Telecom Lead Africa: Bharti Airtel has launched its mobile services in
Rwanda. It will invest over $100 million in its operations over the next three
years. Ericsson and IBM support Airtel to launch mobile services.
We believe that Rwanda is an extremely promising market and
this launch further strengthens our footprint in eastern Africa. It will be our
endeavour to bring affordable services to our customers in Rwanda and add value
to the economy,” said Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Joint MD, Bharti
Airtel.
Airtel selected Ericsson to manage the network from
end-to-end, including OSS/BSS solutions and managed services.
Ericsson said it took 83 days to build this network from the
start. This is the fastest Greenfield launch in history in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This solution is using the latest Ericsson portfolio, and
will be the first Airtel network designed as an all-IP solution. That means
Airtel will be able to provide advanced services to its subscribers, expand
quickly to accommodate quick growth, and keep operating expenses down,” said
Lars Lindén, head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa for Ericsson.
Mobile penetration in Rwanda was at 38.4 percent as of July
2011.
are looking to partner with the private sector to provide good quality,
accessible and affordable telecommunications services,” said Pierre Damien
Habumuremyi, prime minister, Rwanda.
customer experience in Rwanda. IBM will deploy and manage the information
technology infrastructure and applications to provide innovative mobile
services.
local presence and increasing our ability to serve our customers and partners
in the country,” said Steve Martin, IBM Vice President and Senior Project
Executive, Airtel Africa.
