Telecom Lead Africa: Airtel has launched mobile
Internet services on 3.75G platform in Rwanda. Ericsson is the telecom network
equipment provider.
Mobile customers in Rwanda will benefit as they can enjoy
multimedia functionality, high speed mobile broadband and internet access.
Users can make video calls, watch live TV, send and
receive emails and download music from the devices.
This is the latest global HSPA+ technology with up to 21
Mbps speed, also being rolled out in Europe and the USA.
It is the latest 3G available.
The technology on our 3.75G network will give our
customers the opportunity to interact with data in a different way. This is why
Airtel doesn’t see 3G as a product but a platform that enables the community to
expand its social and commercial horizons, alongside the rest of the world,”
said Marcellin Paluku, country manager, Airtel Rwanda.
Airtel will tap large enterprises, small or medium
businesses and the youth.
For the small and medium business, it will enable the
entrepreneur to embrace a highly mobile way of working with high speed access
to email and Internet and it will allow large companies to increase
productivity through vastly enhanced mobile Internet speeds.
Airtel has associated with Ericsson to ensure seamless
upgrade of the existing network to the 3.75G network.
The new technology will enable Airtel to meet its desire
to provide its customers with the most advanced solutions and quality browsing
experience to its customers in Rwanda and Africa,” said Lars Linden, head of
Ericsson sub Saharan Africa.
The new 3.75G network will initially be available to
Airtel customers in Kigali, but will become available to other parts of the
country over the course of the month.
Airtel will offer all its customers introductory free
internet access to experience the service for the first two weeks. Every
customer will receive 1 GB free every day upto the 17th of July. When the offer
period expires, customers will get a great rate of 20 rfw per MB from 6:00 hrs
to 00:00 hrs and 10 rfw from 00:00 hrs to 5:59 hrs.
