Intelsat & AMN take mobile coverage to 1.7M Africans
The partnership between satellite network operator Intelsat and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN), an integrator of mobile network infrastructure, has now given 1.7 million people living in remote areas in Africa access to mobile coverage for the first time.
This is according to a statement from both companies which said that in less than a year approximately 525 remote cell sites had been connected. The two announced their partnership back in October 2018 and are now continuing with plans to expand mobile coverage throughout sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2019. (See Intelsat, AMN Join Forces to Connect Ultra-Rural Sub-Saharan Africa.)
In an email interview with Connecting Africa, Intelsat's regional vice president for Africa sales, Brian Jakins, said that the original goal was to activate 500 remote cell sites by July, and AMN exceeded that goal.
"The existing sites are deployed across several countries. Our focus at this time is on sub-Saharan Africa, where roughly 40% of the 1 billion people across the region's 46 countries still do not have access to mobile broadband," Jakins said.
AMN has developed a low-cost solution, powered by a small cell solar-based system that can be rapidly deployed in less than six hours.
"When paired with Intelsat's satellite coverage, AMN is offering a network-as-a-service solution that allows MNOs [mobile network operators] to expand with virtually no capex and with reduced risk. This enables MNOs to easily scale to meet evolving connectivity demands," Jakins added.
Connectivity is provided through three high-throughput Intelsat EpicNG satellites, as well as 23 additional satellites covering the African continent.
AMN CEO Michael Darcy said that the companies share a vision of installing a cell site in every African village.
"Like us, they recognize that when you close the connectivity gap in sub-Saharan Africa, you can bring about significant positive change in people's lives. Using Intelsat's technology, our two companies can make that vision a reality," Darcy added.
Jakins said that local partnerships provide valuable expertise in solving the challenges to providing connectivity, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which is one of the most difficult regions in the world to connect due to its geographic complexities and the challenges associated with providing affordable connectivity to remote areas.
"Initially, Intelsat and AMN are focusing on delivering 2G mobile services, such as GSM voice, SMS and GPRS/EDGE packet data. As users in the region begin to realize the benefits of connectivity and develop businesses and become more engaged online, the solution offers the ability to upgrade the base stations to 3G and 4G as data demand allows," explained Jakins.
He said that while broadband access was once considered a privilege it is increasingly being identified as a human right.
"This partnership is already delivering benefit for millions of people living in remote communities across a vast geographic area, but there are still millions more that can be connected. Our objective is to continue connecting Africa and work toward the goal of eliminating the connectivity gap completely," Jakins concluded.
— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa