Alcatel-Lucent announced its TD-LTE deal with African telecom operator YooMee Africa to expand into new African market.
YooMee, previously known as 4G Africa, will deploy TD-LTE technology in its new markets within the next 6 months.
The telecom operator expects to build out in average 35 to 50 sites per capital city before deploying in remaining cities of the countries it operates in.
Peter Ziegelwanger, CTO of YooMee Africa, said that YooMee Africa selected Alcatel-Lucent because it brings a strong momentum in LTE as well as a competitive solution with a powerful IP-Centric ePC based on its 7750 Mobile Gateway.
Alcatel-Lucent will deploy TD-LTE solution consisting of eNBs, wireless backhaul and the evolved packet core (EPC).
Dov Bar-Gera, CEO of YooMee Africa, said: “In addition to our efforts in Cameroon,we plan to deploy TDD LTE in other countries in which YooMee is holding the relevant licenses in the coming years.”
YooMee Africa, which has around 100 employees, is working with University of Douala giving 70,000 students and faculty access to broadband internet at affordable rates. The telecom operator is considering this as an indicator of its commitment to overcoming the digital divide in Africa.
As part of the 4G deal, Alcatel-Lucent will provide professional services such as network planning, pre-launch optimization, network integration, and start-up assistance services to accompany YooMee with its commercial rollout.
Alcatel-Lucent currently has more than 40 LTE and 55 small cells networks globally. It does not have any 4G deals in India, one of the leading emerging telecom markets in the world. Bharti Airtel is the leader in 4G space in India.
