IBM Smarter Computing at Vietnam’s Viettel Cameroon

IBM Corporation announced that
telecommunications operator Viettel Cameroon SARL is using an IBM Smarter
Computing solution to enable Cameroon’s 3G infrastructure and provide
high-speed mobile data and voice services.

The new IT platform based on IBM System x servers, IBM Smarter Storage systems
and DB2 software will help provide advanced integrated mobile services to
millions of new Cameroonian subscribers. Viettel Cameroon is a joint venture
between telecommunications companies Vietnam’s Viettel Global and
Bestinver Cameroon and this project will make it the largest telecommunications
company in the country, with 6,000 employees and a network covering 81% of
Cameroon.

"This agreement marks our
significant commitment to Cameroon – the second market in Africa we have
invested in," says Phung Van Cuong, CIO, Viettel Group. "IBM’s rich portfolio of smarter computing
solutions is enabling us to provide next-generation wireless services at much
lower cost."

According to Pyramid Research, in Cameroon mobile phones currently are used
mostly for voice calls and less for advanced data applications, due largely to
infrastructure limitations. However, the introduction of integrated 3G data
services has the potential to attract up to six million new subscribers by
2017.

In Cameroon the population is around 20 million, while the mobile penetration
rate is about 49 percent. Last year, the government of Cameroon granted a new
license allowing Viettel Cameroon to become the third mobile-phone operator to
provide 2G and 3G services.

"The IBM Smarter Computing solution
we are implementing will unleash new types of services in Cameroon,"
said Viettel’s Phung Van Cuong. "Those
include things such as making a video call while surfing the Internet, playing
interactive games with friends wherever they might be, chatting online,
connecting to multimedia apps through tablet devices, or paying for utilities
or parking."

Under the agreement, Viettel Cameroon will provide the IT infrastructure for
these new mobile services with capacity of handling approximately 10TB of
data, and to managing the company’s billing and CRM systems.

The solution consists of IBM System x3850, x3650 and BladeCenter HS23 servers,
IBM Storwize V7000 storage systems, operating with Linux OS and using DB2
software. Viettel Cameroon is working with local business partner SVTech to
install the system.

Viettel Group has been relying on IBM technology for more than ten years, since
Viettel Group was established in 1999 in Vietnam. Beginning in early 2006,
Viettel has invested in markets outside of Vietnam, including
Cambodia, East Timor, Haiti, Laos, Mozambique, Peru, and now, Cameroon.

IBM’s technologies have consistently supported Viettel’s
expansion efforts by helping its clients transform, grow and become more
competitive, using a wide range of IBM’s offerings, including Power and System
x servers, Smarter Storage systems, and DB2 software. Having invested more than
$400 million in Cameroon, Viettel Group aims to expand to another 10-15
countries to cover a market of one billion users by 2020, with an average
revenue growth rate of 20% per year.