Pope,
I used to work at Gamtel, and I don't have a doubt that they are doing a
good job. If, only if the Government leave them alone, they will prosper and
produce the best service in Africa.
Guys at Gamtel( OMC, Earth Station, Transmission and Switching) are well
trained and knowledgeable. Get to give them credit. I salute you all.
Atleast, you're serving your country.
EB.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pope Pope" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2000 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: Gambia Phones Working? The Real Reasons


> I dont work for Gamtel but my source for the information that I had sent
to
> the L regading the Phone problems, is the Managing Director of Gamtel. I
> hope that source is credible enough for you? Have a good weekend
>
> YN
>
>
> >From: "Touray, Maila" <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
> ><[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: Re: Gambia Phones Working? The Real Reasons
> >Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 22:59:39 -0500
> >
> >Pope in what capacity are you dissecting and advising us on this issue -
> >what is your expertise? I've heard so many reasons that I really don't
know
> >which one is authentic. I am not Doubting you, just trying to establish
> >credibility.
> >Thanks for the information.
> >
> >
> >Maila Touray
> >
> >
> >
> >         -----Original Message-----
> >         From:   Pope Pope [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> >         Sent:   Wednesday, December 27, 2000 11:23 AM
> >         To:     [log in to unmask]
> >         Subject:        Gambia Phones Working? The Real Reasons
> >
> >
> >         REGULAR CUSTOMERS (home lines, not calling cards, )
> >
> >         When you initiate a call to the Gambia this is what happens:
> >
> >         1. The traffic in most cases is routed from your carrier to
> >MCI/Sprint
> >         2. If network resources (circuits) are available, then your call
> >is
> >put through to the Gambia
> >         3. If their are no available network resources, then the call is
> >routed to the backup route point, which in this case is London
> >         4. If London has enough circuits open to fulfill your call, then
> >you
> >are connected to whomever you are calling in the Gambia, else you cant
get
> >through
> >
> >         The problem is three fold
> >
> >         1. US telephone traffic to the Gambia is mainly handled by
Spring
> >and MCI who have a direct link to the Gambia. The voice traffic is
directly
> >routed to the Gambia with  London as backup. This means that if US call
> >volume to the Gambia is overwhelming, the excess traffic (volume) is
routed
> >through London.
> >         2. Norway's telephone traffic to the Gambia is routed through
> >London
> >
> >         3. Belgium's telephone traffic was also being routed through
> >London
> >(this should not have happened and has since been rectified)
> >
> >         Now, two reasons are responsible for the problem US Phone
> >customers
> >(not calling cards) are experiencing calling the Gambia
> >
> >         1. There are not enough dedicated circuits for the Gambia from
the
> >US
> >         2. The volume of traffic that the backup Route point can handle,
> >which in this case is London
> >
> >         Whenever their is network satuaration with call volume to the
> >Gambia
> >from the US, the excess call volume is routed through the backup route
> >point(London). London was at the same time being saturated with too much
> >voice traffic from other points to the Gambia. Specifically London was
> >being
> >over saturated with voice traffic from Norway and especially Belgium to
the
> >Gambia. So essentially when the US circuits for the Gambia have too much
> >traffic, all calls from the US, Norway, Belgium and London were competing
> >for the same limited number of circuits in London. This was just too
much,
> >hence some of the access problems people have been experiencing
especially
> >from the US, Norway, London, Belgium and all other points in Europe or
> >elsewhere that are routing their traffic through London.
> >
> >         The good news is, the highest volume of voice traffic to the
> >Gambia,
> >that was being routed through London, was coming from Belgium and Gamtel
> >has
> >since asked British Telecom to stop this. This has been corrected, I
think
> >it was yesterday or so. So essentially, people should see marked
> >improvement
> >in accessing the Gambia, especially from Europe. This will also improve
> >access conditions for those in the US, since the backup point of voice
> >traffic (London) has more capacity to handle overflow traffic from the
US.
> >
> >         There will still be some problems for those in the US since two
> >factors affect their ability to call the Gambia
> >
> >         1. The number of available circuits
> >         2. The volume of traffic that the backup Route point can handle,
> >which this case is London
> >
> >         The number of available circuits to the Gambia has not changed,
> >and
> >the only way that will be increased is if customers directly complain to
> >their carriers about difficulty in calling the Gambia. As I have stated
> >before, Gamtel has indeed asked MCI and Sprint to increase the number of
> >dedicated circuits to the Gambia. They have been denied this request,
since
> >Sprint and MCI said they are not getting any complaints about
difficulties
> >in calling the Gambia from the US. Now, like I said before, the only way
> >that can be fixed is if you complain. Even if your carrier is not MCI or
> >Sprint, you should still complain to your carrier, because regardless of
> >which Carrier handles your International calls, they in all likelihood,
> >route your calls to the Gambia through MCI and Sprint.
> >
> >         CALLING CARD CUSTOMERS
> >
> >         Your problem is three fold
> >
> >         1. Your prepaid platform operator (calling card company) has too
> >few
> >lines/circuits to fulfill your call
> >         2. There are not enough dedicated circuits for the Gambia from
the
> >US
> >         3. The volume of traffic for the backup Route point (London) was
> >too
> >much
> >
> >         This is what happens when you use a calling card
> >
> >         1. The traffic is in most cases routed from the Prepaid Platform
> >Operator (calling card company) to MCI or Sprint
> >         2. If network resources (circuits) are available, then your call
> >is
> >put through to the Gambia
> >         3. If their are no available network resources, then the call is
> >routed to the backup route point (London)
> >         4. If London has enough circuits open to fulfill your call, then
> >you
> >are connected to whomever you are calling in the Gambia, else you cant
get
> >through
> >
> >         Well, the only remedy is to buy a better calling card, say one
> >from
> >the big carriers, because they will definitely be in a better position to
> >handle and fulfill your call.
> >
> >         It has been suggested by some that, maybe some of the problems
are
> >due to Gamtel being unable to handle the volume of calls coming to its
> >network. This is not the case. Most of the problems people are
experiencing
> >calling the Gambia are bandwidth related from the point of origin of the
> >call. From my understanding Gamtel is working to fix these
bandwith/circuit
> >problems with their partners, especaily from the US and Europe
> >
> >         Hope this helps to clarify the calling problems. Again, complain
> >to
> >your carriers if you want to see any permanent improvement, regardless of
> >whether you are in the US or elsewhere. I would encourage those in the US
> >and London to definitely complain because, most of the telephone traffic
to
> >the Gambia is routed through the US and London.
> >
> >         I will try and see if I can get an official statement from
Gamtel
> >about these problems and what they are doing to resolve them. Thanks and
> >Happy EID to all
> >
> >         YNjie
> >
> >
> >           _____
> >
> >         Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at
http://explorer.msn.com
> ><http://explorer.msn.com>
> >
> >          << File: ATT69665.gif >>
> >
>
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