Alphabet’s Loon and Vodacom partner to increase rural internet access in Mozambique
May 13 2020 - 6:00AM
Alphabet’s Loon and Vodacom have signed a deal to use Loon’s
balloon-powered internet solution to expand the Vodacom network in
Mozambique. In terms of the agreement, Loon will help Vodacom
provide service to un-served and under-served parts of the country
with a network of floating cell phone towers that operate 20
kilometres above Earth.
Using the Loon solution, Vodacom will expand mobile network
access to Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces, two regions that have
proven hard to cover in the past due to the vast and logistically
challenging geographical areas, together with low population
density. The Loon solution will provide a 4G service that supports
Data, Voice, SMS and USSD, which will also enable mobile financial
services. The service will be available to any Vodacom subscriber
with a standard 4G-VoLTE enabled handset and SIM card. Users will
not need to do anything special to connect to the service; they
will connect just as they would to a normal cell tower. In fact,
it’s unlikely that a user will know that they are connected to the
service provided by a high altitude balloon, except for the fact
that they may have a signal in a location where it previously did
not exist.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub says “Vodacom’s partnership
with Loon is a perfect example of how technological innovation can
connect the most rural communities in Africa. We are pleased to be
part of this initiative in Mozambique, which is helping to bridge
the digital divide. This is even more pertinent in the face of the
COVID-19 pandemic, where more Mozambicans will now have access to
healthcare information through our Loon partnership. We look
forward to forging similar partnerships and projects across the
continent, as we ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to
accessing the global digital economy.”
Loon and Vodacom have been working collaboratively with
Mozambican communications and aviation regulators, including
Autoridade Reguladora das Comunicações de Moçambique (ARECOM) and
the Institute for Civil Aviation of Mozambique (IACM), to obtain
the necessary approvals to enable service in Mozambique.
Loon’s CEO Alastair Westgarth says, “We’re extremely pleased to
be partnering with Vodacom, one of Africa’s largest mobile network
operators, to begin serving parts of Mozambique in the coming
months. Vodacom has a big footprint in Southern Africa, and
provides service to tens of millions of people across multiple
countries every single day. We view this as the first step to a
larger partnership that will allow us to serve more of those users
throughout Africa."
The companies are grateful to have received approvals to start
importing and installing the required ground infrastructure for
Loon’s balloons to operate in the stratosphere above the country,
and for Loon to provide service over the Vodacom network.
Vodacom Mozambique Chief Technology Officer Pedro Rabacal says:
“Vodacom Mozambique is excited and proud to be able to bring the
latest technological innovation to some of the most remote areas of
the country. In times such as these, it is more important than ever
that we find ways to ensure that we expand our coverage and
services and that our customers have access to critical hygiene and
lifesaving information. This partnership with Loon offers a key
solution that will significantly accelerate Vodacom’s 4G coverage
to areas of Mozambique that have been challenging to service. Our
aim is to expand and push to the edge of coverage so as to provide
the same quality voice, data, sms and M-Pesa services to all
Mozambicans”.
“This agreement symbolises yet another advance in the field of
mobile communications technologies in the country and will allow
greater connectivity for Mozambicans in any geography. With this
action, we reaffirm our position as a company focused on innovation
and, above all, on providing an increasingly better experience to
our customers. We have ambitions to continue to grow with more
modern and comprehensive solutions by improving the quality of our
services and responding positively to the needs of
Mozambicans.”
In the coming months, Loon and Vodacom will work together to
continue installing terrestrial infrastructure, which will serve as
the physical connection point for Loon’s balloons to Vodacom’s
internet and core network. Loon will also begin flying balloons
above Mozambique to learn the stratospheric wind patterns on which
the balloons must navigate to remain above the service area.
Network integration testing is ongoing in order to ensure that this
innovative solution works as intended. Loon and Vodacom
expect to begin providing service to users in the coming
months.
About Loon
Loon is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
The company utilizes a network of high-altitude balloons to deliver
connectivity to people in areas where it has previously been
difficult to provide service. Loon balloons operate 20 km above
Earth in stratosphere - well above commercial air traffic, weather
events, and wildlife. The balloons act as floating base stations
that extend the reach of a mobile network operator’s
service.
Launched from the United States, the balloons can navigate
around the world by sailing on winds in the stratosphere. Once
above a location needing service, the balloons can be arranged in
small clusters to provide periods of prolonged connectivity below.
The balloons are designed to fly for hundreds of days. When ready
to come down, the balloons are navigated to a sparsely populated
area and brought down for a controlled landing. Once on the ground,
the balloon and components are collected by local recovery experts.
An overview of how Loon works can be found here.
About Vodacom Group
Vodacom is a leading African communications company providing a
wide range of communication services, including mobile voice,
messaging, data, financial and converged services to over 117
million (including Safaricom) customers. From our roots in South
Africa, we have grown our mobile network business to include
operations in Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. Our
mobile networks cover a population of over 291 million people.
Through Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), we offer business managed
services to enterprises in 50 countries. Vodacom is majority owned
by Vodafone (60.5% holding), one of the world’s largest
communications companies by revenue.
About Vodacom Mozambique:
Vodacom Mozambique is a mobile communications company that
provides voice, messaging and data services. It started operation
in the country in December 2003, with the main objective of
offering a high quality and reliable mobile network. Vodacom
Mozambique is composed of a group of shareholders, including
Vodacom International Limited and Local partners.
Currently, it has more than 6 million subscribers in Mozambique,
and has the largest customer portfolio in the country. Presently,
the various network technologies cover up to 62% of the Mozambican
population.
In 2013 Vodacom Mozambique became a majority shareholder of
Vodafone M-Pesa, a mobile money entity through which financial
services are currently provided to more than 4 million
customers.
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- Loon-Vodacom_partnership_announcement2
Loon Press Team
Loon LLC
press@loon.com
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