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Redefining managed services

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Pravin
New Update

Recently, Reliance Communications and Alcatel-Lucent entered a long-term billion dollar contract to improve network performance and customer experience by offering next-generation telecom solutions across multiple devices and platforms. It is the first of its kind, end-to-end network managed services contract aimed at delivering superior customer experience in eastern and southern India to meet the fast evolving customer demand for communications applications and services in one of the world's most dynamic telecom markets.

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As part of the deal, Alcatel-Lucent will enhance Reliance Communication's operations, and synergize hitherto independent wireless and wireline teams to form a single network management organization. This optimized integration of resources will help Reliance Communications to strengthen its focus on growing its business, with top-of-the-line services to customers. Alcatel-Lucent will drive a standardization of the tools, processes, and best practices that are applied across RCom's businesses.

The contract which extends RCom's existing relationship with Alcatel-Lucent for over $1 bn, will deliver world-class, seamless voice and data communications services to RCom customers. It will also help RCom to trim down its operations and increase network quality.

To enable the new model, Alcatel-Lucent will setup and operate next-generation OSS (operations support systems) services such as benchmarking and radio frequency coverage testing, and service delivery management and introduce advanced real-time optimization tools to improve network performance across Relianceâ??s wireless, wireline, long-distance, fiber and utilities' functions.

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India's first end-to-end managed services contract incorporating wireless, wireline, enterprise, and national long distance network

Movement of 4,000 employees from RCom to Alcatel-Lucent will be completed by March, 2013

End-to-end managed services contract will help in reducing costs and enhancing customer experience

 

The Responsibilities

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Alcatel-Lucent will also be responsible for network performance and ultimately service quality, with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction and retention. RCom and Alcatel-Lucent will work together to create the pathway required by the emerging demands for data-driven and multiple device-led usage of communication solutions and applications by Indian telecom customers.

"We are happy to announce our new partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, which is a transformative leap from the limited scope and vision of traditional outsourcing of services" -Gurdeep Singh, chief executive officer,wireless business, Reliance Communications

"With an explosion in data usage, whereby video is estimated to soon exceed 60% of all network traffic, it is expected that the growth of internet based applications for smartphones will only exacerbate the already intensive use of networks"-Vinish Bawa, head, business development, services, Alcatel-Lucent India

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Commenting on the partnership, Gurdeep Singh, chief executive officer, wireless business, Reliance Communications says, â??We are happy to announce our new partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, which is a transformative leap from the limited scope and vision of traditional outsourcing of services. This will enable Reliance Communications to take the lead in offering next-generation telecom solutions that will meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, and help them to transit from voice-led usage to a seamless data experience across multiple devices and platforms.â??

Rajeev Singh-Molares, president, Asia-Pacific, Alcatel-Lucent says, "This business association is an extension of our long-standing relationship with Reliance Communications, and our commitment to India. It also demonstrates our renewed focus on managed services as we apply greater selectivity on more value-added contracts. The enormous scope of this agreement will bring a wide variety of skills, expertise and hands-on know-how that we can leverage for the benefit of others."

Speaking on the area covered by the deal, Singh says, "This deal covers half the country with 2 regions (South and East) and covers several A category telecom circles including cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata."

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"This is not a traditional managed services contract and the Reliance think-tank has spent considerable time in creating a new partnership model, which will be the industry first in leveraging Reliance core competencies and that of the partner and as a part of this relation, we will be setting new benchmarks in customer experience as well as be offering new services to our target market," Singh comments.

This is first time that national long distance network and access network (enterprise) is being outsourced to deliver world-class service delivery and assurance performance. This will help enterprise customers to deploy flexible data services as per their convenience.

Speaking on the deal, Vinish Bawa, head, business development, services, Alcatel-Lucent India says, "Traditional managed services contracts measure discreet network-level performance, fault, and incident management services, which are no longer adequate to assure end-user satisfaction with services. This contract is about creating a platform for experience innovation, which is driven on delivering business objectives across disjointed and discreet parts of the network, which is wireless, wireline, long distance, and infrastructure."

â??With an explosion in data usage, whereby video is estimated to soon exceed 60% of all network traffic, it is expected that the growth of internet based applications for smartphones will only exacerbate the already intensive use of networks,â?? adds Bawa.

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Strategic Agreement

The transition of 4,000 people from RCom to Alcatel-Lucent will be completed within the next 90 days. This optimized integration of resources will open new avenues for existing employees to move from one organization to another seamlessly, offering them global opportunities with Alcatel-Lucent.

This strategic agreement will give Reliance Communications the unique capability to proactively assure a high quality and consistent experience for customers regardless of device or type of connection.

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"In the north and west circles, Reliance continues to operate the rest part of the network but will announce a new partner with a similar scope which will manage the north and west circles," comments Gurdeep.

Alcatel-Lucent will also be responsible for network performance and ultimately service quality, with the goal of increasing customer satisfaction and retention. The company will also work closely with Reliance Communications to identify opportunities to introduce new services and expand existing businesses to help realize the full potential of its network. One needs to see how this deal will help RCom increase its voice and data subscribers across different circles and also helps in increasing its revenue in the long run.

Highlights

                                                                                                            Pravin Prashant

                                                                                            pravinp@cybermedia.co.in

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