Telecommunications Professionals Zone

Thanks to AjanleKoko for creating this thread.You are God sent most of my questions have been answered by AjanleKoko and salihu_ali.God bless u sirs.I have taken CCNA and am preparing for CCNP and CWNA exams.I was studying for MCSE i had to stop at MCSA and opted for CCNP.I have been confused on the decision i took,  but with this thread i have a clearer picture of it.Thanks Guys. 

Directed <b>only</b> at starters needing direction and hand-holding-
OK, I'm throwing my collection of "stuffs" open to every one on the forum. It's taken almost 4 years and plenrry, plenrry sufferhead browsing to amass. I got most of it for free and I intend to give it out for free too. Just one plea - please don't commercialize it. I hope you find it helpful. Its about 3.5GB of books (about 270 pdfs and .chm files) and some videos. This is my contribution to all starters, like myself, who are interested in being among the next generation of telecom whizkids in the Middle East and Africa region. Its the hard-knocks route I know but if we have to start with what we have, where we are and start now thats the only way. If the government is not going to create an enabling environment for us we're going to make the most of what we have and not grow old whining and blaming while the best of life passes us by. This offer is seriously for those ready to learn new stuff and unlearn the old. Someone said "don't be afraid of starting small, whats important is grow fast (by learning)."
If you are resident in Lagos and enthusiastic about starting off in Telecommunications you're welcome. The offer is free. No strings attached.
Just two draw backs -
1 - I can't make this available online, attaching by email or on a file sharing site - the sheer volume! please house how do we help out those not resident in lag ?
2 - I can't burn to DVD or CD 'cos my DVD -drive is bad and I'm battling repairing my Master Boot Record for Vista.
So, in all humility it means you'll have to come in person. find attached the list of the ebooks.
____________________________________________________________ _____
CBT Nuggets RHCE RedHat Certified Engineer [1.2GB]
CBT Nuggets Linux+ [800MB, i think]
LinuxCBT Linux classic [2.6GB]
LinuxCBT Scripting [300MB]
CBT Nuggets CCENT/CCNA [650MB]
Train Signal CCNA Security
CBT Nuggets CCNP [950MB]
CBT Nuggets CCIE R&S
CBT Nuggets CCVP CVoice [640MB]
CBT Nuggets Microsoft Exchange Server [230MB]
CBT Nuggets CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor [1.26GB]
CBT Nuggets CWNA - Certfified Wireless Network Administrator [300MB]
CBT Nuggets CWSP - Certified Wireless Security Professional [260MB]
CBT Nuggets CEH - Certified Ethical Hacker [260MB]
VTC TCP/IP Analysis
Teracom VoIP (Voice over IP) [abt 1GB]
Random Videos on Hacking, sorry Penetration Testing [700MB]

If you have enough free space to make images, 
backtrack2 - A linux OS purpose-built for hacking (700Mb) LiveCD
VMware Workstation 6.0.2.59824 a virtualization software emulate a virtual PC on your physical system
Sun Solaris 10 OS (3.5Gb)
openSUSE linux 11.1 (4.2Gb)
I should have Asterisk (Linux OS purpose-built for IP PABX if you want to learn VoIP) soon.
I'll post my office address when I see that there's proportianate interest.
Please forgive the multi-partite documents I'v been banned three times trying to post the full list
In the meantime have a splendid weekend.
P.S : I hope there are a few software (ladies) amongst us hardware ?

Great Thread
       thx alot to Ajanlekoko n salifu and especially to everybody asking questions,its helped me created better phrases to use on google to get the right materials.
         After i read thru page one to two back then,i knew i just had to get into telecoms no matter how.I am a server admin-mostly been into server configs and all.Hold all the microsoft thingys upto mcitp even lectured at some point on it.I have an Arts-English University |background.

       Now my question is dis, i have so much materials now even more than most schools hav and i ve red dem all.Hlf of all dis materials is very understandble the other half is not becos of lack of hands-on. where does one really able to get hands-on on BSS(BTS,BSC) installations and configs,NSS/MSC too alike?Mind you i went as far as googling and downloading equipment manuals(from ZTE to Nokia and Huawei) and pics jst to get a feel of it/yet iam stil not convinced iam upto taking a job in Telecoms.Pls i need somewia in Abuja wia one can truely lern all of dis hands-on wise.

     Wat i ll tell yu most of us upcoming is dis, d telecom field is not actually rocket science,it only nids a certain amount of dedication and commitment.If you want e-books.You ll be surprised at my stock now.I feel proud-lol!Just request and ill post it somewia for yu to download.


     Now ajanlekok sir,i have a funny Q to ask.Wtat kind of connection is used between BTS site-BSC site and From BSc site to Switching center.Cos since i sasw all dis diagrams i have bin wondering ow dem mtn's connect to dia sites and wia drn swithinhg centers cld be.
thx alot guys
kip it coming

Oga AjanleKoko is on point.
I'm aware thats the core business of Harris Stratex networks in Nigeria. I think Dizengoff is also into Microwave.
I'v also heard of a technology called FSO (Free Space Optics). Its not common though, its like 'Fiber through the air'. The drawbacks are that its for relatively short distances and it requires absolute line of sight. The stuff uses dual point to point laser, one to receive and the other to transmit. heard its capable of something around 1.2Gbps. So I'm guessing its for use in urban areas that usually have a high density of callers (capacity as against coverage) and the amount of traffic (majorly voice) that will be aggregated trunked off from the BTS to the BSC needs to be higher than usual. A3&O at Abraham Kayode in VI deployed it for MTN way back around 03 - 05, i think.
In rural areas where the terrain is treacherous, and good RF Line of Sight (<60%) is not guaranteed, some operators would trunk out by VSAT (guaranteed latency, i.e delay, of about 500ms - 2 hops) which really isn't good for Real Time Protocols, like Voice, which doesn't do retransmissions for dropped packets/frames. WiMAX is also becoming an option for operators as a backhaul option. 
Fibre has always been the best route to go especially with DWDM, you wan  try the bandwidth and latency combo ?
But as already has been pointed out, its SDH/PDH thats the normal way to go.
Oga Mi, + or - as appropriate.
i'll try and post a diagrammatic representation soon.
P.S: off topic, is there a slight hope of the possibility that there might maybe be a probability that probably there are any software (ladies) amongst us hardware 

Hmmn, just pondered on Bros Ajanlekok's reply

A fibre ring makes ROI sense "ring" being the operative word there

<img src="D:\My Documents\My Pictures\GSM layout.bmp"
I hope it displays properly.
Thats a generic layout of GSM architecture

@inglewood
i know and dats why iam gettin as much as i can and even goin for training soon.


    @sali
    i visted Digitl Bridge and the fees wer WOW! for only days on tutorials, iam tryn anoda training school dats reputed to be good-CORNERSTONE
@Ajanlekoko n Sali n Ingelwood
 
 Now my question
     its on INTERCONNECT
Now the MSC's of each operator must connect someow, so wu owns the interconnect infrastructure in NIgeria, wots the structure like?

Also, is the myth true about, all the mobile ntwk operators riding on NITEL's Infrastructure.Ow true is dat and to wot degree? cos wen i see all the rf sites and switching centers i get confused as to wia Nitel infrastructure com into play. Thx guys

@Sali
  pls send me yur address in my e-mail
its: sulebramms@yahoo.co.uk
am in Abuja now but one of dis days i wld show up in Lagos(in 2 wiks i think)
Thx @ingel
more Q to come

good thread esp 4 sum1 dreamin a career in ict/telco.i had a stint with a fibre optics  coy which was an eyeopener for me.i ve a bcs in eng.phy,a cfot(cert fibre optics tech)and enroute my ccna.i think i will b good to go with these esp withrelevance exp and exposure.what do u think my ogas in d house

Hey guys,
Sorry I have been quiet of late, to an extent. Work pressure post vacation is quite tasking!


Good question. In the old days, nobody had backhaul (transmission infrastructure) but NITEL, so everyone basically connected to NITEL. But since that carrier has basically gone south, all the networks started building their own trunking infrastructure, starting with microwave, and now with Fiber. MTN, Zain, and Glo, all have national fiber networks for backhaul. Also, you have long distance carriers like Phase 3 networks, Gateway, Suburban, and some other fringe players, who provide site backhaul and long distance traffic haul via a variety of media, from fiber to VSAT and/or microwave.

In terms of interconnect, operators nowadays connect peer-to-peer with each other. We have a few exchanges coming up, like ICL, Medallion, and Project Xchange, but in terms of infrastructure, these guys are not yet able to handle the interop and bandwidth requirements for everybody, but they still provide the PTOs (CDMA chaps and disparate fixed line service providers) with connections into the bigger operators. Nobody interconnects through NITEL these days.

However, for Internet access, the SAT3 is still controlled by NITEL, which is part of why it is usually more down than up. Many operators rely on SAT3 for Internet provision, not only the traditional players, but even the new ISPs like IPNX and Swift. However, this might change next year with all these cables landing all over the place, like Main One, Glo One, and all the other 'ones'.

pls explain more on long distance carriers like Phase 3 networks, Gateway, Suburban, and some other fringe players,

pls i will like to know more about the alternative carriers available in nig and their operators.

Okay, man.

Phase 3, Gateway Communications, and Surburban Communications, are all long distance carriers in Nigeria. Basically they all provide transmission infrastructure for service providers. If you are a GSM or CDMA operator, you have to provide connectivity (backhaul we call it in telecom) between your BSS infrastructure and your switching environment, which are obviously geographically separated.
What we refer to as the 'access network' is the cellular network, and also the transmission infrastructure required to carry traffic from the cells to the core network (which is the switching, billing, and service layer environment).

Phase 3 is a relatively new firm compared to the others, that relies on using PHCN power transmission infrastructure to carry transmission traffic for telecoms. You know those interstate powerlines? They have comms cables (Copper or Fiber) as part of their setup. Phase 3 also does some microwave and VSAT connectivity.

Gateway Communications is a strictly wireless carrier, as they use mostly satellite connectivity (VSAT). They have been around for a while, and used to be known as GS Telecom or Spar Aerospace, depending on who you're talking to.

Suburban is mostly a microwave and fiber backbone provider. They also provide Internet services via their SAT3 link that terminates via Benin republic. They are also in the service provider business these days, as they rolled out an 802-16-compatible network in Abuja some years back. Kind of a forerunner for the likes of iPNX and Cobranet, but I don't think their effort was too successful.

All of these guys provide trunking services and/or last-mile services for not only telcos, but even enterprise deployments by corporates, e.g. banks and so on.

Good one, salilu. Guys, you really should get behind this. Someone is offering to share knoweldge for free.

@ Ajanlekok, Ingle, Sali
Well abuja pple too shld not be left out  2

    Telecoms Professionals in Abuja lets do this too, lets teach one anoda and increase our knowledge togeda-it helps(i can tell-cos i use to and stil is an IT Instructor).

     Garki Primary School is dia for use if and wen we are redy, all i nid is just 5 pple and we can start dis next week.

@ Telecoms pros
lets make this thread more professional by teaching ourselves pple-summin like the free-to-air thread,so many pple have benefited(me inclusive,i just installed and configured my fta 1.8m dish on Sunday) from there thread and even organizations refer to that thread for lerning and oda stuffz too.

Hmm, if you're referring to technical stuff, this board might not be suitable for that. This is the Careers section.
We might want to set up a telecoms thread in the Technology section.

i will reply your post in bits 
yes, if you take that offer, your letter will state around 6m but 20% of it is not in cash.
stuff like your phone bill, medical will not be monitised.
MTN has one of the best medical insurance for its staff, so that is a large chunk of the 6m.
your resume looks very impressive but the fact is that MTN is rigid about pay structure (it was not 4 or 5 years ago).
the maximum you can get out of that job level and description you posted earlier is 200k after tax.
higher than that is the pay bracket of the reporting boss for that position (there obviously is a gap but not as huge as you would expect).
i will advise you start lokking for a job NOW.
With your resume, you should be able to have at least two interviews lined up before you come back in 3 months.
why wait till you return before you start passing CVs around?
on another note, go for the MTN job, if you are successful tell them you can only resume in 3 months (the process could take a while and if they are very impressed the earlier part of the interview can be done by phone).
if you really stand out in the selection process, they can wait for you.then while there you start plotting for a bigger pie.
on searches for a bigger pie, i will have to get back to my sources and come back to you.

cheers,