Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Posts and Information Communication Technology has chosen Alvarion Ltd. as service provider for the country’s first 802.16e WiMAX implementation, according to a company press release.
Alvarion already has experience in a previous WiMAX implementation in the African country, connecting administrative offices with advanced data and voice services in the capital city, Ouagadougou. The rollout plan includes the connection of additional cities and government offices to the current WiMAX network.
Apart from the physical hardware installation, the Israeli-based company is also providing full project implementation, including project management, network planning, radio planning, training and technical support.
Says Noël Kaboré, Minister of Posts and ICT in Burkina Faso: “Our goal is to improve public services across the country and enable efficient and reliable public administration processes,”
“WiMAX is the best technology commercially available today to overcome lack of infrastructure and enable quick and easy access to all public offices. Alvarion’s technology has proven itself in Ouagadougou and we are confident that its WiMAX solution will enable us to implement the government’s strategy in the best possible way. This network will allow us to connect administration offices and governmental institutions throughout Burkina Faso using the broadband capabilities of the technology for data applications, Internet and VoIP.”
The francophone country still has a relatively low penetration rate for mobile and internet usage, despite a concerted effort by the government to improve its ICT infrastructure during the last decade.
