18th November, 2008, Leatherhead, UK & Mobile Asia Congress, Macau  – AIRCOM International, the leading independent network planning and optimisation consultancy,  today announced that it has been selected by Indonesia’s AXIS, to support the operator’s drive for increased penetration across the country.   

AXIS is the country’s newest network operator, having rolled out GSM cellular services across Java,  Bali, Lombok and Sumatra in 2008.  It is now rapidly expanding its 2G and 3G networks to major market and population centres throughout Indonesia, and has purchased the CONNECT microwave planning tool from AIRCOM’s ENTERPRISE suite to support the expansion. 

CONNECT will provide additional site visibility across the AXIS microwave network, meaning it will be able to rapidly plan and optimise single or entire network links in both its 2G and 3G networks. 

“It is our mission to provide the Indonesian public with innovative and affordable wireless communications services that can be accessed right across the country, at any time of day,” says Ikrema Hamzah, Head of Transmission Planning at AXIS.  “In order to do this, we needed additional expertise that could help us plan our expansion quickly, without having an adverse effect on the service provided to our existing customers.  As existing users of AIRCOMs radio planning tool, ASSET, we knew we could depend on AIRCOM to deliver a competitive, reliable solution.”
 
With AXIS offices distributed throughout Indonesia, remote access to the database was a necessary requirement to support the network expansion.  With AIRCOM’s unique single database, Axis engineers can gain remote access from anywhere in the world, meaning any discrepancies from transferring data between islands is immediately eliminated.  This gives AXIS the clearest view possible of its nationwide network.

Commenting on the deal, Nick Brown Managing Director, Asia Pacific at AIRCOM said: “With AXIS set to expand rapidly across the Indonesian archipelago, its biggest challenge will be maintaining service delivery while ensuring transmission networks are optimised to protect fragile financial margins.  With CONNECT integrated into the networks, AXIS will be able to plan every minor detail of its expansion and drive efficiency by removing unnecessary costs.  We look forward to working with them to deliver top-drawer communication services across the country.”

Implementation of CONNECT into the AXIS network is already underway, with engineer training set to be conducted later this month.