PETACH TIKVA, Israel – March 13, 2019 – ECI has announced it was awarded a contract by CEB FiberNet Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Central Electricity Board in Mauritius, to expand and leverage its existing fiber optic network coverage to provide advanced telecom services and connectivity to the country as a whole and to realize the country’s vision of a Digital 2030. With ,expanded capabilities, CEB FiberNet is able to provide customers with better quality of service including coverage, voice quality, connectivity and network resilience.

As Mauritius continues to expand its economy, growth of the financial sector and information and communication technology have helped attract substantial investment from local and foreign investors. To aid these efforts, as well as support increasing demand and new telecom and IT services, CEB FiberNet wanted to make low-cost, high-quality telecom services available across the country by leveraging its internal ICT infrastructure and OPGW fiber-optic backbone.

Like all mission-critical utilities, the CEB network has particular requirements, which made it very important to collaborate with a vendor who understands both the electricity and telecommunication business. ECI not only has the experience with power utilities such as CEB, but specifically with utility customers making the transition to UTelcos. ECI was awarded the contract to implement the optical grid based on its Apollo optical and Neptune metro series.

By working with ECI, CEB FiberNet will be almost completely self-sufficient, enjoying value-added services such as integrated optical performance and health monitoring, cutting-edge resource utilization and inventory tools that flag capacity constraints before they occur. Moreover, the flexible solutions and the managed services offered by ECI will enable CEB FiberNet to future-proof its network and defer future challenges.

“The move to become a wholesale telecom service provider was a major decision for CEB and its subsidiary CEB FiberNet Co. Ltd., and with mission-critical requirements, our choice of a partner to help in that transition goes well beyond the needs of a traditional communications provider,” said Rajeshkumar Babu, CEO at CEB (FiberNet) Co. Ltd. “In ECI, we know that we’ve not only found a company that understands our pain-points, but also has the experience helping power utilities, like us, make the transition to become a telecom provider. ECI provided a full turnkey solution meeting the bid specifications, which has helped expand our network coverage, while supporting in the economic development of Mauritius. Truly priceless.”

“As electric companies make the switch to become telecom providers, we know that this move can often come with a host of challenges,” said Mickey Wilf, VP Sales MEA at ECI. “Utility companies often build telecommunication networks to support their own communication needs and pay great attention to the functionality and reliability of these networks. In many cases, the choice to become an UTelco is an opportunity to leverage these same assets to provide wider breadth and depth of services to end customers. We are honored to work with CEB FiberNet in its growth mission to bring network access to everyone in Mauritius, and further support the betterment of commerce, education and communications. Yet another win on a long list of new wins, bringing the number to well over 90 over the last three years.”