Use Case – Telesur and Marlindt: Together Towards an Innovative and Future-Proof Telecom Infrastructure

Geplaatst op 3 December 2025 door Liesbeth De Ryck

Innovation as a Driving Force: Telesur Modernizes IT Landscape with MarlinDT

Telesur, the largest telecom operator in Suriname, is fully committed to innovation and modernization by transforming its fragmented software landscape into a single, unified MarlinDT platform. Thanks to a smart migration strategy, historical data is being systematically cleaned up and immediately enriched with up-to-date insights from the field. This digital transformation enables more efficient network management and prepares Telesur for the future.
About the client
Telesur is a leading TIER1 network operator in Suriname. The organization serves hundreds of thousands of customers and manages a complex and extensive network infrastructure in a challenging geographic environment. By choosing innovation and digitalization, Telesur remains at the forefront of the rapidly changing telecom sector.

The Challenge: Security risks en datasilo’s 

Like with many operators, the software landscape evolved organically over the years. Network management was spread across various solutions (including Ericsson Network Engineer, 3GIS, ArcGIS), supplemented by spreadsheets, PDFs, and CAD files.

The immediate trigger for the transformation, however, came from the IT department. One of the legacy software solutions had reached its ‘End-of-Life’, could no longer be updated, and thus posed a concrete security risk to the server infrastructure. IT demanded the phasing out of this tool and pushed for consolidation into one secure, central system based on the ArcGIS standard.

Approach with MarlinDT: a pragmatic migration and collaboration

A 'big bang' migration was not an option given the diversity of data sources and varying data quality. Merkator chose, in close collaboration with the local distributor, a phased and pragmatic approach:

Decommissioning:

The immediate security risk was eliminated by migrating the relevant data and removing the application from the IT stack.

Step-by-step Integration

Network segments with high reliability were migrated directly to MarlinDT. For the remaining sources, a cleanup process was initiated before their final transfer.

Local Strength

Merkator provided the software and in-depth migration expertise, while the local partner GISsat handled installation, training, and first-line support (in the local language and time zone).

Result

The transition to MarlinDT marks the end of data silos. The main operational advantage is the connection with the field service:

Field-driven quality improvement

Where there was previously uncertainty about the situation on site, field engineers now have direct access to the data.

Feedback loop

Technicians can now easily submit photos and corrections via the mobile app. Instead of a cumbersome office investigation, the network documentation is now organically updated and validated by the people who work on the cables daily.

Single source of truth

Aiming for a 'single source of truth' restores trust in the network documentation across all departments.

Merkator’s Role

This project confirms Merkator’s position as an expert in complex data integrations. Where others might shy away from a diffuse data landscape, Merkator provides the structure and tools to bring order. By collaborating with the local partner GISsat, the operator benefited from the “best of both worlds”: the innovative power of MarlinDT combined with trusted local support.

 

Are you looking for a solution to modernize and consolidate your physical network inventory (PNI) into one powerful platform?
Discover how MarlinDT can optimize your design and management processes.

 

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