NuRAN Wireless has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Avanti Communications to market and distribute a combined 2G RAN product alongside Avanti’s Ka-band satellite backhaul solution.

Reaching rural communities is highly strategic for both NuRAN and Avanti, with a clear focus on the African, Latin American and South East Asian markets. Reaching these communities often requires satellite backhaul as the only viable solution further highlighting the strategic advantage the two companies collaborating.

The partnership will officially kick off with a pilot for an incumbent East African operator that has the scale to grow into a large deployment of sites across the region. The additional deployments are expected to start rolling out during the course of 2018 with an anticipated completion during the first half of 2019.

The World Economic Forum states that 3.9 billion people or 52 percent of the world’s population are currently unconnected. The partnership will allow people with just a 2G GSM connection to gain access to mobile coverage, basic internet, texting and, most importantly, be financially included with mobile banking generating economic growth. In addition to this, they can access education and health solutions delivered via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) or Interactive Voice Response (IVR).