Oman: Imagine Communications has completed an upgrade project designed to boost the performance and resiliency of Omantel’s contribution and distribution networks. This has seen networking models added to the telecoms company’s Selenio Media Convergence Platform (MCP).
Omantel was the launch customer for Selenio MCP and uses it to operate a network linking 55 sites over dedicated fibre providing HD contribution and distribution services to studios and transmission centres across the country. The same platform also supports backhaul operations for remote productions, including sports and national events. The added networking modules mean the telecoms company’s operations have been moved from outdated transmission technology to Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). The result is real-time video transport based on open standards over both media and telecoms networks.
‘This project to upgrade the network modules is just one way we are striving together to achieve ever better standards of performance,’ said Anas Hantash, director of sales for MENA at Imagine Communications. ‘With this ground-breaking deployment, Omantel is seizing the opportunity that real-time IP connectivity offers, and they are building out a network that takes advantage of the latest in telecoms techniques to deliver very high standards of resilience and consistency. Our Selenio MCP provides the perfect bridge between SDI and IP, as well as telecom and broadcast, ensuring that Omantel’s broadcast customers get the quality and reliability they demand.’
In addition to feeding all terrestrial transmitters in Oman, the telco’s network provides contribution circuits for live broadcasts to the broadcasting centre. Where live coverage is required from a location outside of Omantel’s extensive coverage area, Imagine Communications has provided portable kits to extend the network.
‘Our goal in designing this network was to meet the quality and reliability requirements of our clients in a very cost-effective way, using open telecoms standards,’ said Said Abdullah Al Ajmi, vice president of operations at Omantel. ‘Imagine Communications was our preferred partner as they possess the broadcast technology, the interfaces to telecoms standards, the vision to create the network we sought and the local support to work with us to deliver excellence consistently. The core platform has performed exactly as we had hoped, and we continue to work with Imagine to extend the capabilities to meet our clients’ demands.’
www.imaginecommunications.com