A Zimbabwean internet and VoIP provider will now also provide WiMAX services following a deal with mobile broadband solutions provider Greenpacket. Aptics Trading has signed a WiMAX modem supply contract with the firm.
Africa is a sunrise market for mobile WiMAX presenting vast opportunities. In the past year, mobile WiMAX take-up jumped five-fold to 200,000 subscribers, as reported by ABI Research, and it is expected to double in 2011. Mobile WiMAX will continue to grow at 34 percent CAGR till 2015. The new undersea cable fibre optics in the continent had also spurred growth and appetite for fast broadband connection.
Mobile WiMAX technology appeals to greenfield operators as it bridges the gap left open by limited wireline infrastructure; and the lower cost of deployment suits Africa’s challenging economic landscape where ARPU (average revenue per user) is low but demand for broadband is high. Joining the ranks of service providers wanting to meet the continent’s fast rising demand for quality broadband is Aptics Trading.
Kelvin Lee, Senior General Manager of Green Packet Berhad said “Our products fit the region’s operational landscape where operators highly appreciate the key features of our modems such as high gain antenna, high transmission power and voice capabilities.”
Lee expressed confidence that mobile WiMAX is set for a new wave of growth driven by broadband demand in fast developing and underserved regions. On the technology front, he commented, “While there may be a convergence of technologies in the future, we cannot ignore the fact that there is current demand for broadband to answer.”
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