Nokia touches millions of lives during Hajj

More than 2.44 million calls were attempted during peak hours, and the traffic density was 22% higher this year compared to 2005. Despite this, nearly every pilgrim who attempted a call, even during the busiest times, reached his or her intended recipient.

The Nokia optimization team, working with Saudi Telecom, monitored the operator's network 24 hours a day and managed loads generated by more than 2.3 million pilgrims through efficient and optimized use of Nokia's state-of-the-art GSM/EDGE Base Station System features.

"The Hajj is one of the most important journeys in a Muslim's life, and so naturally for pilgrims it is important to be able to call relatives from the Mashaer region. Nokia is committed to implementing and managing a network system that ensures not only that pilgrims can place their calls but that they can continue their conversations without being interrupted by a dropped call," said Ali Damiri, General Manager Saudi Arabia and Levant, Networks, Nokia. "All of our data shows that we have achieved tremendous success in achieving this goal."

During the Dhul-Hijja period from January 7 to 13, almost 150 million calls were made. This is more than 10 percent of the normal weekly traffic in an area covering only 5 square kilometers.

Nokia's success was supported by the Nokia GSM/EDGE Base Station Controller (BSC3i), a modular, digital switching platform that connects the base stations to the core networks. The Nokia BSC3i is the radio network's 'brain', maintaining high capacity and quality by providing very high packet- and circuit-switched capacity in a compact size, allowing operators to offer high operational efficiency and quality in their radio network, and thereby smooth the introduction of new services and functionality.