  Bharti Airtel, the leading telecom service provider in Asia and Africa has launched operations in Rwanda. With this Rwanda has become the 16th country in the Black Continent to have Airtel operations.
The launch is part of the company's $100 million, three-year investment plan for Rwanda.Airtel has partnered with IBM to deploy and manage the information technology (IT) infrastructure and applications in Rwanda.
Airtel said that it has joined International Business Machines Corp. and Ericsson to roll out the services.
Rwanda is among the fastest-growing telecom markets in Africa and, according to the National Statistics Institute of Rwanda, mobile penetration in the country was 38.4% as at July 2011, it said in a statement.
"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 Bharti Airtel CEO (International) and Joint MD Manoj Kohli. Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel had acquired the African business of Kuwait-based Zain in 2010 for USD 10.7 billion.
"The government welcomes Airtel into our country. We are looking to partner with the private sector to provide good quality, accessible and affordable telecommunications services," Rwanda Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi said.
"As part of our strategic services agreement, we are happy to assist Airtel with its entry into the Rwandan market. Rwanda is an important market for IBM and we are actively strengthening our local presence," IBM Vice President and Senior Project Executive, (Airtel Africa) Steve Martin said.
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson has been selected to manage the network from end-to-end solutions in the region.
"This solution is using the latest Ericsson portfolio, and will be the first Airtel network designed as an all-IP solution," Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa region Head Lars Linden said. |