AWCC and Optiva provided resilient and customer-centric connectivity services, connecting Afghans with the world despite challenging geopolitical circumstances.
Case Study Summary
Private Cloud
phased migration without compromising service continuity
Disaster Recovery
highly dependable, outside of geographical boundaries
Managed Services
Optiva MS augmented AWCC team with onsite and remote support
Customer Description
Winner of the Asian Telecom Awards 2024 “Telecom Company of the Year,” Afghanistan Wireless Communications Company (AWCC) is Afghanistan's first wireless communications company with the region's largest IP backbone. It offers 4G LTE and other services, including internet and mobile payments, to about five million subscribers across Afghanistan's 34 provinces.
In addition to its affordable voice and data products, AWCC has launched innovative digital products, such as the Asan app, Sports Portal and Ketaab. Founded in 2002, it is a joint venture of Telephone Systems International and the Afghan Ministry of Communications and has partnerships with 425 carrier networks in 125 countries.Optiva’s convergent charging, policy, and payments platform has successfully powered AWCC telecom operations over our 15-year partnership. To keep pace with changing customer needs, AWCC wanted to digitize its operations and deploy the mission-critical monetization platform in a multi-zone redundant architecture to eliminate business continuity risks.
Further, AWCC's legacy technology stack could not support its growing subscriber traffic and new campaigns. It desired to leverage automation in key operational processes to minimize dependency on physical resources and drive efficiency. Afghanistan’s environmental situation also impacted its system performance, adding an increased burden to its maintenance staff.
Customer Background
Optiva’s convergent charging, policy, and payments platform has successfully powered AWCC telecom operations over our 15-year partnership. To keep pace with changing customer needs, AWCC wanted to digitize its operations and deploy the mission-critical monetization platform in a multi-zone redundant architecture to eliminate business continuity risks.
Further, AWCC's legacy technology stack could not support its growing subscriber traffic and new campaigns. It desired to leverage automation in key operational processes to minimize dependency on physical resources and drive efficiency. Afghanistan’s environmental situation also impacted its system performance, adding an increased burden to its maintenance staff.
AWCC saw many benefits from this private cloud migration. To name a few: Digital operations for speed and customer delight, keeping Afghans connected in challenging times like COVID-19, achieved revenue growth, improved customer experience, and speed to market.
Optiva - AWCC case study
Solution Deployed
AWCC upgraded its revenue monetization stack and hardware infrastructure to a cloud-native architecture on its private cloud environment. It allowed AWCC to deliver disruption-free services to its subscribers while enabling business resiliency and lowering operational costs. After a thorough evaluation of options, AWCC selected Optiva as its partner.
The challenging local environment and changing geopolitical situation in Afghanistan led to a significant shortage of technical skills and resources in the market. Optiva and AWCC had to ensure business continuity while managing the complex situation and finding ways to drive revenue growth. COVID-19 and hardware supply chain restrictions in Afghanistan further complicated the project, which required a flexible solution and an innovative delivery model.
AWCC was utilizing Optiva’s stable convergent charging system to support its business growth. However, the installed platforms were aging, which increased the risk of hardware failures that could disrupt services. Optiva collaborated closely with AWCC, supporting its phased migration to the private cloud infrastructure without compromising service continuity. This required an out-of-the-box approach, including maximizing the use of available hardware resources. Optiva and AWCC developed a solution model to ensure seamless service continuity even in the event of significant site resource failures, using Optiva's rescue service approach.
To help AWCC ensure data resiliency and set up a disaster recovery site, Optiva replicated the business data outside Afghanistan's geographical boundaries. This ensured business continuity during disaster situations. Optiva also delivered, managed, and maintained the container engine and OEM’s database and backup solutions. Additionally, they leveraged CI/CD tool automation to roll out new features, functionalities and offers faster.
As AWCC embarked on its journey to the cloud, there was a need to gain a better understanding of cloud technologies to extract their maximum benefits. Optiva provided consultancy services to AWCC to help unlock and realize the benefits and features of the cloud platform. Optiva’s managed services augmented AWCC’s onsite operational capabilities, enabling them to drive stable and disruption-free telco operations in complex situations by providing on-site and remote support teams.
Optiva’s experts are helping AWCC drive efficient operations and providing business operations configurations, including marketing campaigns, troubleshooting technical issues, application support, business operations, testing, and more. With Optiva's support, AWCC is also adopting an open digital architecture to deliver digital services and enhance its subscribers' experience.
Benefits
Digital transformation
AWCC is undergoing a digital transformation by implementing a cloud-native revenue monetization technology stack. It now provides its subscribers with digital services, including online recharge and payments, as part of this transformation. Through digital operations, AWCC also drives efficiency across its business while ensuring data resiliency. Additionally, AWCC is committed to offering the fastest internet services in the country.
1.
Keeping Afghans connected in challenging times
Despite facing geopolitical challenges and the impact of COVID-19, Optiva’s team has consistently supported AWCC to maintain operations, business continuity, and uninterrupted service delivery.
2.
Revenue growth
In 2023, despite challenging economic conditions in Afghanistan, AWCC experienced an increase in its monthly active user base from 3.57 million to 4.00 million with Optiva. The data user base grew by 20%, and data usage per user increased by 12%.
3.
Enhanced customer experience
AWCC can now deliver a superior customer experience and offers new services such as sports streaming solutions and digital lifestyle services. Customer onboarding is faster, and customers can gift the best voice and data bundle credits to friends and family.
4.
Access to telco experts
AWCC has benefited from Optiva's professional telecom-focused expertise to support their day-to-day operations, advise them on realizing cloud economics, and help them launch new campaigns.
5.
Swift operations
The new platform enables a full retailer hierarchy shopkeeper and retailer and enables smooth dealer operations. Optiva supported AWCC's marketing team to learn and leverage its new features and drive new campaigns.
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