Setting the Scene
Nokia had been awarded a contract for the provision of a turnkey solution for a New Zealand cellular carrier. This included provisioning the broadcast infrastructure as well as elements of the switching infrastructure.

However at the time of being awarded the contract Nokia did not have the resources at hand to undertake the job within the tight timetable set by the customer therefore they required a partner to work with them on the project.

The Challenge
The partner needed to have the skills and expertise to assist with the project management and to assist with the implementation of the new network infrastructure.

They also needed to be adept at implementing a stringent testing regime to satisfy the customer's requirements. All activities had to be completed within a pre-arranged timetable.

The challenge of the terrain couldn't be under-estimated. Not only was the weather extremely difficult during the deployment period, access to sites, many of which were accessible only via helicopter made the project subject to many additional external planning stages.

It went without saying that each implementation had to be completely successfully the first time as the cost of redoing a deployment would adversely impact on the project costs and timetable.

Infratel's Role
Thanks to Infratel's intimate understanding of all aspects of how a mobile network operates the team assigned was able to provide the skills and expertise required and effectively worked as an extended part of the Nokia team. A common project management methodology was deployed which allowed the job to be completed on time and on budget despite very trying circumstances caused by unseasonably bad weather.

Benefits for Nokia
A vendor such as Nokia cannot justify having specialist technical staff on call in Australia and New Zealand to roll out intensive projects such as the one described here.

Being able to leverage Infratel's expertise, skills and resources as and when they require them is highly cost effective for companies such as Nokia. They have the peace of mind that they can manage high end contracts when working in partnership with Infratel. It's a win:win for all parties involved.