Ceragon Expands Wireless Network throughout Africa

Plans to expand wireless backhaul solutions in Africa are underway as Ceragon Networks Ltd., announced it has two major orders totaling $28 million. Although the orders came from existing customers who have already used the wireless solution, the plan is to continue expanding the footprint throughout the region with new long-term equipment and service orders.

Ceragon Networks Ltd., provides high-capacity microwave Ethernet and TDM wireless backhaul solutions to wireless service providers, as well as, private businesses. The company, which completes its research out of its international facility, located in Tel. Aviv, Israel, delivers voice and premium services. The company has also worked on reducing backhaul costs and transition to next generation IP-based networks, and the backhaul capacity bottleneck.

A new report commissioned by the GSMA showed that Africa is currently one of the major hot spots in terms of the mobile market. The growth rate has been up almost 50 percent since 2000. So, this makes for a major opportunity for Ceragon.  “Africa is a key region for us and will continue to represent one of our primary growth engines,” said president and CEO, Ira Palti.

The $28 million order was divided into two big deals. The first one was for $15 million and was received to help expand Ceragon’s high capacity network. The second order of $13 million was placed for Ceragon’s short haul and long haul solutions, as well as, professional services. The plan is to expand these services to handle millions of underserved subscribers who would not have had access to the services previously.

“The mobile market in Africa continues to expand, despite lengthening sales cycles due to macro-economic factors. Ceragon is well positioned to continue to play a significant role in network deployments in this region as existing and new customers favor comprehensive solutions providing cost-effective high capacity and feature rich solutions with turnkey capabilities.”