Denis Opudo
NuRAN Wireless Inc. and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN Group), a wholesale mobile operator have signed a deal, which means that AMN Group will supply its rural 2G radio access network (RAN) solutions to at least five countries with the possibility of expansion to an additional 13 African states. In the agreement, there is a possibility of about 3000 sites, which will be developed in the first five countries, and these figures will grow as the deal expands. The deal becomes NuRAN’s first notable agreement for the OC-2G product.
The Africa Mobile Networks constitutes of a group of organized companies with its corporate head office situated in the UK as well as its subsidiary operating companies located across various Sub-Saharan African countries. The Africa Mobile Networks Ltd is UK-registered, with controlling share of each of the local operating companies. This company has big plans including investing over $0.55 billion in assets of network infrastructure over the next three years, which will encompass a mixture of both debts and equity.
The agreement between these two companies is the first one among the numerous anticipated deals, which are to be announced in the coming years. Moreover, the selection of NuRAN into this deal and their participation in executing the objectives of the agreement is a crucial revelation of the company’s capabilities as a leading supplier of mobile infrastructure solutions across rural, ultra-rural, and remote markets. Some of the company’s products are OC-2G and the NuRAN LiteCell which are the members of the LiteRAN 2G solution. These products are some of the engineering masterpieces of NuRAN, which can push the existing barriers and change the economics of connectivity. For instance, the LiteRAN 2G is good at delivering carrier quality of service and reliability because it can connect the smallest and most remote communities.
In this agreement with NuRAN Wireless Inc., it specified that NuRAN will provide the OC-2G, a GSM base station that has been developed by NuRAN, and contributed to the Telecom Infra Project’s OpenCellular initiative. The commercial availability of the OC-2G was declared in November 2017, and since then, it has undergone trials with multiple Tier 1 operator across the world. Africa Mobile Network’s CEO stated that NuRAN was selected for this deal because they have the capability of delivering carrier-grade performance at the low total cost of ownership. NuRAN’s CEO, Marin Bedard expressed his excitement working with the Telecom Infra Project and Africa Mobile Networks in the journey of connecting the unconnected across Africa.
Developing connectivity to the rural areas of Africa is important for various reasons. First off, financial inclusion is the most important reason and having connectivity in these areas will allow financial inclusion and autonomy for the first phase of the deal. Financial inclusion offers the society with the necessary implements to achieve various goals. A good example can be borrowed from the case of MPESA in Kenya. Therefore, if this trend is replicated across other African communities, the majority of people will access communication and the benefits it brings.
Based on the latest GSMA figures, Sub-Saharan Africa has 338.1 Million active mobile wallets offered through 135 services. These services are processing 1.2 Billion transactions with a combined value of $20 Billion. Therefore, Mobile Banking and Mobile Payments are the main reasons for having instant connectivity in these rural regions because of the profound benefits it will bring to the community.
