We are glad to meet you at the first edition of Gitex in Africa! Why did you decide to exhibit and what are you showcasing?
As soon as telecom world celebrates the launch GITEX AFRICA here in Morocco and PROTEI is actively developing African markets, it’s a great opportunity to us to be integrated in tech ecosystem across 80 countries.
We are interested in presenting our solutions to motivate digital transformation of this big continent.
In addition to our traditional portfolio targeted to mobile operators (like mobile network core, signalling FW, roaming platforms and others) we are proposing private LTE/5G bundle which is addressed to any industry.
Can you tell us more about Protei’s core network components and how they contribute to network modernization and upgrades?
Protei already is known in some African countries among mobile operators as a core network solutions provider, and on GITEX we are glad to present our traditional core network and packet core solutions for 2G/3G/4G networks that we already deployed in Namibia, Gambia, Guinea Equatoriale, DRC, Sierre-Leone, Uganda, Mauritania, Niger and other countries.
Network modernization in Africa is now quite active, first because the networks were not upgraded as often (and for the elements of the network core it is critical), and secondly, because operators in the region as well as in other countries want to offer their customers innovative services, such as IMS, VoIP calls, 5G services, etc.
We are pleased to announce that PROTEI core network solutions are 5G ready.
DARIA OBUKHOVA
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
How does Protei support telecom operators in transitioning to the next generation of modern 5G networks?
So far we are receiving requests from operators for 5G NSA option due to the resource-intensive and expensive deployment of the 5G SA network. However, the development of 5G SA core architecture is also underway and we are already ready to offer a number of components to our customers.
What are the main challenges that telecom operators face when upgrading their networks, and how does Protei address these challenges?
The main difficulty operators face when upgrading networks is the compatibility of network elements. The fact is that vendors in the development of their solutions often cease to support outdated technologies, protocols, interfaces. This, of course, makes it difficult to integrate new systems into the existing infrastructure, components of which certainly remain during the modernization. For example, launching LTE network you cannot disable 2G services, because many subscribers still use quite simple mobile devices that support only basic calls, SMS, USSD commands.
Working on the world telecom arena for more than 20 years, PROTEI has gained enough experience to know how to avoid these difficulties
DARIA OBUKHOVA
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Besides, many vendors use proprietary scenarios, interfaces and protocols in their solutions.
Working on the world telecom arena for more than 20 years, PROTEI has gained enough experience to know how to avoid these difficulties. For example, in Namibia we implemented a project to replace one of the network core nodes in 2 weeks, despite the fact that we had to support proprietary protocol integration with the operator’s billing.
Can you provide any examples or success stories of how Protei’s core network components have been implemented and benefited telecom operators or industry automation projects?
My previous example referred to telecom operators, so let me comment on industry automation projects. We already deployed our core network solutions for several industrial customers like mining companies, sea ports, oil and gas industry, couple of projects in logistics and heavy metal industry.
We see that various industries are coming to digitalization in different prospectives, as they need to provide industrial safety on the objects (perimeter safety, cameras, etc.), they need to monitor the operation (various sensors, telemetry devices, etc.), comply with specific network KPI (handovers, failures, etc.) and many other specific tasks.
That’s why besides core network components our Private LTE/5G portfolio includes Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk, which is highly demanded and is in the scope of almost every project because it operates with any devices and IP-terminals supporting MCPTT standards, and Connectivity management platform supporting rich functionality specially tailored to serve M2M devices and answer demands of varied IoT projects.
As the construction of private 5G networks is of increasing interest for industry automation and digitalization of processes, we will certainly move in this direction to be able to offer our customers, including in Africa, reliable modern solutions.
DARIA OBUKHOVA
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
What is Protei’s approach to innovation and staying ahead of the competition in the rapidly evolving telecom industry?
We try to follow technology developments, read GSMA publications and changes in telecom standards.
Besides, we are very attentive to the demands of the market, to the needs of our customers. For example, when people started travelling after COVID restrictions, we understood that operators require sophisticated platforms to manage these roaming streams. And we were ready to offer.
Looking into the future, what exciting developments or advancements can we expect from Protei?
As I have already mentioned we are trying to evolve with the technology. As the construction of private 5G networks is of increasing interest for industry automation and digitalization of processes, we will certainly move in this direction to be able to offer our customers, including in Africa, reliable modern solutions.
