Airtel launches in Rwanda
Bharti Airtel has launched operations in Rwanda, expanding its footprint on the African continent to 17 countries. Airtel has already said that it will invest over US$100 million in its operations over the next three years and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities.
“We are delighted to launch our operations and bring Airtel to the people of Rwanda. We believe that Rwanda is an extremely promising market and this launch further strengthens our footprint in eastern Africa,” said Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel.
“It will be our endeavour to bring world-class and affordable services to our customers in Rwanda and add value to the economy. We would like to thank the Rwandan government for giving us this opportunity, and we are committed to contributing to their aim of bridging the digital divide in the country.”
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Airtel has also partnered with IBM in a move that will enable the company to offer superior customer experience in Rwanda. The partnership will see IBM deploy and manage the information technology (IT) infrastructure and applications to further support Airtel’s goal of providing innovative mobile services.
Ericsson was selected to manage the network from end-to-end, including OSS/BSS solutions and managed services.
Lars Lindén, head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa for Ericsson, says: “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.”
Additionally, this launch has set a record. Lindén adds: “The inaugural call was placed on the system on March 7. It took just 83 days to build this network from the start – the fastest Greenfield launch in history in sub-Saharan Africa.”
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