Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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ITU, Nexpedience team up to boost African broadband
Initial base station deployment in six nations
continent-wide
Geneva, 2 August 2012 – ITU and Nexpedience, one of the
world's leading suppliers of proprietary point-to-multipoint broadband
infrastructure, are partnering to bring broadband access to Africa.
Under the terms of the deal, Nexpedience will provide 180 new Expedience base
stations worth USD 1 million, to be deployed in six nations across the
continent. The first nation to benefit from the new infrastructure is Burundi,
with deployments also planned for Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Mali, Rwanda and
Swaziland.
Designed to withstand extreme meteorological conditions and capable of
providing up to 32 kilometres of sector coverage, Nexpedience’s base stations
have been specifically designed for rural deployment.
ITU’s Wireless Broadband Network in Africa project aims to
develop and implement wireless broadband connectivity and applications that will
provide free or low-cost digital access for schools, hospitals, and under-served
populations in rural and remote areas Africa-wide.
At the signing of the agreement in Geneva, Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s
Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) emphasized the need to make
developing countries part of the global broadband revolution: “This partnership
represents another important element in ITU’s efforts to bring broadband
technology to the world – even in the poorest nations. I am confident that this
new partnership will accelerate broadband uptake right across the African
continent, bringing the power of high-speed connectivity to users everywhere,
from big cities to small villages.”
Kiriako Vergos, CEO of Nexpedience said: “Giving access to broadband
technology to underserved populations in Africa is of great importance to us.
There are enormous benefits to be derived from a ‘broadband-seed’ deployment
strategy, and we decided to partner with ITU because we know that the
organization has the team in place to get it done.”
ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré hailed the new agreement as a “major
step forward in getting Africa connected”. Dr Touré led the establishment of the
Broadband Commission for Digital
Development in 2010, which has the aim of putting broadband at the heart of
the global development agenda.
For more information, please contact:
Desiré Karyabwite
IP Coordinator, Infrastructure,
Enabling Environment and E-Applications
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Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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About Nexpedience
Nexpedience is owner of Expedience, the world’s foremost Point to Multipoint
proprietary broadband technology. The company has a presence in 5 continents,
with 70 networks rolled-out and more than 20,000 BTS and 1,000,000 CPEs
deployed. www.nexpedience.com
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