Framework agreement covers 21 operators, 123M+ subscribers across Africa and Middle East

20 July 2010, Newbury, UK– Arieso, a leading provider of location-aware network management solutions for mobile operators, has signed a framework agreement with MTN Group, the multi-national telecoms provider with operating companies in 21 countries across Africa and the Middle East.

The agreement makes Arieso the preferred supplier of software and systems for subscriber-centric network design, planning and optimisation to MTN Group. Under the terms of the agreement, all 21 of MTN’s operating companies can use Arieso’s full suite of mobile network planning and optimisation solutions to manage and improve the performance of their 2G and 3G networks.

Arieso’s mobile network management technologies deliver ongoing business benefits for mobile operators who are experiencing high growth in data traffic, but whose radio network quality is suffering because of insufficient network capacity.  Arieso solutions use location-aware subscriber information to quickly and precisely improve network performance and quality of service to the subscriber, based on actual end-user experience.

Commenting on Arieso’s selection, Navi Naidoo, General Manager of Network Technology at MTN Group, said, “MTN is committed to providing the highest standards of mobile voice and high-speed data services to our customers everywhere. Our rapid growth across different markets – together with the explosion in demand for mobile broadband in Africa and the Middle East - means we need powerful, scalable solutions that help us actively manage and optimize our networks. Arieso’s ground-breaking technology addresses this need, according to end-user requirements and our own CAPEX and OPEX guidelines.”

Arieso solutions enable a mobile operator to monitor and improve network performance on an ongoing basis, according to the precise location of subscribers and their user patterns. In this way, the operator can deliver an optimal mobile end-user experience for its subscribers - wherever they are, whatever they’re doing, in the most effective and cost-efficient way possible.

MTN Group is one of the world’s fastest growing operator groups. It serves more than 123 million 2G and 3G subscribers[1] across 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East - including South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Rwanda, Sudan, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Yemen.

“Our group-wide agreement with MTN is a significant step forward in Arieso’s ongoing global expansion,” said Shirin Dehghan, CEO of Arieso. “This agreement puts Arieso at the heart of some of the world’s most exciting, fast-moving and competitive mobile markets in Africa and the Middle East. We now look forward to working with the various MTN operators to deliver enhanced network performance and improved subscriber experience to all their customers.”

[1] 123,580,000 subscribers as of March 31 2010 (source: MTN Group)