Alcatel-Lucent has been tasked with revamping network operations for Chorus in New Zealand under a five-year managed services agreement.
Terms of the contract will see the French tech giant deliver round-the-clock monitoring and analysis of the operator’s nationwide copper and fibre wholesale networks.
As a result of the agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will turnaround Chorus’ network operations from legacy systems and processes to the latest proactive and real time monitoring and analysis tools to ensure the delivery of consistently high service quality for customers.
Both parties have today confirmed that the services will be led from a new network operation centre in Hamilton, New Zealand - with more than 40 specialised staff.
“Working with Alcatel-Lucent, we are transforming our systems to facilitate future growth while ensuring we are equipped to deliver the highest quality of service and customer satisfaction,” says Ewen Powell, Chief Technology Officer, Chorus.
“Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise in managed services will provide us with new levels of insight across our network of local exchanges, cabinets and copper and fibre cables, elevating our capability to deliver the future of telecommunications for New Zealand.”
The agreement comes after the New Zealand government laid out plans to upgrade the country’s telecommunications infrastructure through the Ultra-Fast Broadband and Rural Broadband Initiatives.
As outlined by Communications Minister Amy Adams, the plans aim to satisfy growing demand for data connectivity, with fibre-based ultra-broadband fixed access networks connecting 75 percent of the population and wireless connectivity for the remaining rural population.
Chorus owns New Zealand’s nationwide copper network infrastructure and is currently deploying a fibre network infrastructure that will deliver ultra-fast broadband in partnership with the New Zealand government to 830,000 homes and businesses.
Under the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will use its managed services expertise to provide Chorus with insight into its network operations in an attempt to “drive down costs”.
“Chorus is rapidly transforming New Zealand’s legacy telecommunications infrastructure to a world-leading platform that will support the nation’s future innovation, and social and economic development,” adds Sean O’Halloran, President and Managing Director, Alcatel-Lucent Oceania.
“Drawing on Alcatel-Lucent’s outstanding global expertise and local presence, Chorus can now proactively manage networks to drive continuous improvement - even as demand and traffic rises.
“Our on-tap, experienced local and global teams can draw upon proven tools, systems and processes to proactively improve network availability while lowering costs.”
O’Halloran says the new Hamilton facility will work closely with Alcatel-Lucent’s global network operations centre in Bangalore, India, to provide round-the-clock real-time network monitoring to prevent faults, improve network availability and reduce network incidents to ensure continuous service quality.
For O’Halloran, this will allow Chorus to meet the challenges of increasing demand and to deliver ‘better broadband’ to retail service providers, homes, schools and businesses in New Zealand.
The agreement with Chorus reinforces a long-standing collaboration between the companies, with Alcatel-lucent already a supplier of fixed ultra-broadband access technology for the Chorus Ultra-Fast-Broadband Network.