Orange selects Alvarion for WiMAX deployment

Orange Botswana, the country’s second largest cellco by subscribers, has contracted service provider Alvarion for a turnkey WiMAX deployment, using Alvarion’s WiMAX 4Motion end-to-end solution. Alvarion will also provide Orange Botswana with project management and implementation services including network planning, network dimensioning, installation, technical support and professional services. Alvarion’s commercial network, which operates in the 2.5GHz frequency band, has already enabled Orange to provide advanced data services to businesses and homes in the country’s two largest cities, Gaborone and Francistown. The first network was launched in June 2008 in the capital Gaborone, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. Following the successful deployment Orange Botswana increased the coverage in Gaborone and launched a second network in Francistown in November 2008. Future extensions of the networks are planned in other areas throughout the country. Wilfried Yver of Orange Botswana, said: ‘Alvarion’s innovative technology and complete offering enables us to answer the immediate need for high quality, yet reasonably priced internet access in the urban areas of the country. Our subscribers are already enjoying the benefits of the technology and we are very interested in the new opportunities 802.16e WiMAX could bring to this market.’