STC Saudi Arabia increases high speed broadband penetration fivefold

The strategy concentrates first on the three main cities of Riyadh, Jedda and Damman, before moving on in the next step to the other eight cities making up the Saudi Arabian urban landscape. Initial steps by STC to implement the strategy of broadband for all, which commenced in 2005, were very well received, and are today exhibiting strong growth. The low PSTN coverage meant that STC was not burdened with the problem of having to integrate a wide variety of legacy equipment, and so from the start the company adopted a policy of basing its expansion on the use of multiservice access nodes (MSANs), in which all services, typically narrowband POTS for telephony and broadband xDSL are integrated into a single node. This approach is not only more cost-effective, it is a quicker and more even-handed way of providing new services to customers. Although 89 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population of 25 million people is urban, the country’s huge size of more than 2.5 billion square kilometers, and the plan to provide broadband to all, meant that the MSANs, as well as being installed in telephone exchanges, would also have to be provided in outdoor containers able to withstand harsh environmental conditions in order to service rural areas. The containers and the equipment would have to offer the ultimate in ruggedness, and be perfectly reliable, with a long operational lifespan. This is where the Nokia Siemens Networks MSAN product range, backed by the company’s long and profound experience in the provision and service of heavy-duty rugged solutions, came into play.

Nokia Siemens Networks has a long history of providing state-of-the-art equipment specifically designed to operate in some of the world’s most demanding environments. In addition, the company’s NGN fixed access portfolio, strong service setup, and last but not least, its excellent long-term relationship with STC, were instrumental in being awarded, under stiff competition, a contract to supply more than 400 outdoor MSAN shelters.

Implementing an all-inclusive broadband strategy meant that STC would connect every house requiring it to a landline network – a major undertaking. This level of investment meant not only that the MSANs must offer a long lifespan, service capability on the ground had to be first-class, including project management, network design, implementation, system integration and, of course, maintenance support. Moreover, time to market was critical, so the 400 MSAN containers had to be delivered in just four months.

The solution chosen was to implement two versions of the Nokia Siemens Networks hiX5635 MSAN, one being a customized site solution with higher port density, more MDF terminals and backup batteries, and an outdoor shelter version capable of operating in environments of up to 70 degrees Celsius with passive cooling technology, perfectly suited to the challenging environmental conditions in Saudi Arabia. The units were factory pre-configured and tested and the logistics planned down to the last detail to meet the tight delivery requirements, and a full range of professional services was planned to kick in from day one on to guarantee smooth operational rollout and interoperability.

The results were impressive – not only did the Nokia Siemens Networks team deliver and install all 400 MSANs within the four-month deadline; the solution was perfectly matched to the customer‘s network and specifications.

STC’s broadband revenues have jumped sharply due to the more than fivefold rise in penetration from 4 to 22 percent. Capital expenditure has been reduced by shortening the loop length to households, while operational expenditure has been markedly cut due to the hiX5635’s multiservice functionality.

As Mr. Bandar Al-Qafari, General Manager of Network Implementation at STC, says: “It’s a story of success, and it‘s a great partnership between STC and Nokia Siemens Networks.”