MWCAfrica 2023: Bridging the connectivity gap; Telecom cell sites that costs 99% less

US-based telecoms equipment supplier, Beamlink, is providing a new, portable and highly affordable cell towers that allows telcos and internet service providers (ISP) cut down heavily on  what they pay for using telecom towers and managed services in their bid to serve less dense populations at the most affordable rates.

The fully-functional portable cell tower, which has the size of a lunchbox, consumes power far less than what an electric bulb consumes, and does not require expensive managed services because it can be managed remotely.

It can simply be placed on a roof top of a fairly tall building and it will provide data connectivity to between 200 to 500 people in a community.

The portable cell tower, which costs between US$2,000 and US$15,000 (depending on what it is provisioned for) can also be configured to provide voice services. It is also automated to figure out which part of the community requires more signal and then directs the signal there without any human intervention.

Beyond cutting cost for telcos and ISPs, the device can also be used to provide internet services to communities outside of the networks of existing telcos and ISPs.

Techfocus24 caught up with the CEO of Beamlink, Mateo Abascal at the ongoing Mobile World Congress Africa 2023 (MWCAfrica 2023) at Kigali, Rwanda, and he said the system is purposely built to help telcos and ISPs cut down on tower and managed services cost by 99% and possibly even more, depending on how and where they deploy the system.

He noted that whereas telecom towers, which cost over a million dollars for one, are good for high density areas, the Beamlink system makes much more economic sense for low density areas where ARPU (average revenue per user) is low.

This technology comes at a time when African countries are emphasizing on affordability and accessibility as key prerequisites to bridging the digital gap on the continent.

Source: Samuel Dowuona