KT to deploy wholesale LTE network in Rwanda

12 March 2013 | Kavit Majithia

South Korea-based operator KT is to deploy and operate a wholesale LTE network in Rwanda.

The company will jointly collaborate with the government’s Rwanda Development Board to set up an LTE venture in the nation, and has entered into a public-private partnership deal.

As part of the joint venture, the network deployment will provide wholesale infrastructure services to both MNOs and MVNOs in the market. “This moment marks a significant milestone in our long-standing commercial relationship with KT Corporation,” said Patrick Nyirishema, chief of Rwanda’s ICT development board.

“KT has been our partner in the deployment of Rwanda’s extensive fibre-optic network and the early form of high-speed mobile broadband services.”

The government of Rwanda has also set ambitious targets to improve broadband connectivity in Rwanda through cooperation with KT.

KT first entered Rwanda in 2009 after building an office there, in a bid to support its involvement in the country’s $40 million fibre backbone project.