Airtel strengthens network with new green Data Centre

Lagos, May 9, 2012: To enhance network and billing services to its customers, leading telecommunications services provider Airtel Nigeria Wednesday commissioned a new state of the art data centre in Lagos.

The “next generation Data Centre”, according to Airtel Networks Limited Chairman Dr. Oba Otudeko, CFR, “is the biggest Data Centre in Airtel Africa with 20, 000 square feet of equipment space and goes live with multiple back-ups in terms of power and redundancy for delivering seamless service to the millions of Airtel subscribers in Nigeria”.

Dr.Otudeko cut the tape to declare the Data Centre open in the presence of Bharti Airtel Group CEO for Africa, Mr. Manoj Kohli and Airtel Nigeria MD/CEO, Mr.Rajan Swaroop. Also present were top executives of implementation partners including Ericcson, Astera Engineering and Resourcery Plc.

The Airtel data centre is the first full pre-terminated copper and fiber fabric cabling system for a data centre in the whole of Africa. The environmentally friendly project is based on the CommscopeSystimax Cabling system.

Otudeko described the Data Centre as “the intelligence nerve centre of our network, which also provides redundancy to ensure that the network performs unhindered even in times of crisis.” He said the investment in the Data Centre is part of the commitment of Airtel Nigeria to “building a world class network so as to recapture the leadership of the market, and ultimately become the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians”.

Airtel Nigeria last year began deploying solar powered generators to power its masts and ensure both minimal interruption as well as environmentally friendly power management for network maintenance. Airtel also recently launched its 3G network to improve Internet service delivery.

Speaking further on the company's commitment, Otudeko stated, “Our 3.75G network, which is the widest and the best in Nigeria, among other ground-breaking products and services, is an eloquent testimony to our firm resolve to dictate the pace of innovation and value creation in the Nigerian telecommunications market.”