Bharti Airtel to extend presence in Africa

By STANDARD CORRESPONENT

Bharti Airtel is set to radically transform its African telecom infrastructure this year.

According to the Managing Director Manoj Kohli, the firm will offer quality services at affordable rates this year.

"We will be deepening our network coverage to include the rural population and enhancing the digital experience through 3G across the continent; ultimately offering a better brand experience for all our customers in Africa," he said.

In a move that will accelerate the transformation of African mobile telephony and positively impact on the speed of economic development across the continent, Bharti Airtel announced the selection of IBM to manage the computing technology and services that will enhance its mobile network.

Apart from deploying and managing information technology infrastructure, IBM will also deploy advanced technologies created by IBM research, including the spoken web - a voice-enabled Internet that allows users to access and share information simply by talking over the existing telephone network, which is particularly compelling for populations with little or no literacy, visual impairments, or lack access to computers.

Developing community

Moreover, IBM plans to deploy a powerful content management system to offer rich media content such as music and video over mobile devices, while simultaneously facilitating the growth of the application developer community in Africa.

In line with global trends, Africa is experiencing a surge in demand for access to mobile data applications.

The modernisation of the networks will give Airtel an opportunity to offer better services in 2011.

"The partnerships take us one step closer to our vision of making telephony available and affordable for everyone across Africa, even in the most remote areas which are at present disconnected from the world," he said.

He added: "We are also laying the foundation for the introduction of 3G HSPA wireless broadband as access to content is the right of every African citizen.