PROTEI has successfully completed a major project in Iraq with the deployment of the PROTEI GLR (Gateway Location Register) platform for the local mobile operator Asiacell, a subsidiary of Qtel, in the city of Sulaymaniyah. Asiacell, the first and largest mobile network operator in Iraq, has been in operation since 1999 and currently has a subscriber base of nine million, which continues to grow despite rising competition in the Iraqi mobile services market, especially in the high-value roaming services sector.

To enhance its roaming subscriber base while minimizing signaling traffic, the operator required a modern system. The PROTEI GLR platform acts as a connection between the VLR (Visitor Location Register) and/or SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and the HLR (Home Location Register), optimizing the processing of signaling traffic during roaming. The GLR system captures inbound roamers’ profile information during their initial registration and subsequently provides this data in response to queries from the VLR. This significantly reduces the need to query HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) elements, thereby mitigating the risk of client loss.

The system implemented in Kurdistan, Iraq, allows Asiacell to grow its roaming subscriber base by streamlining the registration process while also lowering signaling traffic costs by reducing the number of signaling units transmitted over roaming channels. A similar roaming platform was previously deployed in the Jordanian mobile network Umniah, where it proved to be reliable and cost-effective under real operating conditions.

The successful project for Asiacell in Iraq represents another achievement in PROTEI’s international business expansion. Our engineers gained valuable experience working alongside their counterparts at Asiacell, and both companies are eager to continue their collaborative efforts in roaming solutions and service platforms.