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Tonga Communications has completed a major network upgrade by installing two of REDCOM (News - Alert) Laboratories’ High Density Exchange (HDX) digital switching systems, according to the companies.

 

The New York-based REDCOM, which designs and manufacture digital IP-enabled telecommunications systems, said the HDX switches were installed in Vava’u and 'Eua on the Pacific island nation of Tonga, while existing REDCOM systems were redeployed to four separate service areas.

 

According to REDCOM, these recently installed systems will enable Tonga Communications to provide softswitch and Next Generation Network (NGN) services to the people of Tonga in order to meet future technology needs.

 

The Kingdom of Tonga in is an archipelago of 169 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, that stretches over a distance of approximately 500 miles from north to south and are inhabited by approximately 110,000 native English speaking people.

 

Through this collaboration telecom service provider firm Tonga Communications will be able to take advantage of all the benefits of IP while preserving the functionality of their existing telecom infrastructure.

 

After contemplating selecting the installation of the two new HDX exchanges in other island locations, and updated two other REDCOM systems to employ C7 signaling, Tonga Communications worked with REDCOM on the network design and plan and

realized substantial savings could be made by redeploying some of the existing REDCOM systems and installing the NGN-ready HDX systems in Vava’u and 'Eua, according to the companies.

 

As TMCnet recently reported, REDCOM’s SLICE and SLICE 2100 HDX Digital Switching Systems Version 3.0 has been accepted on the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency’s Joint Interoperability Testing Command (JITC) list.

 

Overseas, the extensive U.S. experience and certification came in handy as the HDX systems took only a small team of Tonga engineers to install at the locations.

 

Tonga execs say leveraging their existing REDCOM switching assets helped save almost half a million dollars.

 

REDCOM says it will make a presentation on the Tonga Communications network upgrade at the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association (PITA) Annual General Meeting, April 27-May 1 in Nadi, Fiji.