Saudi Telecommunications (STC) partnered with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to provide high-quality voice and data services to millions of pilgrims who took part in the Hajj pilgrimage at Mecca in December. NSN, which is the networks sole GSM and 3G radio supplier at Mecca, stepped up network coverage to provide support for millions of mobile calls made, and millions of text messages sent, during the hajj season.
As millions of pilgrims move through Mashaer, from Mina to Muzdalifah along to Arafat, an area of 15 sq. km, we have to manage a huge surge in subscriber numbers, not to mention the existing customer base, says STC Operations General Manager, Zaid Al-Shabanat. Maintaining the quality of calls while ensuring visiting pilgrims stay connected has never been an easy task, but it is one that we have been able to fulfill with the support of Nokia Siemens Networks for close to a decade now.
NSNs association with the Hajj pilgrimage can be traced back to 2001, when the company it was tasked by STC to build the network of Mecca to accommodate heavy Ramadan traffic. Today, the equipment extending to most of the key pilgrim areas has resolutely stood the test of peak hour traffic that ranges to a phenomenal two million erlangs* during hajj period. (*Non-tecchies, see Google for an explanation Ed)
The Hajj runs for two weeks. When the pilgrimage is over, 90% of the network is drawn down, going off air. This means that every year, dedicated teams for network planning, optimization, and implementation must be deployed to get the sites on air and optimize the network prior to pilgrims arrival. First line maintenance and network monitoring teams must be deployed very quickly, and the network must be geared up to handle high traffic generated by pilgrims moving in three different areas. To complicate an already daunting challenge, the Network Implementation team has a very small time window to work in. Coping with such overwhelming high-density traffic in such a confined geographical space requires robust equipment and reliable performance under critical conditions, especially in the radio network, says NSN.
To accommodate this traffic load, STC implemented a software solution developed by NSN, enabling STC to improve call processing and boost Base Station Controller performance by solving unforeseen problems. The proactive maintenance is an engineered service that prevents possible faults from causing harm to the network performance and improves network quality and maintenance efficiency.
24/7 field teams maintained the network around the clock, with non-stop monitoring and remote support services underpinning their efforts. With this network supervision, as well as the ability to tune network parameters and optimize sites on the fly, they succeeded in minimizing blocked and congested cells.
Every year, the pilgrimage generates an unprecedented amount of traffic and a disproportionate tele-density during the period it lasts, says Ali Damiri, Head of Saudi, Levant and Iran sub-region for Nokia Siemens Networks. The onus is on us to rise to the challenge and we are constantly looking at ways to innovate and improve our solution to help STC manage the massive influx, such as offering localized service support to our flexible BSS Software System.