Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 23 | Page 15

NEWS Nokia deploys 5G site for rain in South Africa N okia has deployed its 5G site for the South African operator rain. The launch and subsequent rollout are well aligned with the government’s strategy to connect the unconnected and improve the lives of citizens, and match rain’s main objective to provide affordable broadband internet to the masses in South Africa. The full network deployment is set to start in the first quarter of 2019 and services are expected to launch mid-2019 when standards-based 5G NR devices become available in the country. Marc Rouanne, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “Nokia has a long-standing relationship with rain and we are proud to work with the company on 5G. “Nokia believes that 5G will change the connectivity landscape in South Africa and the entire continent. It will connect the unconnected and reshape services such as education and health, with the introduction of more connected things.” that deliver services with high capacity scaling and low latency. The company will also provide professional services for the deployment of the solution. As part of rain’s 5G project, Nokia will deploy its AirScale radio access network solution in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Mangaung (Bloemfontein) regions. AirScale offers a new modular way of building radio access networks “We are proud to be on the forefront of 5G worldwide and working with Nokia and other partners to connect as many South African as possible with affordable high-speed broadband services,” said Willem Roos, CEO of rain. ///////////////// Hughes’ JUPITER System selected by three African telecom firms H ughes Network Systems, the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, has announced three African telecom companies have selected the Hughes JUPITER System to power delivery of satellite broadband services for their customers. connecting businesses and homes. SatCoNet, the only native VSAT operator in Tanzania, also chose the JUPITER System to improve its service offering for the market with improved performance, better throughput and a better experience for their customers. Botswana Telecommunications Corporation, Satcom Networks Africa Limited (SatCoNet) and a leading East African telecommunications company each chose the system based on its high performance, operational efficiency and better customer experience. One of the largest telecommunications companies in East Africa will implement the JUPITER System for video and broadband service in schools. The technology refresh begins with 1,000 sites, improving high-speed satellite performance and evolving their solution to meet growing demand. “Hughes is committed to the growth of our operations in Africa and we have tripled our dedicated sales and engineering support across the continent to serve growing broadband demand,” said Dharmendra Singh, Regional Director, International at Hughes. “Our JUPITER System enables service providers to improve their offerings and deliver a wide range of applications supporting economic and social development across Africa – helping close the digital divide, which is our global mission.” Botswana Telecommunications Corporation is using the JUPITER System to expand its high-speed business broadband service. The first phase of deployment includes hundreds of remote terminals www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 15