Airtel expands capacity and coverage of its mobile network |10 November 2006

 
Capacity increase has been effected by virtue of:

- Number of BTS sites increased from 28 to 35
- Radio Capacity has been increased by over 100% hence network shall be able to take more calls at any point of time for many more years
- Switch capacity has been enhanced keeping next five years’ subscribers additions in mind 
- International Bandwidth has been added to cater for higher international voice traffic and growing Internet bandwidth demand

Coverage:

In 1998, Airtel launched mobile services with 28 base station sites on the 3 main islands, Mahé, Praslin & La Digue.
8 new sites have been added since, as a part of the upgrade to increase the capacity of outdoor radio, which will enable more subscribers to make calls while plugging some ‘black holes’ (area of no coverage).
Some of the new sites cover the other islands besides Mahé, Praslin & La Digue. These sites shall not only provide coverage in new areas but will also eliminate any congestion that was being experienced in certain pockets from time to time on the original 2G network.
New towers and BTS equipment have been set up in the following areas:
 
Port Glaud (Mahé): This new site at a higher altitude will expand coverage to Port Launay & Cap Ternay and cater to the needs of new developments.

Anse Boileau (Mahé): A new site in this district is crucial and will provide coverage where there has been none in the past. Thus residents of this area can benefit from the new services that are to be launched.

Providence (Mahé): This area is potentially a hub of commercial importance with a large number of businesses in both the private sector as well as government. In view of this, the new BTS has been already commissioned with GPRS, EDGE & 3G capabilities to cater to the needs of existing customers as well as new subscribers and enable additions expected in future including the new port in zone 6.

Silhouette: The New BTS Site at Silhouette Island has strengthened the signals & expanded the coverage area to the new Silhouette Resort and to North Island while essentially meeting the requirements for mobile services to the institutions and the population on the island. This site also improves coverage to the coastline along Glacis.

St Anne: A new BTS on St Anne is also being installed to add additional capacity to Victoria and enhancing coverage to coastal areas along the North East Coast and the inner islands such as Cerf Island, Round Island, Moyenne Island and Long Island.

Cousine Island (Off Praslin): With this new BTS Site on the Cousine Island just off Praslin, it is envisaged that coverage will improve all along the coast from Lemuria Resort to Anse Consolation.
 
Sea Coverage: The 2306 BTS from Ericsson installed for Airtel are high capacity, wider footprint devices. The footprint will provide extended coverage in the open sea to benefit cruisers, fishermen & tourists who can stay in touch while at sea not only with voice but also with SMS and MMS and mobile Internet.