Success story

DTAC gained more

GSM customers with the help of
Nokia Siemens Networks
implementation services

To capture market share, DTAC, the second

largest cellular provider in Thailand, needed
to expand its mobile GSM network in a hurry.
At the same time, quality of service to its
current user base had to be maintained in
the heat of intense competition.

“Nokia Siemens Networks helped
us meet the demands of the
market by delivering core switching
elements rapidly. Delivery time
was outstanding and the team was
quick and committed to supporting
our GSM expansion.”
– Khanungdej Triratuprathum,
Unit Head of Network Planning of
DTAC
Mr Khanungdej Triratuprathum,
Unit Head of Network Planning, DTAC
Throughout the first half of the year,
DTAC was running continuous
promotions to keep pace in the
competitive market. The pace was
frenetic, with new promotions being
launched every week. By July,
the total traffic in the network had
almost doubled since the beginning
of the year.
Khanungdej Triratuprathum, Unit
Head of Network Planning of DTAC
says, “This is one of the fastest
growth periods we’ve ever
experienced. Good infrastructure
was needed to handle this rapid
uptake of our services and support
increased user traffic. Our core
switching capacity especially needed
rapid ramping up. Also spare
network capacity was required to
cater for any spikes in user traffic.
“Working through public holidays,
Nokia Siemens Networks staff made
sure that our implementation was on
schedule and at times even ahead
of it. In fact, they worked through
our Thai New Year, the Songkran
festival, sacrificing their time with
their families, in order to deliver our
network within schedule.
“They helped us meet the demands
of the market by delivering core
switching elements rapidly. Delivery
time was outstanding and the team
was quick and committed to
supporting our GSM expansion.”
Rapid delivery and installation
of core switches and base
transceiver stations
Nokia Mobile Switching Center
(MSC) equipment that normally
takes eight weeks to arrive onsite
when unplanned was delivered
within a blazing three weeks. As an
integral component of the GSM
network, the MSC handles control
plane data with the Home Location
Register (HLR) which is the main
database containing the mobile
network subscriber information.
The HLR – containing pertinent
user information such as address,
account status and user preferences
– interacts with the MSC as a
gateway to the Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN).
At the same time, about 10,000
Transceiver Units (TRX), which
transmit and receive radio signals,
were deployed in 1,000 sites across
Thailand within the first half of 2005.
 Challenges
• Expand GSM
network to capture
market share
• Maintain quality of
service to existing
users
Tightly integrated logistic train
Nokia Siemens Networks’
commitment to DTAC allowed us to
deliver three MSCs within three
weeks on an urgent basis where
normally it takes eight weeks. Using
a tightly integrated logistic train,
we closely monitor components that
go into the manufacturing of our
core switches. We can therefore
guarantee and even speed up
delivery of its MSC.
Twenty-one new Base Station
Controllers (BSC) were also
installed in the first half of this year.
BSCs control mobile user data
from the Base Transceiver Stations
(BTS) to supporting nodes. Another
19 expansion upgrades for existing
MSCs and one Networking
Switching Subsystem for the HLR
were also delivered.
As a testament to its commitment to
meet DTAC’s objectives of gaining
market share, all expansion upgrades
ordered before mid-May were
completed within the first half of the
year. “We delivered the equipment
quickly to facilitate the expansion of
their GSM network,” says Suwit
Pruckwattananon, Account Director
at Nokia Siemens Networks.
Copyright © 2007 Nokia Siemens Networks. All rights reserved.
Other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.
Nokia Siemens Networks Corporation, Karaportti 3, FI-02610 ESPOO, Finland
Code: 11332 Nokia Siemens Networks – 06/2007 Indivisual
Solutions
• Mobile Switching Center (MSC)
equipment that normally takes
eight weeks to arrive, was
delivered within three weeks
• 10,000 Transceiver Units (TRX)
were deployed in 1,000 sites
across Thailand within the first
half of 2005
Unrivaled support
DTAC’s own integration team
handled the integration and
performance optimization of the
expanded network. But we assisted
with minor integration between the
BSC and the MSC. “The company
is flexible in its support, stretching it
to include implementation and
integration which is over and above
the delivery and installation of the
MSC,” says Mr Khanungdej
Triratuprathum.
We also provided on-the-job training
for some DTAC staff across different
departments to familiarize them with
the equipment deployed.
Nokia Siemens Networks has
become the sole supplier of DTAC’s
GSM switches since 2003. “They
understand our constraints and can
help us plan for the future. The same
equipment that helped us deploy
for our GSM network can be used
for future upgrade to a WCDMA
network,” says Mr Khanungdej
Triratuprathum.
Benefits
• Fast delivery helped
DTAC keep pace with
rapidly expanding
Thai mobile market
About Thailand
The mobile penetration rate in
Thailand increased significantly
from 5% in 2000 to 62% in 2006.
At the end of 2006, there were
approximately 40 million mobile
customers in the country. As the
cellular market continues to expand
and gain sophistication, DTAC will
continue to be a big player in the
mobile market with Nokia Siemens
Networks’ support.
About Nokia Siemens Networks
Implementation Services
Having delivered more than 500
combined deployment projects
worldwide, our professional
network implementation services
has a solid track record of rapid
delivery. We delivered the world’s
first international cellular mobile
telephone network, NMT, back in
1981 in Scandinavia. Following
this, we introduced the first car
phones for the NMT network.
Leveraging our long delivery
history, we can accelerate the time
taken to make cellular networks
operational. Rapid implementation
improves the utilization of mobile
networks and leads to higher
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
ARPU can be further increased
because we have developed the
expertise to integrate new
technologies into incumbent
networks, including those with
different vendor equipment.
www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com