now operates in 18 countries. With this deal MTC Group has completed its first phase of its 3x3x3 strategy which entails becoming a global operator with more than 15 million customers by 2011. MTC will continue to expand internationally through acquisitions, partnerships and green-field opportunities.
EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world leader in products, services and solutions for information storage and management that help organizations extract the maximum value from their information, at the lowest total cost, across every point in the information lifecycle. Information about EMC’s products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.
