ZTE Bags Exclusive WiMAX Contract In Africa

ZTE Corporation has clinched an exclusive contract from Chinguitel, a telecom carrier under Expresso Telecom Group (ETG), to help Mauritania build its first 2.5GHz Mobile WiMAX commercial network. Under the agreement, ZTE will be providing core network equipment, wireless access devices, as well as various communication terminals for indoor and outdoor use.
Mauritania has a total land area of over 1 million sq. kms and faces the Sahara Desert in the east and Atlantic Ocean in the west. With such a complicated geographical landscape, it becomes important for telecom operators to establish a stable and efficient WiMAX network.

After an evaluation process, Chinguitel chose ZTE to exclusively provide Mauritania the core network equipment to establish its first ever WiMAX 16e Commercial Network. In selecting ZTE, Chinguitel is leveraging ZTE’s advanced technology and expertise to help them establish a CDMA and WiMAX integrated network infrastructure, covering the whole area of Africa.

“This exclusive deal further demonstrates our global leading position in providing WiMAX solutions and marks the first time that we are partnering with ETG in deploying our WiMAX infrastructure in Africa,” said Xu Shengfei, chief representative, ZTE Mauritania. “With this deployment, we hope it will trigger more similar WiMAX opportunities in other African countries.”

“It is a valuable opportunity to partner with ZTE in building the first WiMAX commercial network in Mauritania. We are impressed by ZTE’s state-of-the-art technologies and pioneering visions, hence are confident that we can provide the African population with the most effective wireless and highly advanced communications platform to enjoy access of various wireless services,” said Elamir, CEO, Chinguitel.

To date, ZTE has established 30 commercial trials and trial networks for 802.16e WiMAX worldwide covering Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.