NuRAN Wireless wants to strengthen its presence in Africa where it aims to have 10,000 telecoms sites under contract in the coming years. It recently obtained an operating license in Cameroon. Steps are underway to acquire a similar license in Madagascar.
Canadian telecom infrastructure provider NuRAN Wireless announced on Thursday, November 16, that its local subsidiary has submitted an application to obtain a network infrastructure license in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This new resource will enable the company to extend its business model beyond Network as a Service (NaaS) through which it provides services to multiple mobile network operators at individual locations. The new operating license also includes the addition of satellite telecom services (VSAT).
The request for the operating license in the DRC “ follows a ministerial decree published on October 10, 2023 which simplifies the obligations of license holders, in particular with regard to ownership requirements ”. The company announced on October 17 that it had obtained a category 1 license in Cameroon. Last September, it began the process with the Technology Regulatory Authority (ARTEC) of Madagascar to obtain an operating license in the country.
“ Even if it is not considered essential to the conduct of its activities, in accordance with the confirmation received in June from the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ARPTC), the aforementioned authorization will meet the expectations of the EIB [European Investment Bank, Editor’s note] in the DRC, expectations which have already been met in Cameroon ,” NuRAN Wireless said.
Remember that NuRAN has 4,642 telecoms sites under contract in seven African countries while it is targeting 10,000 telecoms sites. In the DRC, the company committed, in February 2021, to building and operating 2,000 telecom towers for Orange, allowing the latter to extend the coverage of its network in rural areas. In December 2022, it partnered with Trans Africa Towers to build 500 telecom towers over three years in the country.