2010 World Cup shows off MTN network

The 2010 World Cup has provided MTN, as the first African global sponsor, with the opportunity to showcase its network, solutions, and ability to meet the high demands of one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

“Throughout the month-long festival of football, we have been able to manage the entire network in-house with specially developed MTN network management systems. This has seen us make on-the-fly network adjustments based on user behaviour and traffic patterns to ensure the highest possible service levels to our discerning customers and international visitors,” says Sameer Dave, Chief Technology Officer at MTN South Africa.

All through the tournament, the MTN network carried approximately one terabyte of traffic in locations like stadia, airports, and fan parks. Additionally, MTN customers accounted for approximately 590 million SMSes and 10 million MMSes in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup.

The MTN network also catered for over 250 000 international roaming customers during the event.

While continuing to provide top-class voice, data, and SMS services to its customers during normal operations, the MTN network was also used to provide connectivity to Visa point of sale devices and ATM machines at the host stadia. It did so without experiencing any network problems during the month-long festival of football.

“Such has been the success of the MTN network that we have already been approached by several international operators to provide guidance for telecommunication operations at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. I can proudly state that we provided championship class quality across all products and services,” says Dave.

“We fulfilled the promise we made to our local customers and international visitors by providing a seamless network experience during the 2010 World Cup. This prestigious event highlighted the strength of our staff, our in-house solutions, and our commitment to quality service. The role played by the Network team to provide top class telecommunication services has been the key success factor for this mega month long event,” concludes Dave.