Tunisian mobile operator, Tunisiana has modernized its GPRS core network following an upgrade contract which wa­s awarded to Nokia Siemens Networks. The company installed its Flexi ISN, which performs GPRS Gateway Service Node (GGSN) and data charging functionalities, and is fully integrated with the existing Nokia Siemens Networks charge@once prepaid solution to enable flexible charging of data services.

With the introduction of Flexi ISN, Tunisiana is able to combine all in one box a GGSN and an Intelligent Charging Node. The deployed Flexi ISN 3.1 system is able, through deep packet inspection, to distinguish the type of traffic such as HTTP browsing, WAP browsing, MMS, streaming, content download thus enabling different charging models based on the type of data service used.

"The Flexi ISN offered by Nokia Siemens Networks will enable us to take a step forward in the way we innovate, giving us greater flexibility in delivering advanced data packages for existing and new services. It enabled us reducing CAPEX and OPEX by combining both GGSN and charging session control all in one box” said Jalel Kamoun, VAS and Prepaid director at Tunisiana.

Additionally, Nokia Siemens Networks provides 100% of Tunisiana’s core services and 40% of Radio Access services.

"We are pleased to have met Tunisiana’s demand for a powerful and cost-effective solution to deploy in its network," said Houssem Eddine Ben Othman, Country Director for Tunisia, Nokia Siemens Networks. "We look forward to a continued cooperation with Tunisiana, providing world class technology while bringing significant cost savings and a clear evolution in next generation networks.”

Tunisiana is owned by Orascom Telecom - and figures from the Mobile World subscriber tracker reports that the operator ended the first half of this year with just under 3.9 million customers - and a market share of 48%.

Source:cellular-news