Ericsson has joined forces with local Tigo Tanzania and the GSM Association (GSMA) to bring 3G to a part of rural Tanzania for the first time. The announcement was made at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona
The first in a series of pilot tower sites has been launched in the Lindi Mtwara region, where there was previously no mobile broadband connection. The project is part of a wider infrastructure-sharing program set up by the GSMA, Tigo, the Tanzanian government and two other mobile network operators to help connect the 13 million people living in rural parts of the country.
"At Tigo, it is our mission to lead the adoption of the internet and a digital lifestyle in Tanzania. Access to mobile broadband will open these rural communities to previously elusive services such as mobile money, e-health, e-education and e-government, thereby transforming the way people play, learn and do business forever," Jerome Albou, Chief Technical and IT Officer, Tigo Tanzania said.
Sharing infrastructure and engaging the government on reduced taxes in these regions allows operators to reduce the cost of deploying mobile broadband networks in places where it was previously not viable to do so.
Tigo and Ericsson have set the pace in the partnership by launching the first active site based on the new generation, multi-standard Ericsson Radio System. The suite of solutions provides the capabilities needed to reduce total cost of ownership by up to 40 percent when rolling out Ericsson's total site solution for mobile broadband. This makes investments viable in markets with low average revenue per user.
The energy-efficient suites of solutions will also enable Tigo and their roaming partners to seamlessly identify underserved communities in the region, making it faster to introduce or improve the mobile broadband experience of their subscribers in these rural communities. This is the first commercial launch of this solution in Sub-Saharan Africa.
"We are strong advocates of the role of ICT to enable the realization of a new, universal set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our partnerships and solutions seek to bring the benefits of mobile technology to everyone in creating a more inclusive and sustainable world. With Tigo, we delivered the most sustainable and efficient mobile broadband solution capturing the needs of these specific, rural sites," Jean-Claude Geha, Head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson said.
The new suite of solutions consists of: Ericsson Site Manager software paired with Ericsson Site Controller, Radio 2219, Antenna Integrated Radio, AIR 2488, MINI-LINK 6363, MINI-LINK 6651 indoor unit and new additions to the Ericsson Enclosure family. It also includes new software enhancements to both the Zero Touch WCDMA and Flow of Users solutions.
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