Indra to implement new internet management system for Costa Rica's telecommunications company for 11.7M USD

Indra, one of the leading IT multinationals in Europe and Latin America, will implement, in conjunction with Satec, a Spanish technology solutions integration company, the new management system to support the Advanced Internet Network (RAI) of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Institute of Electricity - ICE) to make it one of the most advanced telecommunications systems in the world. The system will improve the quality and security of the internet services ICE currently provides. The project awarded to the Indra-Satec (70-30%) consortium has a contract value of 11,7m USD and an execution period of seven months to implement the solution and a further six months to guarantee that it is correctly operated by the ICE's technicians in order to achieve maximum performance.

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad is a state-owned company that is the main operator of telecommunications and electricity solutions in the Costa Rican market. The system developed by Indra aims to cover the ICE's needs as a telecommunications operator, improving its infrastructure to be able to provide its customers with internet services.

The scope of the project consists of engineering, the supply and implementation of the logical infrastructure, physical platform, servers and managers that will form the operations centre of the network. To achieve this, Indra will equip the operations room with six operator workstations and a videowall system to view the operations. The company will also implement provision and monitoring modules for the IP network infrastructure both at ICE's facilities and in the equipment of customers with Administered Services. Finally, a storage network will be installed to compile all the inventory of the solution, formed by the Network Operations Centre (NOC) and the equipment in ICE's network.

At the same time, Satec will work with the managers of the Network Management and Maintenance areas of the ICE to define the operational methodology of the NOC, aligning the strategic lines with the operational procedures and guaranteeing correct support for said processes with the set of selected tools.

The solution also contemplates the implementation of a module to perform simulations that measure the impact that new services and increases in users and traffic would have on the network that is currently available.

To achieve maximum performance with the new platform, the two companies will train ICE's technicians and operators to use the systems to be implemented, in such a way that they can work autonomously and introduce new applications within their usual operations.

Improved network surveillance and quality

The new network will facilitate the monitoring of the ICE's infrastructure to be able to provide its customers with better quality internet services, ensuring that operations are within the established thresholds, thereby facilitating better planning of future growth. Moreover, the system will enable permanent surveillance of the network in order to prevent and minimise any incidents or problems that might arise, increasing its availability.

The state-of-the-art technology and the characteristics of the monitoring and provision solution to be implemented by Indra will equip the operators of the state-owned company with maximum availability and efficiency in its services, automating the main operations, which will provide greater resource efficiency for the ICE and increase security in all its operations.

The main advantages of the system for the user of the network include a major reduction in the time required to register new services for citizens and the early detection of problems and their resolution, thereby achieving operational optimisation and greater customer satisfaction. Furthermore, thanks to the new simulation module, decision making in relation to growth can be improved by basing it on objective data. This capacity enables better planning of investments in order to guarantee greater returns.

In addition to the IP infrastructure, the project also contemplates the possibility of extending the solution and the systems to other networks of the ICE, such as the transmission network.

Wide spectrum of references in networks

The implementation for the ICE is being developed locally in Costa Rica, taking advantage of Indra's experience and knowledge gained from similar projects developed in other countries, including Spain, where the company has participated in the development of the networks of the main telecommunications operators. Its trajectory in this scope has enabled Indra to offer a differentiated complementary range of technological services that is capable of covering the operations and needs to be met by telecommunications companies not only in relation to their network infrastructure, but also in relation to the management, monitoring and operational systems responsible for ensuring the maximum performance of said infrastructure.

Additionally, the new internet platform for the ICE represents a point of inflection for Indra's activity in the networks market as it is a global project that integrates, in one single application, all the components the technology company has applied in other projects.

About Indra

Indra is one of the leading IT multinationals operating in Latin America, where it employs more than 13,000 professionals and has eight Software Labs and 17 Centres of Excellence (advanced R&D laboratories). In 2011, the company's sales in the region increased by 30% to account for 18% of total turnover. In Latin America Indra provides a solid range of services and solutions for the Financial Services, Utilities & Energy, Security & Defence, Transport & Traffic, Public Administrations & Healthcare, Industry & Consumption and Telecommunications markets.

Indra is the leading technology multinational in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. It is the second European company in its sector in terms of R&D, with €550m invested in the last three years. Its turnover in 2011 was €2.688bn and today more than half of its income is from international markets. The company employs more than 40,000 professionals and has customers in 118 countries.

About Satec

SATEC (www.satec.es) is a Spanish technology solutions integration multinational that specialises in advanced services associated with new Information Technologies. Since its establishment in 1987 it has fostered cooperation with its customers by means of innovation in processes, media and technologies, contributing to change, productivity and competitiveness in business. It applies a highly practical approach and has the technological capability, knowledge and innovation capacity required to convert complex technologies into accessible and responsive tools for its customers.

The company employs more than 1,000 professionals and is present in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique. In Latin America Satec is present in Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru.

About ICE

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Costa Rican Institute of Electricity - ICE) is a recognised state-owned company in Costa Rica that provides electricity and telecommunications services throughout the country, which have positively influenced the socioeconomic and environmental development indices of the Central American nation.

Since 1949 it has been providing electricity services,  an area in which it is responsible for 100% of transmission and a significant percentage of electrical distribution. Its excellent planning and execution capacity enable 93% of the electrical energy in Costa Rica to be produced with renewable energy sources, with a national electrical coverage of 99.28%.

Since 1963 it has also been responsible for the country's telecommunications, consolidating a solid and reliable national network that today allows customers to have modern infocommunications services, with landline telephony, pay-as-you-go and contract mobile services and broadband. These services are supported by an extensive fibre optic network throughout the country and by underwater cables in the two oceans and a strengthened IP core.