Backhaul Contract in Tanzania

Vodacom Tanzania has awarded a major new radio transmission equipment contract to Cambridge Broadband to backhaul traffic from both mobile and data networks, including GSM, 3G and WiMAX sites.

The VectaStar wireless transmission equipment is currently being deployed, and the backhaul network will be in commercial operation before the end of 2006. Operating in the licensed 10.5GHz spectrum band, the network will cover the areas of Dar Es Salaam, Arusha, Moshi and Mwanza.

Vodacom selected VectaStar for both commercial and technical reasons, as Andre Barnard, Managing Executive for Operations in Vodacom Tanzania, explains: "A single VectaStar base station can simultaneously backhaul traffic from all types of fixed and mobile networks, providing us with a highly cost-effective platform compared to the previously used point-to-point radio systems. In addition, VectaStar's unique statistical multiplexing, Abis optimisation features and point-to-multipoint architecture maximise the amount of traffic that can be carried and make the best use possible of the available radio spectrum."

Vodacom is the market leader in Tanzania, with The Mobile World database reporting that the operator currently has around 2.3 million subscribers."

Posted to the site on 6th September 2006