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4.1.2.
Network and Coverage
In recent years, VIVACOM’s development is based on a
clear and long-term strategy: to offer its clients what it
canactuallydo. Forthedifferent networkswithwhichthe
company operates, it means a smooth and evolutionary
upgrade with the latest technology on the market. The
company’s management approach has always been
geared towards promptly and effectively meeting the
needs of the market, while investing in innovations and
solutions for the future.
In 2018, the focus in the mobile segment remained on
high-speed data transfer and wider coverage of the
population. Our consistent and long-term efforts in this
direction were also appreciated by world-class industry
analysts. After having been the winner of the Ookla
Award for the fastest mobile network for the whole of
2017, VIVACOM has also been recognized for the fastest
mobile network in Bulgaria for the third quarter of 2018,
according to an analysis of Speedtest Intelligence®
of Ookla® . The popular mobile application for speed
measurement collects information from real user tests
and gives its assessment based on their analysis.
And because for us is important not only the high
quality of the network but also its good coverage on
the territory of the country, we continued to work on its
development in this direction as well. At the end of the
year, we also received the measurement results of one
of the international leaders in the field – Global Wireless
Solutions (GWS). According to their December 2018
report, VIVACOM 4G network once again had the highest
coverage by population in Bulgaria – 99.25% .
In 2018, the company made a significant innovation
in its fourth-generation network – building on the 4G
technology in 4.5G or LTE Advanced. This provides
telecom’s customers with higher download speeds from
the Internet – up to 150 Mbps for download. Users need
only to use a smartphone that supports LTE Advanced.
The 4.5G network started in April in five major cities –
Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Russe and Stara Zagora, and by
the end of the year a total of 615 settlements across the
country were covered with the new technology.
All efforts of the company to modernize the mobile
network are a step towards the next major revolution –
5G. Technologically speaking, VIVACOM is ready to meet
the challenges of the fifth-generation network expected
to be available in Bulgaria for end-users in 2020-2021.
In 2019, we are even ready to launch the first private
industrial 5G network.
For now, what keeps the development of the new
technology is the allocation of the frequency spectrum
by the state among the different operators, as well
as the over-rigid construction regime that treats the
replacement of the old with new equipment at the
base stations, such as a construction of an entirely new
infrastructure.
In the provision of fixed services in the past year, the
focus continued to be high-speed broadband Internet
and interactive television. For this purpose, the company
is investing in the development of its optical network
(FTTx – Fiber To The x). With it in 2018 two new cities –
Russe and Bansko –were covered, so a total of 1,182,000
households in 25 cities have the opportunity to use
optical Internet and IPTV. And 296,304 households in
another 112 smaller settlements have access to modern
fixed services thanks to the network built using FTTc
technology (Fiber To The curb).
Throughout the year, the IPTV service itself was
upgraded, so users in 2019 enjoy an even friendlier
interface and more options for interactivity in content.
The high quality of each service has always been of
an utter importance for VIVACOM. That’s why we are
also concentrating on improving our satellite TV, and
in 2018 we have been running a large-scale systemic
preparation for switching to a new satellite in 2019. The
planned relocation aims to improve both signal quality
and wider terrestrial coverage of the service.
The company does not underestimate also its fixed
telephony network, with which it has begun to operate
on the market as a telecom. The efforts there are mainly
aimed at optimizing the electricity it consumes. Older
TDM technologies are being upgraded with the newer
Next Generation Network (NGN), which leads to lower
electricity consumption, smaller occupied zones, and
optimized transport infrastructure.
One of the key objects in VIVACOM’s large-scale
technology infrastructure – the Plana satellite station
– is also being constantly modernized. The teleport,
through which we broadcast radio and television
signals and satellite data, already transmits over 200 TV
channels on three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.
In 2018, we renewed the Head-end TV channel system
and invested in a new VSAT HUB platform to provide
satellite Internet on ships. The Plana Teleport is already
certified by the World Teleport Association (WTA) at
Tier 3 level, making it one of the 27 certified teleports in
the world and ensuring customers the highest level of
service and reservation. The Plana Teleport is in active
preparation for certification at the maximumTier 4 level.
The large number of networks and systems operated
by VIVACOM requires serious integration with them,
as well as ongoing support to work as one platform
and our customers to get their services seamlessly.
Facing the case that on the market there is no such
comprehensive system for managing such a multi-
component infrastructure, we come to the decision
to develop one. As a result, we created our own OSS
environment or Operational Support System. Through it,
we manage both the physical infrastructure and devices
on the network, as well as the services built on them.
For example, if we see a malfunction in a component of
the network, we immediately know which services are
affected and we can inform their users. Conversely, if we
find a problem in any end-to-end service, we uniquely
identify the network elements that are involved in
delivering it, and we resolve the issue in a very short
time.
Our research has shown that such a comprehensive OSS
environment does not exist not only on the Bulgarian
market but also on the international one. That is why,
in the beginning of 2019, together with Italtel as our
global partner, we presented it to the world’s largest
technology forum, held in Barcelona, Spain – the MWC
(Mobile World Congress).
Technologically, VIVACOM’s achievements are the result
of both the strategic approach of top management and
the policy of permanent and long-term investment, as
well as of the team of high technical expertise. The Chief
Technical Directorate is one of the largest units in the
company, where every year a lot of effort is made to
maintain high quality in the creation and maintenance
of services. There is no other company in our country
with such a large own resource of people for network
and service maintenance. This enables us to follow a
unified standard of quality and fulfil our commitments
to customers across the country. For this purpose, each
year, more than 1,500 employees from the Directorate
undertake a series of training sessions not only to
increase their professional qualification but also to
develop the so called ‘soft skills’ to work with clients.
Radoslav Zlatkov,
Chief Technology Officer and Member of the Managing Board
of VIVACOM:
‘2018 was one of the most successful for VIVACOM in terms of technology. We
achieved the fastest mobile network in Bulgaria for the third quarter of 2018,
according to Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® information analysis. However,
for us, not only the speed of the mobile broadband is important, but also to
offer quality coverage of services. We worked hard in this direction and the
result was not delayed – VIVACOM’s 4G network had the highest coverage
by population in Bulgaria: 99.25% according to GWS’s December 2018 report.
We have also expanded the number of households with fibre-optic network
coverage, so to offer them high-speed fixed Internet and interactive television.
I believe that these achievements rank us among the technological leaders in
Bulgaria. We will continue to uphold our position as an innovator by developing
and offering technical solutions for the broadband of Things and Smart Cities.
All this is possible thanks to the professionalism, energy and team spirit of all
our employees.’
1
According to Ookla® analysis based on Speedtest Intelligence® data from tests conducted on the territory of Bulgaria in the third quarter of 2018 for average download
speed in the mobile network. Ookla trademarks are used with permission. More information at
www.vivacom.bg.
2
The coverage of 4G technology by population was measured by Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) according to their methodology in the period 15.10–15.11.2018.
ANNUALREPORT
2018
INTEGRATED
4. PERFORMANCE
4.1. Effective
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