INTELLIGENT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
Vanu and AMN expand
agreement to connect off-
grid villages in Africa
anu, a provider of equipment,
tools and services that allow
mobile network operators to
serve off-grid communities, has announced
the expansion of its ongoing agreement with
Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) to supply
mobile network infrastructure in support of
AMN’s mission to serve rural communities in
sub-Saharan Africa.
Vanu and AMN share the goal of
providing mobile network operators (MNOs)
with a capex-free path to a fully connected
Africa and have collaborated to enable
coverage for as many as 1.1 million previously
unserved people.
“While mobile network operators have
significantly increased coverage in recent
years, off-grid markets present unique
challenges that have left 1.2 billion people
without coverage,” said Andrew Beard,
CEO of Vanu.
“AMN and Vanu both view small-cell
network architectures powered by solar
energy to be the best way to extend service
to the unconnected. We are privileged to be
a technology supplier for AMN’s networks in
Africa and we see a significant opportunity
for our organisations to positively affect
more communities in more countries in the
months ahead.”
Currently, 1.2 billion people lack
connectivity worldwide. Vanu helps close
the digital divide by providing cellular
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Vanu has announced the expansion of its ongoing
agreement with Africa Mobile Networks to supply
mobile network infrastructure in Sub-Sahara Africa
mobile connectivity to off grid markets.
To efficiently cover villages, Vanu uses a
combination of specialised equipment,
tools and services, including low TCO (total
cost of ownership) cell sites, mapping tools
and network planning tools (to ensure
sites are built in optimal locations), as well
as monitoring, optimisation and support
services (to ensure maintenance resources
are used efficiently).
Vanu’s equipment, tools and services
enable MNOs and partners, such as AMN,
to provide off-grid coverage profitably. In
addition, Vanu’s unique high-resolution
coverage mapping tool, VanuMaps, provide
MNOs, their partners and potential investors
with the high-resolution coverage and
population data needed to more accurately
and efficiently identify the return on
investment afforded by serving previously
uncovered villages.
The mission of AMN is to build mobile
network base stations serving rural
communities in sub-Saharan Africa which
have no existing service, providing existing
licensed mobile network operators with a
capex-free route to add new subscribers and
new revenues and with incremental costs
which deliver guaranteed operating profits
– and with sufficient population to deliver
positive operating profits and cash flows for
its shareholders.
AMN CEO Michael Darcy said: “Vanu
has been a great partner for AMN. The
locations we operate are very challenging
and we need solutions that reflect the
unique requirements of our market. Using
Vanu equipment and working together with
Vanu’s team, AMN has been able to create
cost-effective solutions that AMN uses to
increase subscribers, revenue and profit for
our MNO customers.”