East African telecoms infrastructure 'to be modernised'

27 November 2009

Nokia Siemens Networks has agreed a deal with Zain to help modernise the company's telecoms infrastructure throughout its East African operations.

The dealwill see work being undertaken in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to improve the region's telecoms infrastructure, implementing state-of-the-art mobile softswitching and subscriber data management solutions.

Under the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks will also deploy its Energy Solutions programme to look at ways in which Zain can improve its energy efficiency, cutting costs at the same time as improving the services it provides in East Africa.

Commenting on the deal, Zain Africa's chief executive Chris Gabriel said: "We will be in a far stronger position to dedicate resources and assets to our customer-facing activities, continuing to improve customer support, developing and launching new products."

Earlier this year, a report on Africa's internet and broadband infrastructure reported that the continent had seen marked growth in the sector over recent years.

In particular, the study - published on Budde.com - pointed to the continued development of wireless internet access as an important player in the improvement of services, while lower tariffs were also cited as helping increase internet penetration across the continent.

Category: ICT