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
>
>
> _____
>
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