Airspan-based
Wireless Payphone Network Successfully Deployed by Adesemi in Tanzania
Deployment
Brings Affordable Telecommunications Services to Lower Income Population
of Tanzania
London,
September 21, 1999 - Airspan Communications Ltd., a market leader
in fixed wireless telecommunications, and Adesemi Communications International,
a telecommunications service provider for the developing world, today
announced the successful deployment of 650 wireless payphones in Dar-es-Salaam,
the capital of Tanzania. Adesemi’s ‘adesephone™’ service, which is based
on Airspan’s AS4000 wireless local loop (WLL) platform, delivers affordable,
comprehensive communications services in the commercial capital of Tanzania
for the first time.
The adesephone™ network is comprised of wireless, card-operated public
payphones and a paging and voice mail network. Subscribers use pre-paid
Adesemi phonecards to make local, long-distance and voice mail calls –
all at the cost of a local call. Paging and voice mail are provided at
no extra cost. The adesephone™ package, which costs US $30 and has no
monthly fees, targets Tanzanians earning between US $200 and US $1,000/month.
“The successful deployment of our adesephone™ service is due largely to
the technology provided by Airspan, which allows us to install payphones
quickly and easily anywhere in the city,” said Monique Maddy, president
and CEO of Adesemi. “This flexibility allows us to respond to the growing
demand for our services, while the efficiency of the technology allows
us to pass significant cost savings on to our subscribers.”
“We are pleased that our technology is giving the people of Dar-es-Salaam
the communications means necessary to improve their lives, and at the
same time to strengthen the Tanzanian economy,” said Nigel J. Terry, vice
president of Sales, Marketing and Services for Airspan. “Wireless local
loop technology is ideal for bringing high quality yet inexpensive communications
services to those who need it the most, and we are working with service
providers worldwide on similar deployments.”
The payphones are linked via Airspan’s AS4000 wireless local loop system
into Adesemi’s core network. Each payphone is equipped with an integrated
subscriber terminal which communicates using a point-to-multipoint CDMA
air interface with the Airspan base-station, located up to 25km away.
The AS4000’s rugged, tested design is capable of standing up to the rigors
of Tanzania’s hot tropical climate.
Adesemi currently processes some 15,000 calls a day from its payphone
network. The company plans to extend its services across the country,
to 1,000 payphones and 30,000 adesephones.
About
Airspan Communications
Airspan is dedicated solely to fixed wireless telecommunications
and has an established and proven track record with many major operators
around the globe. The AS4000 product line provides customers with an optimum
fixed wireless infrastructure delivering voice, data, ISDN and packet
services. Airspan’s CDMA technology provides service and range performance
that is unequalled in the industry. The AS4000 is a robust and future-proof
platform that caters for the escalating data needs of Airspan’s clients
and their customers, and is backed by comprehensive support including
training, installation, maintenance, commissioning and consulting services.
Airspan's products provide the most comprehensive wireless alternative
to a wired network infrastructure, with no compromises on available services
or quality. Its infrastructure products and services are designed for
both ETSI and ANSI markets with a focus on both circuit and packet / IP
switched networks. More information on the company can be found at http://www.airspan.com
For further information contact:
Airspan
Communications:
David Farthing,
Marketing Communications Manager
Tel: +44 1895 467 169
Fax: +44 1895 467 202
dfarthing@airspan.com
Miller/Shandwick Technologies:
Alexandra Masurel or Peter Ross
Tel: +44 171 240 8666
Fax: +44 171 240 8668
amasurel@miller.shandwick.com
pross@miller.shandwick.com
Webmaster:webmaster@airspan.com
Airspan Communications Limited
Company No: 3501881 Registered in England at
Cambridge House, Oxford Rd, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 1UN, UK