Sample Project Details

2002 Luanda, Angola Community HC

2003 Telluride, Colorado Neighbourhood ISP

Projects

Luanda, Angola, Africa

In March 2002 we delivered a Community HC system to MV Commsat in Luanda, Angola.

The MV Commsat system features:

• Seven dual-processor servers with 1GB memory each
• Our most advanced CHC Proxy Server featuring 360GB of Ultra-160 disk storage and 2GB of RAM
• 4kW on-line UPS with very large battery capacity (~8 hours)
• Five LAN segments

The system provides premium Internet service to Luanda at speeds which are much in demand but until now were unavailable in Angola. With their ISP system, MV Commsat is able to offer 56k dial-up, ISDN dial-up, and wireless Internet access to thousands of Luanda businesses and residences. In addition, the wireless portion of their network will allow them to offer wireless VPN service to local corporations, either to connect local branches at wired Ethernet speeds or to connect distant offices over the Internet.

We modified our standard Community HC design for MV Commsat since backbone bandwidth is extremely limited and expensive in Angola. The backbone limitation was the greatest challenge in this system design. To give them a strong competitive edge, we used our largest 8U proxy server design, housing 10 Ultra-160 hard disk drives. The proxy server settings were fine-tuned to accommodate this configuration, and tested in our Colorado facility before shipment.

To simulate the limited bandwidth we would encounter in Angola, we connected the server network to a low-speed wireless connection as the main backhaul. During the ten-day test run, we got the network operating at peak performance, tested components and procedures, and had the majority of programming done for their ISP.

Once the testing phase was complete, we did the final programming for the IP blocks we would be using in Angola.

A team of three went to Angola - a network engineer, an electrician / power technician, and a project coordinator. The installation went smoothly, especially so considering the obstacles we faced. The local telecom authority had not anticipated the size of network being installed and had to make some changes to their network to accommodate us. Much to their credit, Angola Telecom was quick to respond to our requests and worked diligently with us in solving the problems we encountered.

In just three years, MV Commsat has grown to cover all of Luanda, Angola with wireless Internet access. From a single tower and a modest server room they have grown to ten towers and to being Angola's premium ISP offering the fastest and most reliable connections plus server co-location, VoIP, SMS, and other services. One of their DIrectors told us, "Everyone in Luanda has the same Internet backbone connections, but what differentiates M&V from the rest is the quality of service, and we know that is thanks to the servers you [ISP Ltd] built for us."

M&V Commsat is a model of what a reliable network of servers can help an African business achieve is just a short time. Prospective ISP Ltd customers are invited to visit their world-class network operations centre which now boasts some of the most advanced environmental controls and top-of-the-line power equipment in Africa.

M&V Commsat's web site may be viewed at www.mvcomm.net A letter of recommendation may be viewed from here. Please write to us if you would like to contact one of their Directors by e-mail or telephone and we will be glad to arrange an introduction.