Orange Slovakia Lights Up 4G LTE Services With Cisco ASR

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - Cisco ( NASDAQ : CSCO ) today announced that leading mobile operator Orange Slovakia has chosen the Cisco® ASR 5000 Series elastic evolved packet core as a central element of its recently launched 4G long-term evolution (LTE) network. By implementing the Cisco ASR 5000 Series, Orange Slovakia intends to multiply its network capacity with minimal incremental investment and bring the user experience much closer to that of wireline connections.

The network elasticity of the Cisco solution will allow Orange Slovakia to transform its architecture and seamlessly migrate mobile data traffic from existing 2G and 3G networks. With this new implementation, Orange Slovakia will be better prepared for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and the Internet of Everything (IoE).

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, global mobile data traffic will increase nearly 11-fold between 2013 and 2018. Mobile data traffic will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 61%, reaching 15.9 exabytes per month by 2018. In Central and Eastern Europe, according to the same study, the growth rate of mobile data traffic will be above the global average with a 13-fold increase. 4G traffic is expected to account for 29% of total mobile data traffic in the region by 2018, compared with 3% at the end of 2013. 

Key Facts/Highlights

• As new devices are connected to mobile networks, they bring new, less predictable traffic patterns. The Cisco ASR 5000 Series is an elastic solution that allocates resources on-demand across transactions, throughput, and sessions over heterogeneous networks. As a result, services such as policy charging and enforcement function (PCEF) and deep packet inspection (DPI) can be supported with high reliability and availability.
• The Cisco ASR 5000 Series combines multiple evolved packet core functions into a single platform, helping the operator significantly reduce total cost of ownership. With the Cisco solution, Orange Slovakia will be able to manage high signaling load more efficiently, better scale for subscriber growth and provide a seamless user experience across various networks, with real-time personalization.
• The Cisco ASR 5000 Series, the industry's leading mobile evolved packet core solution, is designed for carrier-grade SDN and NfV so it can scale to meet the demands of the rapidly growing mobile Internet.

Supporting quotes:

• Eric Maintenay, Deputy CTIO, Orange Slovakia "Our goal has always been to make relevant services available to as many users as possible with minimal barriers. We aim to make the customer experience with Orange the best. That's why Orange has the most mobile data service customers in Slovakia. Thanks to the new technology, we are now able to deliver fast and reliable Internet connectivity to customers, regardless of their locations. More than half of our customers are smartphone users, and this technology will enable them to get the most out of their devices and improve their experiences. Already, 25 percent of the Slovak population can use the 4G network in 13 Slovak towns. By the end of the year, Orange will make its new 4G network available in 24 towns and thus cover almost 30% of the population."

• Rizwan Kara, client managing director, Global Service Provider, Cisco "By transitioning to an LTE network, Orange Slovakia will turn subscriber demands for new applications and always-on connectivity to an opportunity to offer new differentiated services and maximize the return on existing investments. The Cisco ASR 5000 Series helps deliver the performance and intelligence needed for services with a high level of quality and reliability. Further on, it makes the networks ready to address the opportunities of the new era in mobile communications, such as launching small cells and carrier Wi-Fi services for high-quality indoor coverage and services for new vertical markets."

About Orange Slovakia

Orange is a leading telecommunications company and the largest mobile operator in Slovakia. By 30th of June 2014, it had 2.787 million customers using its mobile services and 189,000 customers using a fixed line Internet and digital TV. It provides mobile services through the 2G network, which covers 99.6 % of the population, through the 3G network with a maximum speed of 42 Mbit/s, which is available for almost 80 % of the population, and through the latest generation 4G network, which by the end of 2014 will cover 24 cities representing nearly one third of the population of Slovakia. Orange Slovensko is the first telecommunication operator in Slovakia that launched a state-of-the-art, next-generation network based on FTTH (Fiber To The Home), which currently covers more than 323,000 households in 17 cities. Orange provides fixed-line Internet and digital TV also through DSL technology, which is available in most areas of Slovakia. Orange Slovensko is a holder of the Environmental Management System Certificate according to ISO 14001:2004, as well as the Information Security Certificate according to ISO 27001:2005, with a focus on services in e-commerce and mobile data communications. Within Slovakia it is a leader in the field of CSR and corporate philanthropy, which operates under the umbrella of the Nadácia Orange foundation. The service quality provided by Orange Slovensko meets the criteria of the ISO 9001:2000 certification according to the International Quality Standard. Independent auditors have confirmed that Orange Slovensko has implemented a management system that guarantees to its customers a high-quality, stable and consistent service delivery. Orange is the only company in Slovakia that has achieved six consecutive times a podium ranking in the Company of the Year Award, which is compiled annually by the economic weekly magazine Trend.

The Orange Group owns 100 % shares of Orange Slovensko. For information about Orange Slovensko, please, visit as at www.orange.sk , www.facebook.com/OrangeSlovensko or follow us via Twitter at @orange_sk , or on Orange blog at www.orange.sk/blog .

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