Hotspot Network selects Parallel Wireless to provide network coverage to 2,000 Nigeria villages

Parallel Wireless, Inc., the U.S.-based Open RAN company delivering the world’s first software-defined end-to-end 5G 4G 3G 2G Open RAN solutions, has been selected by Hotspot Network Limited, a Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, as a part of Digital Farmers Club (DFC), Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and NITDA Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) connectivity initiatives to deliver 2G, 3G and 4G coverage across planned 2,000 villages in Nigeria.

GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population still lives outside of mobile broadband coverage, compared to 7%  globally. Mobile internet is the sole method of digital access for many individuals and businesses in Nigeria. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the importance of the mobile internet to support access to education, work, healthcare, services and social networks.

The federal government of Nigeria is committed to facilitating the achievement of its national policy goals for Universal Service and Access to information and communication technologies in Nigeria. This deployment is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals SDG Goals 1, 2, 6, 7 and 13. It also aligns with African Development Banks High 5’s – Light up & Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa and improve the quality of life for people of Africa.

Engr. Morenikeji Aniye, Founder and CEO, HotSpot Network Limited, said, “Hotspot has signed a commercial agreement with MTN to deploy more than 2,000 sites starting with 500 in year one. We believe that Parallel Wireless’s innovative and easy to deploy 2G 3G 4G 5G world’s leading Open RAN will enable faster time to market to deliver wireless internet to consumers and businesses.”

The strategic goal of Parallel Wireless and Hotspot’s partnership is to help regional mobile operators build and expand wireless networks across Nigeria, providing next-generation digital services to local communities. This will meet DFC’s, USPFS’ and NAVSA’s objective to provide voice and data services to enable eHealth, eHospitality, eEducation, ebanking, eAgriculture and, as a result, improve the citizens’ standard of living and bring them into the digital economy. This will help DFC to create over 100,000 direct jobs and 1,500,000 indirect jobs across Nigeria.

The project partners deliver the following capabilities:

Parallel Wireless: High-performance, distributed architecture to build a world-class, cloud-native, 5G-ready Open RAN network. This will also deliver improved service innovation and reduced operational costs across geographically distributed sites, with the introduction of RAN automation.

Hotspot: Experience in deploying and managing traditional RAN as a system integrator and NaaS provider, including managed services.

Deployment ecosystem: Off-grid solar power system.

Partner banks: Funding of mobile phone acquisition scheme for women and farmers within the region.

DFC: A platform for empowering women and youth who run agro-businesses in rural communities, providing them with knowledge and skills in modern agricultural techniques and running a micro/small business successfully.

Christoph Fitih, Africa Sales Director, Parallel Wireless, commented, “We are proud to be a part of various such initiatives for implementing our world’s leading Open RAN platform to allow mobile operators to enable new and innovative services quickly and cost-effectively, in turn making a positive impact in the lives of the global population.”